Minato
Surf spot · Japan
Is it worth the trip?
53Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: 4 ft swell at 10 s, 3 hours of offshore wind
Mon 2 · 63 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 411kJ
- Wind
- WNW 6 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Tue 3 · 82 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 251kJ
- Wind
- NW 12 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Wed 4 · 73 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 387kJ
- Wind
- NNW 7 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Thu 5 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 377kJ
- Wind
- NNW 10 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Fri 6 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 8 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 1,063kJ
- Wind
- NW 12 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Sat 7 · 41 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 ssoft
- Energy
- 80kJ
- Wind
- NW 20 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Sun 8 · 31 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 66kJ
- Wind
- NW 9 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 10, too big
- Mon 263, good
- Tue 382, good
- Wed 473, good
- Thu 50, too big
- Fri 60, too big
- Sat 741, too small
- Sun 831, too small
- Mon 929, too small
- Tue 1047, fair
The spot in five facts
- Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
- Offshore: NWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–9 ftof swell
- Water 21 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
Minato does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Intermediate | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 0, too big | 6 ft12 ssoft10 ft at break (est.) | 1,071kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 10 knots | 19°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 63, good | 5 ft9 ssoft7 ft at break (est.) | 411kJ | offshorewind from the west-north-west, 6 knots, offshore | 21°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 82, good | 4 ft10 ssoft6 ft at break (est.) | 251kJ | offshorewind from the north-west, 12 knots, offshore | 20°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 73, good | 5 ft10 ssoft7 ft at break (est.) | 387kJ | offshorewind from the north-north-west, 7 knots, offshore | 20°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft7 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 377kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 10 knots | 20°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 0, too big | 8 ft10 ssoft11 ft at break (est.) | 1,063kJ | wind from the north-west, 12 knots | 21°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 41, too small | 2 ft8 ssoft4 ft at break (est.) | 80kJ | offshorewind from the north-west, 20 knots, offshore | 15°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 31, too small | 2 ft9 ssoft3 ft at break (est.) | 66kJ | offshorewind from the north-west, 9 knots, offshore | 15°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 29, too small | 2 ft8 ssoft3 ft at break (est.) | 48kJ | offshorewind from the north-west, 16 knots, offshore | 15°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 47, fair | 3 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 90kJ | offshorewind from the north-north-west, 7 knots, offshore | 14°C |
Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovLow 03:27 −0.8 mHigh 11:09 +0.5 mLow 16:15 +0.1 mHigh 21:02 +0.4 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 04:41 −0.7 mHigh 12:32 +0.4 mLow 18:17 +0.1 mHigh 22:57 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 06:09 −0.6 mHigh 13:37 +0.5 mLow 19:47 −0.1 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug0of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
Minato on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
More surf near here
4 places
- Akabane Long Beach 0.8 km away
- Yohachi 3 km away
- Mira 3.5 km away
- Ikobe 20.1 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Minato
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SE (155°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (335°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 650 m out (1 in 65). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 15°C in February, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 28°C in August, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Tahara. Within 5 km we also list 3 surf spots.
Water about 21°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,310–US$2,490 each
about US$1,310–US$2,490 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to NGO, estimated from distance and season, changing at HNL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$670–US$1,390 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$107–US$174 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$208–US$348 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$234–US$442 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$87–US$141 |
| Total | about US$1,310–US$2,490 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: 2 towns
18 min by car · 5 places to stay
about US$80/nightcountry average
About Tahara its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Toyohashi on Booking.com
44 min by car · 38 places to stay
Nearest beds: Tahara, 10 km (about 20 min by car)
About US$80 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 25h 50m
About 25h 50m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → NGO, changing at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), then 1h 05m by road
Flights ORD → NGO on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.