O-arai
Surf spot · Japan
Is it worth the trip?
49Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Sat 7: 4 ft swell at 9 s, onshore wind, 12 kn (22 km/h)
Mon 2 · 61 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 228kJ
- Wind
- WSW 3 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Tue 3 · 36 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 84kJ
- Wind
- N 6 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Wed 4 · 17 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 62kJ
- Wind
- ENE 11 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Thu 5 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 477kJ
- Wind
- NE 12 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Fri 6 · 60 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 291kJ
- Wind
- NW 6 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Sat 7 · 67 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 191kJ
- Wind
- NNW 12 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Sun 8 · 40 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 74kJ
- Wind
- ENE 3 kn
- Temp
- 13°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 176, good
- Mon 261, good
- Tue 336, too small
- Wed 417, too small
- Thu 50, too big
- Fri 660, good
- Sat 767, good
- Sun 840, too small
- Mon 932, too small
- Tue 1028, poor
The spot in five facts
- Faces Etakes swell from the E
- Offshore: Wwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–9 ftof swell
- Water 19 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
O-arai 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 | 76, good | 4 ft10 scrumbling6 ft at break (est.) | 334kJ | offshorewind from the north-north-west, 5 knots, offshore | 19°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 61, good | 4 ft9 scrumbling6 ft at break (est.) | 228kJ | offshorewind from the west-south-west, 3 knots, offshore | 19°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 36, too small | 2 ft9 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.) | 84kJ | wind from the north, 6 knots | 18°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 17, too small | 2 ft9 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 62kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 11 knots | 17°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft7 smushy8 ft at break (est.) | 477kJ | wind from the north-east, 12 knots | 19°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 60, good | 6 ft7 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 291kJ | offshorewind from the north-west, 6 knots, offshore | 20°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 67, good | 4 ft9 scrumbling5 ft at break (est.) | 191kJ | offshorewind from the north-north-west, 12 knots, offshore | 15°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 40, too small | 2 ft9 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.) | 74kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 3 knots | 13°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 32, too small | 2 ft8 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.) | 55kJ | offshorewind from the north-north-west, 4 knots, offshore | 17°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 28, poor | 3 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 47kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 7 knots | 12°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 01:48 −0.7 mHigh 10:05 +0.3 mLow 13:18 +0.2 mHigh 18:30 +0.4 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:56 −0.6 mHigh 11:24 +0.3 mLow 15:34 +0.2 mHigh 19:53 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:15 −0.5 mHigh 12:12 +0.3 mLow 17:43 +0.0 mHigh 22:26 +0.2 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).
- Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug2of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep2of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov2of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec2of 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
O-arai 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.
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About O-arai
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces E (104°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (284°). 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 moderately: 10 m deep about 250 m out (1 in 27). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 15°C in February, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 25°C in August, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Ōarai, 0.5 km away (about 5 min by car).
Water about 19°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$1,290–US$2,470 each
about US$1,290–US$2,470 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 NRT, estimated from distance and season, 4 airlines on the route, with a hold bag | about US$657–US$1,360 |
| 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$1,290–US$2,470 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Ōarai
1 min by car · 45 places to stay
about US$80/nightcountry average
About Ōarai its beds, food and every spot near it
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 18h 40m
About 18h 40m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → NRT, direct, then 1h 25m by road
Flights ORD → NRT on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.