MAY 2013

Below is our archive of daily wave report photos from May 2013 - April 2013 CLICK HERE

Friday 31st May 2013 - As predicted folks we have a Cranking day going down out here! The Storm has past and we are left with perfect blue sky's and some solid 2-4ft swell rolling in from the east. With winds that are light , Variable in places but that will take all day to switch round to the north. Kanagawa and the reefs are working well, and the wave starved folks down there will be walking around with smiles on their faces today. Chiba as well clean and with size, Even Ibaraki is looking fun. This should stay around all day so if you pick the tides right there will be some super sessions going on for sure. The weekend weather has changed as well to sunny skies on Saturday and back to rain Sunday, fingers crossed for some of this swell to stay around. Get out there and enjoy it if you can, it's going to be a stunner of a day.

Thursday 30th May 2013 - Good morning to one and all today, we still have that big old low pressure system working it's way up from the south so it means it's wet , overcast, and hard easterly winds on shore at all our favorite breaks. Carbon copy of yesterday although there is more size today than yesterday. Look for the sheltered breaks to get a wave today or sit back and wait it out as from lunch time on-wards tomorrow we should see a nice switch in the winds the swell should clean up and it will be game on at many of the great breaks up and down Chiba. Weather is still going to be a bit on the cloudy side but who cares when we have waves. As you can see from yesterday shots people were still out and finding some nice waves, Happy Hunting.

Wednesday 29th May 2013 - Well we have finally got rain again today folks and it has also bought with it the strong East winds which means most breaks and Junky and on-shore still there are a few little spotsd that work ok in this and with the added size they should be fun for those that know where to go. Due to massive demand we have a new look photo gallery from today with our 3rd line showing a few pictures from yesterday afternoon sessions etc. As you can see there was some fun to be had by those that made it out. The weather is set to stay like this for the next 36 to 48 hrs but clearing up by the weekend we hope. Get out there and enjoy it today if you can. If not you will just have to make do with the site and pictures. Cheers.(P.s We are working on a new FaceBook Page which we hope to launch in the coming months, start digging around to see if you can find us, its going to be good)

Tuesday 28th May 2013 - Ground Hog day out there today folks! we have almost the same conditions as yesterday but with the wind a little stronger and even more from the east! If you are trying to hunt down a wave you may be hard pushed even Ibaraki is not working her magic as she often does when things go on shore in Chiba. Still the weather is good with blue sky and warm temps so it is a great day to be out and about at the beach. Lots of things going on the weekend including the Big Beach Music Festival which is always a fun place to be. SIJ will be out at the coast taking part in the local Katsuo festival eating lots of the famous fish and im sure drinking lots of the local Sake (Japanese Rice Wine) hope to see you out there if you can.Enjoy your day.

Friday 24th May 2013 - Stunning morning out here in Japan folks the weather is warm and sunny and it is just going to keep getting hotter and hotter as the day goes on. Similar day to yesterday on the wave front though with most of the swell coming in from the north and the further north you go the better it gets, Oarai has great 2-4ft sets breaking on all parts of its reef and the lower breaks of Kashima are looking good as well. Further down in Chiba though things are looking much smaller and from Hebara down basically flat. We have a full moon tomorrow and huge swings in the tides the low tomorrow goes into the -04 area so it will be a great time to check out the reefs with no water on them to get a understanding of what we surf upon when its pumping. Weather this weekend is looking good as well not to much surf around but lots of other great things to do in and around the ocean. Get out there if you can.

Thursday 23rd May 2013 - Morning to one and all again , we still have some of that lovely northern swell kicking around but it is getting smaller as we speak, some of the sets that were rolling in from it yesterday were very very nice indeed some reports from friends out in the water was that it was well overhead and punchy. Today though you are going to want to head into Ibaraki if you want to score quality as the swell is still getting in there or the top part of Chiba, further down in the middle and bottom of Chiba we are back down in the 1-2ft range then with Kanagawa very small . The weather is still fantastic and it is still well worth a trip to the coast. Get out there if you can.

Tuesday 21st May 2013 - We have some swell folks! Get out there right now and score some as we are not to sure how long it will be around for? A good morning in our books , we have said good by to all the drizzle of yesterday and woken u to a slightly brighter start and also some nice 2-4ft ground swell from the North. Breaks in Chiba are working well with set waves well over head and with a bit of punch to them as well. Even our good friends down in Kanagawa have some nice little 1-2ft waves with the odd freak set pushing chest high. In other news it's one of our team members Birthday today so we would like to wish him a Happy Birthday from everyone at SIJ have a good day and score a few for us. As we said before get out there and enjoy the conditions if you can it's a perfect surfing day.

Monday 20th May 2013 - Morning to one and all we are back in front of the computer with our daily update again , this morning things are not looking to good with even the weather taking a turn for the worse. Grey and overcast sky's is the call today with drizzle in many places too. The swell is not cooperating either with very small conditions at most breaks, the only really nice breaking wave this morning is all the way down in Izu at the breaks of Tatado-hamma. Also looking at the long range forecast the large LOW up north is going to continue to get bigger but move out into the Pacific not towards us. Then we are looking at a week of small to tiny conditions. The currents are still in the spring direction we have our fingers crossed for the Typhoon currents to kick in soon. IN other News congratulations to Jordy Smith for taking out the Rio Pro great job in a very tough competition.

Wednesday 15th May 2013 - One more fantastic morning out there folks, weather wise that is , wave wise we are on the small to non-existent side of things again. Which will not make all the surf shop owners that take their holidays mid week happy. A great day for SUP riding or fishing though. Looking ahead into the weekend though there is some swell forcast from the north as a large low will build of the coast of Ibaraki but a low down south may also send east winds our way. Fingers crossed for a small movement on this and we could see some fun conditions. Down south in Japan yesterday was cranking we have uploaded a few pics to FaceBook check them out there. Enjoy your day. Some of Team SIJ are off to Singapore tonight for a conference so expect some pics from that neck of the woods over the next few days. Enjoy.

Tuesday 14th May 2013 - Stunner of a morning weather wise folk's. The perfect Japanese sunrise in many places, the only thing that is missing is swell. We are looking at most places being rather small folks. From Izu up to the top of Chiba it really is only in the knee high range and with the high tides as well things are not going to be easy if you are looking for a rid-able wave. Best advice is head for the big open beaches that are shallow and have a long run in this will help with wave Face size. Or just grab your SUP and head out for a long paddle around all the little bay's that there are up and down the chiba coast line. It will help you keep fit and open your eyes to this beautiful country.

MOnday 13th May 2013 - Morning to one and all, after what was a very hectic weekend for team SIJ. Started Saturday with some pumping session at the bottom of Ibaraki as the storm from the south pushed up. Then Sunday grey skies went to perfect Blue skies and perfect Katsura Bay & Malibu working well. The Chikura Pro was also on and Congratulations to Genki Kino who Won! Outstanding riding. On to Monday and things are some what of a mixed bag out there. Kanagawa is looking on-shore with as are many parts of Chiba. But the very top part around the Ioka area is looking good with some good sized waves rolling in. The swell is coming in from the N/NE so hunt down the breaks that work best in this. The sun should be out for most of the week as well so looks like it should be a fun one. Rio Pro Girls comp finished yesterday as well , so Web wise it's just the men's to go now , keep your eyes peeled for some action later today.

Friday 10th May 2013 - Howdy folks, well today is going to be the last day of the good weather for a few days. As we are in for a little bit of cloud followed by rain as we move into the weekend. Basically our large low up north is going to move away from Japan and allow a small fast moving low to whip up the coast past Chiba . Saturday we should see it hit Chiba and those super strong southerly winds, then Sunday the winds should change and we will be left with some quality back swell from the system. However as we know this can all change on a dime with these fast moving systems so be prepared to chase quality surf this time which means being mobile and ready to go. Anyhow it will be an interesting few days for sure. The Rio pro got under way yesterday and the pro's put on a great display of tube riding and hacks , well worth watching. Get out there and enjoy the water today if you can.

Thursday 9th May 2013 - Cracker Jack of a day out here in Japan folks , we have stunning weather and some waves on offer this morning, Chiba is the call this morning and she is producing some super fun conditions. At time of writing Hebera had some solid shoulder high sets rolling in as did the open beaches of Kujikuri. We have no idea how long this little pulse may last so get out there know and enjoy it if you can. Other places like Izu and Kanagawa are still very much in the Flat to ankle high conditions so the only real fun thing to be doing there is SUPing or Surf fishing as we like to call it. There was a lay day at the RIO pro due to very stormy style conditions , but Nat Young Paaddled out and caught a few which was nice to see, fingers crossed for some screen action later on today. Apart from that as we said before get out there and enjoy the water today if you can.

Wednesday 8th May 2013 - One more stunning day out here in Japan folks blue sky and warm winds. But little to no action going on out there in the surf. Things are looking no bigger than ankle high at almost all breaks up and down the SIJ surf area. Those mid week surfers out on the road trolling the breaks i think are going to be a little disappointed The ASP Rio leg of the world tour kicks off today though so there should be some action on the computer screens later on in the day which will be nice. We will do some long range forecasting later tonight to see what the weekend has in store for us, but i think the genral opinion is the same everyone is hanging out for some quality pumping surf. Fingers crossed it will be on it's way.

Tuesday 7th May 2013 - Back to work day for most people here in Japan after a great Golden week. Im sure for a lot of folks they will be a little bit sad after the great times they just had. The weather is still the same winter 100% has gone and it feels like summer has already arrived, with perfect blue sky and highs in the low 20's. We had some very strong winds yesterday that were from the south that have died down to nothing again this morning and the south facing beaches are getting some waves because of it. Kanagawa Heisaura, Onjuku etc all have some fun waist to shoulder size waves early on this morning. Things will get smaller though before they get bigger but with the warm winds from the south we know it is not going to be too long until we start to see the famous south and south East swells start pouring into Japan. The beach Surf season is finally here folks, bring it on.

Monday 6th May 2013 - Right then straight down and into it, we have been away for the past 4 days enjoying Golden week out in Chiba at the new SIJ HQ , we got down and did some Paddle Surfing , fishing long-boarding diving and even got an early AM surf session in on one of the days. The weather was perfect right up until this afternoon when the south wind kicked in hard. No worries though as this made a lot of folks leave for home early , which meant our drive home at 9.00pm was as easy as 1,2,3. Things are looking good for this weekend again and with only a 4 day working week it will not be long until we are in the water again. We hope everyone had a great Golden week as well. Things with us and the site will be back to normal from tomorrow morning. See ya then.

Wednesday 2nd May 2013 - Well folks things are still a bit grey out and about this morning as th last of this front moves on through we will then see some really nice weather for the entire time of Golden week there after. Today wave wise things have gotten a bit better then yesterday with Izu the pick of the spots waves at time of writing were in the 2-4ft range with perfect off-shore winds. Kanagawa even had a few waves and Chiba was much bigger but fickle as some places still had the stormy winds on it. Any one heading out this weekend will have to deal with the mega rush of folks trying to do the same thing Basically the roads in and around Tokyo will be a mess they always are. Coming back Monday will be the same. Wave wise we should have some small fun sized conditions for people to enjoy. It's Golden week folks get out there and enjoy it.

Wednesday May 1st 2013 - Morning to one and all on the 1st day of a brand new month! Wow where did the first half of the year go? Not starting of to good here though really we have grey sky's and rain in many places as well and it's also got a lot lot colder. On top of this there is little to no swell around again the biggest we can find is up North in Chiba around the Ioka way. The cleaner stuff is down south in Izu but even then nothing really more than a foot to be had. Not to worry though its a 4 day weekend here Golden week and things are going to get hot and sunny again with a little bit of swell around to be had as well. A good day today then to be sorting out all your camping gear or cleaning the house.