ICHINOMIYA
ICHINOMIYA - 一宮
Live Web CamNot really a live web camera but the second best thing for sure, this person takes daily video twice a day at the main points and uploads them to You Tube for us all to watch. The quality of the video has better over the years and he now owns a nice HD camera . Keep up the good work please.
Ichinomiya is a super diverse surf area at the bottom part of north Chiba, it seems to pick up a lot of the swell more so than some of its near by neighbors, riders from beginner through to pro level can be found here at any one time.
It is like many of the other beaches here in Japan divided up by large stone break waters, capped at the end by large concrete Tetrapods. Every surfer in Japans worst enemy. The break waters can create great sand bars but they also cause the dreaded problem of deep water channels inside close to the beach meaning more often than not at high tide you will be fighting with the dreaded back wash. The exception to this rule is when it starts to get over head high on the faces.
Local Information & Recommendations Photo Map
Click the link below to view our interactive map with photos and information of the break and surrounding area.
(All photos are Located using GPS coordinates for pin point accuracy)
Coming soon!!
General Break Information
Ichinomiya beach is made up of super fine almost talcum powder Black Volcanic sand and be warned if you have a winter suit , take it off in a bucket other wise you will spend days trying to get this sand out.
There are many different peaks within the surfing area each one with its unique way of breaking this will change depending on the size of the swell.
Most of the local really good surfers seem to prefer the south end of the car park on the right hand side of the tetra pods, mainly because when it gets big this seems to hold the size better than anywhere else also because of the tetra pods there is a free escalator style ride out around the tetra pods caused by the massive rip effect. ( We advise only experienced surfers to paddle out here as when it gets big you will be only feet away from the concrete with big sets rolling in waiting to smash you into small fish food size pieces).
The rewards can be great though especially on a slightly northern swell direction , huge long lefts with big walls sometimes more than 100m long, so long sometimes that you will end up almost on the beach and not even bother with the paddle back instead take the walk back round the beach to the paddle out zone.
The right handers can be really steep and fast with almost a barrel take off at times but fating out quickly as it goes in behind the tetra pods
With a big family mart 150m back up onto the main road , getting supplies is pretty easy, especially in the summer when this place can get stinking hot due to the black sand, also good if you have your lady or family in tow as of course they have a clean toilet for use by customers. The convenience store car park is well lit and holds more than 50 cars so it makes it a great place to hold up fro the night if your sleeping in your car.
With a huge car park on the beach as well that holds a few hundred cars this place is always easy to get into bar the summer months, and with a surf area over 3kms long there will always be a wave somewhere , the only problem as im sure you have guessed can be the sheer numbers in the water especially when its small.
Our advise is if your good leave this place to the days when its overhead or when the water is colder in the winter months and the summer surfers are all tucked up in bed.
Access: From Tokyo take the Shuto Exspress way out towards Chiba , then just after Makahari you can take the Chiba Express way , then changing onto the Chiba Togonae road, this will take you directly out to the coast and the express way finishes almost on the beach turn right and head down the coast towards the center of Chiba , about 15 to 20kms later look for the huge family mart with a huge car park on your left right hand side. The road opposite this will take you down to the main beach.
Driving south: Cross the River at the bottom of the toll road and turn left at the ramen shop
Driving north: Head up route 30 from Taito about 10km and turn right at a Family Mart Convenience store. From either direction this road leads you to Ichinomiya (about 4km of beach)
Round trip from Tokyo: with cheap road tolls it can be as cheap as 1,400 yen and about 100kms full fair charge will be around 2,000 yen one way. You do not need to go on the beach side express way as it costs 400 yen and is no faster then the local road really.
Best Tide: Low to Mid spring tides seem to be best
Best Swell Direction: slightly north or direct east
Best Size: Head to Double over head
Best Wind: West but the lighter the better
Perfect-O-Meter: (1= 1 ft wind slop; 10 = G-Land) 6-7 can produce some outstanding beach break style waves
Bottom: Sand
Access: Easy
Crowd Factor: (1 = Pipeline in Summer; 10 = Tokyo ) 7 due to the huge car park and easy to reach location
Local Vibe: lots of locals but all seem to be very understanding
Water Quality: (1=clean; 10=turds in the lineup) 6 black sand and the northern current
Food: Family Mart and the local Ramen shop
Extra Video,maps,links & information see below.
If you know or have any video of this break please pass it on to us we will be happy to show it on www.surfinginjapan.com ,email us direct at admin@surfinginjapan.com
Click on the Videos below to visit our YOU TUBE Channel where we keep all our HD videos.We hope you enjoy them.
The video below was shot by one of our team members on a glassy morning surf session in July 2011 not many people were out due to everyone thinking there would be no swell, but for those who did make the trip , head high waves greeted them.
Its days like this that we love so much in Japan
SIJ surf trip , October 22nd 2011, east swell with light winds but rain storm so big that all the local roads became flooded and it was hard to move anywhere.
Break Map
Just click on the point you are interested in to view that individual breaks in's and out's from a real surfers prospective.
If you have any further information that may make this map better please email www.surfinginjapan.com team at admin@surfinginjapan.com we are always happy to receive new data.
Photos (photos from around this area)
If you have photos that you would like us to show on www.surfinginjapan.com
please email them direct to admin@surfinginjapan.com we are always excited to see other peoples magic days in the lineup
Leave a comment above or email us at admin@surfinginjapan.com, we at www.surfinginjapan.com will be happy to help
If you would like to see us cover a particular break we have not yet covered please let us know.
Interested in advertising on www.surfinginjapan.com or linking our site to yours, please email us at admin@surfinginjapan.com
All text and images within www.surfinginjapan.com are the sole property of Surfinginjapan and all rights are reserved. Unauthorized usage of any of the material is not allowed.
Surfing In Japan was established in 1996 and is based in Tokyo Japan.
You can find us on the internet in local magazines and at the beach, just look for the Surfing in Japan logo and or Totally Stoked Gajin
Thank you for visiting www.surfinginjapan.com
See you inside !