MapJapanShonan CoastChigasakiShonan Coast

Chigasaki

Kanagawa Prefecture · Shonan Coast

also known as Nishihama Chigasaki, Shonan Chigasaki, Chigasaki Nishihama, 茅ヶ崎西浜, 西浜

Part of Shonan Coast →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

not for beginnershigh crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Aug–May

Months riders and schools name

How windy

12-20

Character: mixed

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

27 °C in summer

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

high crowds · busy Jul Aug

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

70 min

Tokyo Haneda (HND)

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Hiratsukano page yet
Zushino page yet
Banyugawa / Sagami River mouthno page yet
Enoshima Nishihamano page yet
Enoshima Higashihamano page yet
Hiratsuka Beach Parkno page yet

The spot

Wind and water

Chigasaki's Nishihama is a Shonan surf beach that gets kited, not a kite beach that gets surf. The water is open Sagami Bay: sand bottom, moderate chop, sandbar waves that turn serious on typhoon swell, with flatter water a few hundred metres west at the Sagami River/Banyugawa mouth. South to southwest wind is the useful one on a beach facing roughly SSW; the northeast winter wind quoted for Chigasaki is offshore to cross-off on this coast.

Crowds and access

Crowds are the real constraint. Shonan fills with surfers the moment waves show, the official beach at Southern Beach has swimming zones and lifeguard hours through the summer season, and the city maps shared fishery grounds roughly 2 km offshore. Nobody has published a wind average or a launch consensus for Nishihama, so confirm the day's launch with local riders or the lifeguards before you rig. The reason to bother is access: about an hour by train from central Tokyo, then a 20-minute walk or a short bus from Chigasaki station.

The wind

locals call it Southwest summer sea breeze and frontal/synoptic winds; northeast winter winds are also reported for Chigasaki.

Direction

cross-on

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

SW in summer sea-breeze setups; NE in winter; separately, N and S are also listed as usual directions for Honshu/Nishihama.

Kite sizes

789101112131415

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

9-13m

Character

mixed

Typical strength

12-20

Open-coast wind, variable. Forecasts cover the spot, but no wind statistics have been published for Chigasaki, so the average strength and the day-to-day reliability are unconfirmed.

The best months quoted for Honshu/Nishihama are January, February, March, April, November, December, with the wind called frontal. Southwest thermal breezes fill in through summer; northeast wind is the winter pattern. South wind is the teaching setup at Hiratsuka further along the Shonan coast, which is a different beach.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan, riders' month39
Feb, riders' month49
Mar, riders' month35
Apr, riders' month37
May, riders' month31
Jun12
Jul26
Aug, riders' month24
Sep, riders' month32
Oct, riders' month31
Nov, riders' month47
Dec, riders' month35

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

39%Jan16°
49%Feb14°
35%Mar14°
37%Apr16°
31%May18°
12%Jun19°
26%Jul24°
24%Aug26°
32%Sep25°
31%Oct22°
47%Nov20°
35%Dec17°

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal.

Every figure, month by monthWindy days · Force 4+ · 12 kn or more · Knots · Wind from · Peaks at · Air · Water · Readings

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	Wind from	Peaks at	Air	Water	Readings
Jan	39%	60%	52%	12.6 kt	NNE	14:00	10 °C	15.6 °C	62
Feb	49%	77%	67%	13.8 kt	NNE	11:00	10.6 °C	14.4 °C	57
Mar	35%	66%	56%	13.3 kt	NNE	12:00	13.3 °C	14.4 °C	62
Apr	37%	53%	47%	12.2 kt	NNE	13:00	18.3 °C	16.1 °C	60
May	31%	63%	50%	12.4 kt	S	14:00	22.2 °C	18.3 °C	62
Jun	12%	38%	25%	10.5 kt	S	15:00	25 °C	19.4 °C	60
Jul	26%	44%	35%	10.5 kt	S	13:00	28.3 °C	23.9 °C	62
Aug	24%	39%	34%	10.4 kt	S	15:00	30 °C	25.6 °C	62
Sep	32%	58%	48%	11.9 kt	S	14:00	26.7 °C	25 °C	60
Oct	31%	50%	42%	11.6 kt	NNE	10:00	21.7 °C	22.2 °C	62
Nov	47%	73%	60%	13.6 kt	NNE	10:00	16.7 °C	20 °C	60
Dec	35%	58%	53%	12.4 kt	NNE	14:00	12.8 °C	17.2 °C	62

How this is modelledmodelled · 2023-2024

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Only at the beach margin. Nishihama is an exposed sand-bottom beach break; the flat learner water is the Banyugawa/Sagami River mouth west of Chigasaki, which is a separate spot.

Tides

Pacific tides here are significant and they are forecast for the spot, but no tide window for kiting at Nishihama has been published. Unconfirmed.

Temperature

27 °C summer · 16 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 14–26 °C

Wetsuit

Boardshorts/rash vest in peak summer; 4/3 mm or 3/2 mm plus 3 mm boots around the coldest late-winter water.

Currents

Rip/current risk increases around the breakwater when surf is head-high or bigger; the city rulebook also warns that the Sagami River mouth and Eboshi Rock area have complex currents and accident history.

Conditions

Nishihama is sand bottom, faces roughly SSW, and is a mellow but often rideable beach break that can close out or get stronger when size increases. Small sandbar waves are reported at Nishihama, with flat water a few hundred metres west at the Sagami River/Banyugawa mouth.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Kite listings put Chigasaki at intermediate; the surf world calls the same sand bottom a beginner beach, which is not the same claim. Do not treat Nishihama as proven beginner kite water without a local school saying so.

The only nearby flat learner area described anywhere is the Banyugawa/Sagami River mouth. Advanced riders come for the typhoon-swell wave days, which also bring rips, crowds, heavy surf.

The scene

What riders come here for

intermediatewavesfreeridesurf-style

Who it suitsbeginner

Classic Shonan surf-beach culture: convenient from Tokyo, mellow on ordinary weekdays, but crowded with surfers and beachgoers on summer days, weekends and any day with waves.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

1 school names this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

2 spots nearby

All 2 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

There is a staffed rescue and first-aid point at Southern Beach during the official sea-bathing season, and nothing outside it. No kite-specific rescue cover is confirmed.

Launch

Use the sandy beach around Nishihama/Southern Beach only where local zoning, swimmers, surfers and lifeguards allow. The city rulebook maps multiple activity zones around the Chigasaki fishing port, swimming beach, open beach and shared fishery grounds, so launching should be checked on site with local riders or lifeguards before rigging.

Hazards riders report 10 reported

Wind

Shared fishery grounds extend roughly 2 km offshore from Chigasaki; the city rulebook warns not to interfere with fishing rights, gear, set nets or operating fishing boats.

Crowds and zones

crowded lineup shared with surfers and SUPs, especially weekends and summer
designated swim-only zones in high summer restrict kiting
Swimming beach zoning and lifeguard instructions in summer can make the central beach unusable for board sports during opening hours.
Beach and water traffic include surfers, swimmers, SUP/paddle craft, fishing boats and summer visitors.

Waves and currents

Heavy surfer crowding in Shonan and at Chigasaki when waves appear, especially on good surf days.
Typhoon swell can make the sandbar wave big, hollow or closing out.
Rip/current risk around the breakwater when surf is head-high or larger.
Complex currents and accident risk around the Sagami River mouth and Eboshi Rock area per the city rulebook.

Other

typhoon swells can get big and hollow

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: the city asks you not to enter the official swimming beach with a surfboard, SUP or similar during beach-opening hours, and surfing is prohibited inside the bathing area; the official beach season is the first Saturday of July through August 31.

Bathing season rules

2023 rulebook update: respect the mapped no-running, caution, slow-speed, port entry/exit and shared-fishery zones, keep to 5 knots or less in the marked slow area off the sandy beach, do not approach working fishing boats or come within about 150 m of their nets, and discuss any event on the beach or the water in advance with the listed authorities.

Permit status

Whether kitesurfing itself needs a permit at Nishihama is unconfirmed for 2026.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Ride weekdays; the lineup fills with surfers on weekends and on any day with waves, and on a clear one you get Mt Fuji down the coast.
Check the beach season and the lifeguard flags before rigging in July and August: the bathing area belongs to the swimmers, and the official season runs from the first Saturday of July to August 31.
Stay away from the fishing port, the set nets and any working fishing boat; shared fishery grounds run roughly 2 km offshore and the rulebook asks for about 150 m clearance from nets.
Ask a local rider or a school before treating Nishihama as beginner water; the flat learner option is the Banyugawa/Sagami River mouth west of town, and it has its own current.
Take the JR Tokaido Line from Tokyo Station, about 45-60 min, then walk 20 minutes or catch the bus to the beach.
Leave the big typhoon-swell days to the surfers unless you ride waves well: rips build around the breakwater once the surf is head-high.

Getting there

Airport

Tokyo Haneda (HND)

Route

By rail, the JR Tokaido Line to Chigasaki Station, then about 20 minutes on foot to Southern Beach/Nishihama or a local bus toward the beach. Haneda to Chigasaki runs about 1 hour 1 minute to 1 hour 17 minutes depending on the route and the timing, and Tokyo Station to Chigasaki is about 51-55 minutes on the Tokaido Line.

Transfer

70 min

Cost level

high

Staying

Stay in Chigasaki for the shortest walk to the sand, or Fujisawa/Enoshima for more visitor infrastructure. Southern Beach has summer beach houses with food, rest areas, paid showers, lockers, plus rentals and sales, but those are day facilities, not places to sleep.

No-wind days

Surf or SUP when permitted and conditions suit, visit Southern Beach's Chigasaki Southern C photo spot, walk the Shonan coast, view Eboshi Rock, Enoshima and Mount Fuji, or use Chigasaki/Fujisawa cafes and surf shops.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Chigasaki?

Listed best months include January-April and November-December, with southwest sea-breeze wind in summer and northeast wind in winter.

Is Chigasaki suitable for beginners?

Verified kite listings mark it intermediate; only the separate Sagami River mouth area west of the beach is described as flat, beginner-friendly water.

What is the wind like?

Average wind runs about 12-20 knots and is cross-on, with a variable open-coast character and no verified daily onset time.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

The official swimming beach runs from the first Saturday of July through August 31, when surfing-type sports are barred inside the flagged bathing zone.

What hazards should riders know about?

Rip current risk increases around the breakwater when surf is head-high or bigger, and the lineup gets crowded with surfers on good wave days.

The bigger pictureEverything about Shonan Coast

Last updated: August 2026