MapJapanShonan CoastEnoshima / KamakuraShonan Coast

Enoshima / Kamakura

Kanagawa Prefecture · Shonan Coast · Fujisawa / Katase-Enoshima

also known as Enoshima Higashihama, Enoshima Nishihama, Katase Higashihama, Katase Nishihama, Katase Nishihama / Kugenuma

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

Sep–May

Months riders and schools name

How windy

5-7 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

tight

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

27 °C in summerKatase Higashihama has a sandy bottom, faces southeast, and is usually flat or barely rippled

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

high crowds · busy Jul Aug Sep

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

75 min

Tokyo Haneda (HND)

When it fills in

Afternoon strengthening reportedly happens on southerly and southwesterly days, but a reliable seasonal onset time is unconfirmed.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Miura Kaigan
Tsukuihamano page yet
Zushino page yet
Yuigahamano page yet
Banyugawa / Sagami River mouthno page yet
Motosuka, Chibano page yet

The spot

Two beaches and access

Enoshima / Kamakura means two beaches either side of the island, at the mouth of the Katase River on the Shonan coast. Katase Higashihama, east of the causeway, is sand, small waves and mostly windsurfers; Katase Nishihama/Kugenuma, west of it, is the shallow surf-and-swim side by the aquarium. Kiting happens, but no current kite school and no kite-specific zoning could be confirmed, so treat it as a place to ride if you already ride, not a place to learn.

What you get is convenience: Katase-Enoshima station is minutes from the sand and the trains from Tokyo and Yokohama are simple.

The catch

What you give up is space. The beach is narrow and every user group wants it, above all in the official 2026 swimming seasons when the Fujisawa beach rules and the lifeguards decide who goes where.

Water and wind

Sandy beachbreak and small chop most days; southwesterlies or typhoon swell turn it into something rougher. Look at the tide tables, the Enoshima Sailing Center harbour weather and a live camera before you commit, because the model wind and the beach wind here are often two different things.

The wind

locals call it SW summer thermal / NE winter wind

Direction

cross-on

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

Southerly to southwesterly sea-breeze and frontal winds in the warm season, northerly to northeasterly synoptic winds in the cool season, reportedly. No monthly kite-wind rose for Enoshima was found.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Typical strength

Monthly average wind speeds of about 5-7 kt are listed, with windy days based on minimum 4 Bft/12 kt; this does not include thermal wind stats

Variable urban-coast wind. No statistical weather record exists for the Enoshima Island station, so month-by-month figures for the spot itself are unavailable and local wind and sailing forecast pages are what riders go on.

Higashihama is mainly a windsurfing venue, especially when the south to southwest wind is up. A northeasterly Enoshima wind can lay the water very flat for windfoil and planing practice. February-May and September-October are the better months; June-August and November-January have fewer days over the 12 kt threshold.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan, riders' month29
Feb, riders' month40
Mar, riders' month26
Apr, riders' month23
May, riders' month21
Jun13
Jul10
Aug13
Sep, riders' month22
Oct, riders' month13
Nov, riders' month28
Dec, riders' month24

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

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

29%Jan17°
40%Feb16°
26%Mar16°
23%Apr18°
21%May19°
13%Jun22°
10%Jul25°
13%Aug28°
22%Sep27°
13%Oct24°
28%Nov22°
24%Dec19°

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	29%	53%	44%	11.5 kt	NNE	10:00	5.2 °C	16.5 °C	62
Feb	40%	65%	54%	12.6 kt	NNE	09:00	6.2 °C	15.9 °C	57
Mar	26%	55%	39%	11.8 kt	NNE	11:00	10.5 °C	16.1 °C	62
Apr	23%	42%	35%	10.9 kt	S	14:00	15.3 °C	17.6 °C	60
May	21%	50%	35%	11.2 kt	SSW	15:00	18.3 °C	19.3 °C	62
Jun	13%	25%	20%	9.4 kt	SSW	15:00	22.1 °C	22.2 °C	60
Jul	10%	27%	21%	9.1 kt	SSW	14:00	26.8 °C	25.4 °C	62
Aug	13%	29%	21%	9.2 kt	S	15:00	27.7 °C	28.2 °C	62
Sep	22%	47%	35%	10.8 kt	SSW	14:00	25.5 °C	26.8 °C	60
Oct	13%	37%	31%	10.3 kt	N	09:00	18.7 °C	23.8 °C	62
Nov	28%	55%	45%	12.3 kt	NNE	08:00	13.9 °C	21.5 °C	60
Dec	24%	47%	44%	11.6 kt	NNE	13:00	8 °C	18.6 °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

Partly: Nishihama/Kugenuma is shallow, and Higashihama has gentle water with small waves, but the standing-depth limits that matter for kiting are unconfirmed.

Tides

semi-diurnal tide; nearby Enoshima/Shonan-ko predictions commonly show roughly 0.3-1.5 m ranges on spring-tide days, but the tide's effect on launch quality is unconfirmed

Temperature

27 °C summer · 15 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 16–28 °C

Wetsuit

summer often boardshorts or shorty/rash vest; winter water around 15 °C needs a full winter wetsuit, commonly 4/3 to 5/4 depending on wind chill

Conditions

Katase Higashihama has a sandy bottom, faces southeast, and is usually flat or barely rippled. Nishihama/Kugenuma faces southwest, shallow and sandy, small most days, and it sizes up on stronger swell or typhoon swell. Higashihama sits between the Enoshima bridge and causeway, the Enoshima marina and Koshigoe fishing port.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

The beaches are gentle enough for surfing, SUP and windsurfing lessons.

Kitesurfing is a different question here: launch space is tight, the water is heavily shared, summer swim zones take the best of it, surfers and windsurfers are in the way, mooring and harbour features sit close, and no kite school or kite rescue program at the spot could be confirmed.

Ride independently only if you are past intermediate, unless a local club confirms a current safe beginner setup.

The scene

What riders come here for

intermediatewavesadvancedsmall wavesurban day tripwindsurf crossover

Who it suitsbeginner

Dense Shonan resort beach with Tokyo day-trippers, surf schools, windsurfers, beach houses, lifeguards in season, and Enoshima/Mount Fuji scenery on clear days; much quieter and more rider-oriented outside peak summer but still shared-use.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: tight

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

2 spots nearby

All 2 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No kite rescue service is confirmed. Higashihama has lifeguards and managed beach coverage during the official summer swimming season. Koshigoe fishing port and Enoshima marina are close by, but neither is a confirmed rescue option for kiters.

Launch

There are two Enoshima spots on either side of the island/causeway: Higashihama east of Enoshima and Nishihama west of it; kiters at Higashihama launch mid-beach in front of the pyramid-shaped toilet block. Use the beach side that gives a side-on or cross-on angle for the day and avoid the summer bathing zone when in force.

Hazards riders report 13 reported

Crowds and zones

crowds around the causeway
boat traffic near the harbor
very crowded Tokyo/Shonan beach environment, especially weekends and official bathing season
2026 swimming zones and lifeguard instructions during official bathing hours
rocks beside the Katase fishing-port promenade on the Nishihama/aquarium side
Enoshima marina, Katase/Koshigoe fishing-port traffic, and causeway/bridge structures

Bottom

rocks near the island

Waves and currents

surfers and surf schools sharing the water
typhoon swell and strong southwesterly wind can change the spot from small-wave to rougher conditions

Other

narrow/tight beach space at Higashihama
windsurfers at Higashihama
mooring ropes in the water
possible nails and sharp debris after the beach houses are built and removed

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: Fujisawa City official beach rules set Katase Higashihama bathing season as 2026-07-01 to 2026-09-06 and Katase Nishihama/Kugenuma as 2026-07-01 to 2026-09-13; official bathing hours are 09:00-17:00 weekdays and 08:00-17:00 on holidays/Obon.

Conduct rules

Users must follow lifeguard/manager instructions and swim only inside flagged areas; no alcohol outside beach houses, no fires/BBQ cooking equipment in the bathing-area period, no drones without beach manager permission, no large tents without permission, no tents in emergency access/no-set zones, take trash home, and no pets in the beach/water during official opening hours except approved assistance dogs.

Kiting window

The 2026 rulebook (effective 2026-05-26) regulates conduct only within that season and those hours and carries no kite-specific provision, so kiting outside the official bathing season/hours is not addressed by this ordinance. No kite-specific permit or zoning is published.

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

Pick your side by the direction of the day: Higashihama east of the causeway, Nishihama/Kugenuma west of it.
Come on a clear winter morning if you want Mt Fuji behind the island.
Walk the causeway to Enoshima itself on the no-wind days; the island is right there.
Ask a windsurf or kite shop on the beach before you rig; kite-specific rules were not found and local practice may be stricter than the general beach rules.
Stay off the water during official bathing hours and on July-August weekends unless a local confirms a permitted kite window or zone.
At Higashihama keep your lines short and under control: the beach is narrow and shared with windsurfers and surf/SUP schools.
At Nishihama/Kugenuma watch the surf crowd, the shallow sandbars and the rocks by the Katase fishing-port promenade.
Watch a live camera as well as the forecast; the sea breeze here fills in on its own schedule.
Ride with a buddy and keep a downwind exit clear; no lifeguard or harbour user is going to pick up a kiter.

Getting there

Airport

Tokyo Haneda (HND) is the closest major international airport; Narita is farther

Route

By rail, Shinjuku to Katase-Enoshima via Odakyu is about 65-75 minutes on regular trains or about 60 minutes on weekend/holiday Romancecar services; Katase-Enoshima station is about a 5-minute walk from the beaches. From Haneda, public-transport routes via Yokohama/Fujisawa to Katase-Enoshima are commonly around 65-80 minutes.

Transfer

75 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Stay in Katase/Enoshima for walking access, Fujisawa for better rail/hotel value, or Kamakura for a broader visitor base; official beach-house services operate only in the summer bathing season.

No-wind days

Enoshima island, Enoshima Sea Candle/Samuel Cocking Garden, Enoshima Aquarium, Kamakura temples, Enoden railway trips, SUP/surf lessons, beach cafes, and Mount Fuji views on clear days.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite here?

November to May plus September-October are listed as the better months, since fewer windy days occur in June-August by a 12 knot threshold.

Is it suitable for beginners?

Kite-specific local infrastructure is unverified, so independent kiting should be treated as intermediate or above despite the beaches being called beginner-friendly for surfing.

What is the wind like?

South to southwest sea-breeze or frontal wind is common in the warm season and north to northeast synoptic wind dominates the cool season.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

2026 official bathing seasons run July 1-September 6 at Higashihama and July 1-September 13 at Nishihama, with lifeguard rules and no-drone/no-fire restrictions in force.

What hazards should riders know about?

Higashihama's launch is narrow and shared with windsurfers and surf schools, and mooring ropes are reported near the beach.

The bigger pictureEverything about Shonan Coast

Last updated: August 2026