Kamakura Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the menu for the Kamakura region over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you – it’s a bit of a slow burn.

We’re looking at a long, flat stretch to start. The first couple of days are pretty much a write-off. The water temp is sitting around 81°, which is about average for this time of year, nothing crazy. The real action, what little there is, doesn’t kick in until the end of the first week, and even then it’s more about quality windows than raw power.

For the first week, from Thursday the 3rd of September through to about Wednesday the 9th, you’re mostly looking at small, weak swell with poor wind. The energy is low, barely getting into double digits (45 to 85). The wind is often onshore or cross-onshore, making things choppy. There’s a tiny window on Friday the 4th morning with a light cross-offshore breeze and a small S swell around 2 ft, but it’s not going to get the heart pumping. Then from Sunday the 6th through Monday the 7th, we get strong offshore winds, but with next to no swell (0.7 ft to 2 ft), you’ll be paddling your guts out for nothing. It’s frustrating.

Things get a bit more interesting early in the second week. We see a big jump in energy around Tuesday the 8th of September (1145), with a solid 8 ft S swell hitting the beach, but the wind is howling cross-onshore. That’s a choppy mess, likely better for the kite crew than for a man on a surfboard. The energy stays high through Wednesday the 9th (1428) and swell stays around 8 ft, but again, the wind is just too strong and onshore to make it any good.

Now, the true standouts are a bit further out. The real window to circle on your calendar is Thursday the 17th of September morning. We’ve got a glassy, clean start with a NNE wind at just 3 mph. The swell is a clean 4 ft from the SSW on the longer side at 10 seconds, pushing some decent energy (334). This is the best chance for a proper surf, with clean conditions and a south swell that matches Kamakura’s optimum. The only other shout is Wednesday the 16th of September morning, which looks promising too with a 3 ft S swell and light offshore winds. It’s a bit smaller but still looks clean, though the Thursday morning is the one I’d be risking a late start for.

Overall, it’s a waiting game. The first week is flat and windy, then it gets big and windy, but there’s a narrow, clean window in the second week for a few good ones. Stay patient.

Rusty.

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