Tatado beach in Shimoda on the Izu-peninsula is a good place to practice surfing. The waves are short and not very big. “Beach break” in surfese. This way you get to catch many small waves, a good thing when you are learning “the pop”. That is, to stand up on the board.

I had brought my body-board, but soon found out that short waves are not so fun with a BB. The wave ends as soon as you get on it, so the sideway ride gets very short. Instead I rented a long board and had more fun working on the pop. First I made a few nose dives, that’s when the board is to to heavy in the front and digs right into the sand. The whole thing flips over and you’ll be lucky to not get it in the head.

Learning to surf is really a “no pain, no game” thing. Rash, bruises and sunburn is what you get for spending hours in the water. Only to be rewarded by those few seconds of bliss when actually surfing the board. If you like it you know what I mean. “Just one more wave” and that. A good thing is that summer is officially over in Japan. In september this means fewer people in the water and temperatures still around 30 degrees C. Soon the jelly fish will come, maybe there will be time for some more before that. The real surfers do it the whole year here. Need a wet-suit for that.

Shirahama is the main beach for surfing here, next to Tatado. Will go there next time. Or maybe I need some more work on the pop. Though, Tatado is a soft place with a sleepy feel to it. Parking right on the beach where surfers place their cars rear to the sea and flash all their gear. A couple of third world style restaurants run by old couples. A big resort that have seen better days. You really can’t tell it’s only two hours by train from Tokyo.

Technorati Tags: Surfing, Tatado, Shirahama, Shimoda

Related articles:

Summer special: Surfing in Japan!

Articles

Going to the beach

Trip to the island of Hachijojima

Photo of the week: Lifesaver