WorldJapan › Miyazaki › Aoshima Reef

Aoshima Reef 47.5

#4214 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇯🇵 Japan · Miyazaki · near Miyazaki

Very consistent, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearBeginner friendlyRemoteBeginner
Aoshima Reef, Japan
Photo: そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Surf score47.5 /100
Surfable days87% of the year
Clean days5% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell9% period 11 s+
Typical size1.0 m 3.2 ft median
Water23°C a rash vest or 2 mm

Best time to surf Aoshima Reef

The best time to surf Aoshima Reef is August, November, December. It rarely works. In November the water sits around 24°C, so pack a rash vest or 2 mm, and the typical wave is 1.0 m. The nearest airport is FUK (220 km) and the nearest town is Miyazaki (14 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan66%3%0.7 m20°C2mm
Feb77%4%0.8 m18°C3/2
Mar93%4%1.0 m19°C2mm
Apr91%4%1.1 m20°C2mm
May94%3%1.0 m22°C2mm
Jun93%1%0.9 m24°Cvest
Jul95%2%0.9 m28°Cboardies
Aug81%8%0.9 m28°Cboardies
Sep92%7%1.2 m28°Cboardies
Oct96%4%1.3 m27°Cboardies
Nov94%9%1.0 m24°Cvest
Dec78%9%0.9 m21°C2mm

What is under Aoshima Reef

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 14 m.

Depth 8 km out14 m
Depth 4 km out10 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 47.5

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
9.1
Best days 22.4%
9.1
Clean days 18.4%
1.9
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
4.4
Access 4.1%
2.3

The detail

Faces 55° with 44% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 55% of days. Mean peak period 9.1 s. Days over 3 m: 2%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.8 m, with a peak period of 11 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 64%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 31.803, 131.478 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,330/ month
typically €1,170 – €1,490
Rent, one bedroom€698
Groceries€279
Eating out€158
Getting around€93
Phone + internet€98
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,580/ month
typically €2,280 – €2,900
Somewhere to stay€1,520
Eating out€544
Car, transfers, fuel€353
Data + extras€167
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 7% below the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Japan (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

Our own project · Sumba, Indonesia
Own a cabin on a surf coast in Sumba

Sumba has eight spots in this ranking, the best of them inside the world top 50. A cabin is €11,500. The land it sits on is separate, from €6,500 (€9,950 oceanfront), on an 80-year lease that extends at the end. Water, septic and electricity are another €6,500, and furniture is on top, so a finished cabin lands around €28,000 plus the land, payable in instalments.

Eco Beach City is run by the same people as SurfRanking, so treat this as our own advert, not a recommendation. It is an off-plan property in Indonesia: take your own legal and financial advice before paying anything.

Spots nearby

Fiji🇵🇷 Puerto Rico · score 51.3Guarda do embau🇧🇷 Brazil · score 49.7Garopaba Centro🇧🇷 Brazil · score 51.3Narrawallee reef bar🇦🇺 Australia · score 51.4
Compare Aoshima Reef with 5,700 other spots
Filters by month, level and water, map, side by side comparison and a trip planner.
Open the interactive profileMore spots good in November