WorldJapan › Kōchi › Ozaki

Ozaki 55.2

#3622 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇯🇵 Japan · Kōchi · near Kōchi

Wind is the enemy here, peaks in August, gentle enough to learn.

Beginner friendlyBeginner
Ozaki, Japan
Photo: Nagono · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Surf score55.2 /100
Surfable days63% of the year
Clean days3% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell6% period 11 s+
Typical size0.7 m 2.4 ft median
Water23°C a rash vest or 2 mm

Best time to surf Ozaki

The best time to surf Ozaki is August, September, October. It rarely works. In August the water sits around 29°C, so pack boardshorts, and the typical wave is 0.8 m. The nearest airport is KIX (152 km) and the nearest town is Kōchi (66 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan25%1%0.4 m19°C2mm
Feb43%1%0.6 m18°C3/2
Mar71%0%0.8 m19°C3/2
Apr70%3%0.8 m20°C2mm
May75%1%0.8 m22°C2mm
Jun82%1%0.8 m24°Cvest
Jul83%3%0.9 m28°Cboardies
Aug74%6%0.8 m29°Cboardies
Sep77%6%1.0 m28°Cboardies
Oct75%4%0.7 m27°Cboardies
Nov49%2%0.6 m24°Cvest
Dec35%3%0.5 m21°C2mm

What is under Ozaki

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 14 m. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 22 m against 14 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out14 m
Depth 4 km out12 m
Channel beside it22 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 55.2

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%
22.8
Best days 22.4%
7.3
Clean days 18.4%
1.0
Consistency 10.2%
7.3
Season spread 4.1%
2.6
Water comfort 6.1%
4.5
Access 4.1%
2.2

The detail

Faces 100° with 47% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 52% of days. Mean peak period 8.7 s. Days over 3 m: 1%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.5 m, with a peak period of 11 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 70%. Months that work: 8 of 12. Coordinates 33.370, 134.207 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,220/ month
typically €1,070 – €1,360
Rent, one bedroom€638
Groceries€255
Eating out€144
Getting around€85
Phone + internet€89
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,360/ month
typically €2,080 – €2,650
Somewhere to stay€1,390
Eating out€497
Car, transfers, fuel€323
Data + extras€153
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% 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.

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