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Kitesurfing in the south of Japan, Okinawa, Ishigaki, Kohama

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ripper tom
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Kitesurfing in the south of Japan, Okinawa, Ishigaki, Kohama

Postby ripper tom » Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:57 am

Hey,

We would like to travel from Austria (Europe) to Okinawa in december or january for kitesurfing (preferable flat and warm water).

# Any ideas what is the best way to get there (Airline; easier via Tokyo>Okinawa, Taiwan/Taipeh>Okinawa or Tokyo>Ishigaki)?

# Is it possible to get from Taipeh directly to Ishigaki via ferry or airplane?
# What are the "top-spots" or best islands for kitesurfing in Okinawa (warm and flat water)?

# Any idea if it is possible to go kitesurfing on one of the small islands in front of Okinawa?
# What about known radiation in the water or the air in the south of Japan?

Thank you very much for your help.

Tom

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Re: Kitesurfing in the south of Japan, Okinawa, Ishigaki, Ko

Postby Kamikuza » Wed Apr 17, 2013 11:24 am

ripper tom wrote:# What about known radiation in the water or the air in the south of Japan?
You'll get a higher dose of radiation on the flight over, probably...

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Re: Kitesurfing in the south of Japan, Okinawa, Ishigaki, Ko

Postby SSK » Wed Apr 17, 2013 4:17 pm

Make sure you check out this thread there is a lot of information
viewtopic.php?f=161&t=2366179&p=763735&hilit=okinawa#p763735
This has a lot of information on links, locations, conditions.

January and February is a good time. The windy season is from October - early March when the winds blow from the North. Then the rest of the year the winds swing South and become much lighter.

I have not lived there for a few years, but when I lived there I flew back and forth a lot between the US. About 80% of my flights were through Osaka to Okinawa. The rest were Tokyo (Narita) to Okinawa. One thing to watch out for is that Tokyo has 2 airports Haneda, and Narita. A couple of times leaving Okinawa I landed in Haneda and had to take the hour shuttle to Narita for the next flight. So you may want to check for that when booking a flight. I know that there was also flights through Taipei, but could never get the cheap fair on those. I flew United and American, no idea of going from Austria. Everything into Okinawa is pretty much on Nippon Airlines which partners with most of the big airlines.

I have never been to Ishigaki, but appears to be another good destination and a beautiful island. Although it is closer to Taiwan I thinks the winds are similar to Okinawa and not the nuclear winds they get in Taiwan. I am pretty sure flying is the only option.

Okinawa and Ishigaki are the two biggest islands in the Ryukus. They both have warm flat water. On Okinawa you will need a 3/2 full suit in January. Although the water will be warm the air will be in the 60s F and could even be in the 50s. Getting to some of the other islands is not as easy and not that cheap, and I have not heard of any specifically better locations on these more remote islands.

If by those small island in front you are referring to the Keramas, yes you can kite them. Most people I know who have, have done it in the summer season and not the windy season. Mainly because they were also diving and doing other touristy things. You take the ferry/speed boat over there from Naha
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7117.html

There are some Okinawan and Taiwanese kiters on this forum who hopefully can give you better info.

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Re: Kitesurfing in the south of Japan, Okinawa, Ishigaki, Ko

Postby SSK » Wed Apr 17, 2013 4:19 pm


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Re: Kitesurfing in the south of Japan, Okinawa, Ishigaki, Ko

Postby F27Corsair » Wed Apr 17, 2013 4:33 pm

Winds are generally out of the NNE during the winter time, making Kaichu Doro generally the best spot on Okinawa. It has a sandy bottom around most of the kiting area with flat water. Its hard to find a lot of nice sandy bottoms around the islands- its mostly coral around here.
http://kitesurfing.kujira99.com/kaichu.html

Many people do kiteboard on the other smaller islands but I dont have a lot of info for you on that. Typically to get to those islands you need to fly into Naha on Okinawa and take a small flight or ferry to the outer islands.

No worry whatsoever on radiation. I wear a 5mm long wetsuit during the wintertime out here in Oki. The water is much warmer in the summer time (just boardshorts) but the wind sucks.

Travis

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Re: Kitesurfing in the south of Japan, Okinawa, Ishigaki, Ko

Postby ripper tom » Thu Apr 18, 2013 8:16 pm

cool!
thanks for the quick response ...

another postings in a german forum:
http://surfforum.oase.com/showthread.ph ... ost1065169

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Re: Kitesurfing in the south of Japan, Okinawa, Ishigaki, Ko

Postby yaimatako » Fri Jul 12, 2013 1:41 am

Hi, let me add a few details for the OP and others who might be reading this:
# Any ideas what is the best way to get there (Airline; easier via Tokyo>Okinawa, Taiwan/Taipeh>Okinawa or Tokyo>Ishigaki)?
[...]
# Is it possible to get from Taipeh directly to Ishigaki via ferry or airplane?
"Yes" to the second question. You have the following flight options:

To Ishigaki Island:
- via various airports in Japan
... Tokio Narita / Haneda (transfer by train or bus required)
... Kansai airpoirt (near Osaka)
... Chubu airport (near Nagoya)
... Naha (Okinawa)
- via Taipei Taoyuan (Taiwan) (on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays)

To Naha (Okinawa Island):
- via various airports in Japan
... Tokio Narita / Haneda (transfer by train or bus required)
... Kansai airpoirt (near Osaka)
... Chubu airport (near Nagoya)
- via Taipei Taoyuan (Taiwan)
- via Shanghai Pudong (China)
- via Hongkong
- via Seoul (Korea)
- via Manila (Philippines)

Tickets for the flight portion between Taipei and Ishigaki may not be available for sale in Europe - in that case i would recommend any of the routes that go through Naha (in my experience going via Taipei is the best in terms of time, on occasion also the cheapest. Going via Shanghai is quite often the cheapest.) Going via Tokio requires a change of airport, which adds cost and time. (We used to have passenger ferries between Okinawa Island and Ishigaki Island as well as Taiwan and Ishigaki Island, but unfortunately they have gone out of business.)
# What about known radiation in the water or the air in the south of Japan?
Probably like that you'd find in the waters off California or Hawai'i...
Many people think "Japan = radiation", but Fukushima is 2000km to the northeast of Ishigaki and water currents run from the south up along the Japanese coast to ultimately carry the radioactive pollution from Fukushima across the North Pacific in the directon of North America (of course, from there it eventually comes - or has come - around to Hawai'i, the Philippines, and Okinawa). Radiactive airborne pollution related to Fukushima is probably still an issue in certain areas in Fukushima and Tsukuba, but not in Okinawa.


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Re: Kitesurfing in the south of Japan, Okinawa, Ishigaki, Ko

Postby jan_hou » Sun Aug 18, 2013 1:42 pm

Is it possible to kite from Taiwan to Ishigaki?

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Re: Kitesurfing in the south of Japan, Okinawa, Ishigaki, Ko

Postby Hawaiis » Sun Aug 18, 2013 2:22 pm

jan_hou wrote:Is it possible to kite from Taiwan to Ishigaki?
You will probably need a passport and a visa.


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