Hokkaido

Best Surf Season (September - November)

If you time it right, autumn is the crown jewel of the Hokkaido surf calendar. The summer monsoon is retreating, the first Northern Hemisphere frontal systems are organising, and typhoon remnants still drift out of the western Pacific. This is the window where the SSW-facing beach sees its best ratio of S/SSW/SW swell to N/NNW offshore wind. September leads the way with 19% ideal wind and an average wave period near 8.6s; October and November keep that momentum as lows deepen over the Sea of Japan and the North Pacific. Waves are rarely huge, generally 2-4ft (0.6-1.2m), but they are more organised and much cleaner than anything summer has to offer.