Minato, Japan

No town nearby. No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Amagasaki, is 163 km away. Nearest airport: NGO (NGO), 45 km.

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About Minato

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces SE (155°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (335°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 650 m out (1 in 65). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 15°C in February, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 28°C in August, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually March, April, May and September, with about 1 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Amagasaki, is 163 km away. Nearest airport: NGO (NGO), 45 km. Within 5 km we also list 3 surf spots.

Water about 24°C: no wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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From Chicago: about 25 h 50 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to NGO, changing at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL).
See flights ORD → NGO · Skyscanner from about £595 returnAd
Getting there. 1 h 05 from the airport to Minato.
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Accommodation.
No town nearby
No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Amagasaki, is 163 km away. Nearest airport: NGO (NGO), 45 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in Minato · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in Minato · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Minato on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

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Forecast

Minato does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

The score for intermediates, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Minato, each day
Day	Scorefor Intermediate	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Sun 18Oct	12, too small	3 ft6 smushy	48kJ	wind from the east, 12 knots	23°C
Mon 19Oct	41, fair	4 ft6 smushy	97kJ	wind from the south-east, 7 knots	25°C
Tue 20Oct	60, good	4 ft8 smushy	186kJ	wind from the south-east, 4 knots	22°C
Wed 21Oct	19, poor	5 ft10 smushy	482kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 11 knots	26°C
Thu 22Oct	65, good	4 ft11 ssoft	455kJ	wind from the north-west, 19 knots, offshore	21°C
Fri 23Oct	30, poor	4 ft9 smushy	251kJ	wind from the east-north-east, 8 knots	21°C
Sat 24Oct	16, poor	4 ft9 smushy	271kJ	wind from the east, 15 knots	20°C
Sun 25Oct	63, good	4 ft9 ssoft	250kJ	wind from the north-west, 4 knots, offshore	24°C
Mon 26Oct	50, good	3 ft7 smushy	85kJ	wind from the north-west, 5 knots, offshore	24°C
Tue 27Oct	38, fair	4 ft5 smushy	62kJ	wind from the south-west, 6 knots	25°C
Wed 28Oct	0, poor	–	–	–	–

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for intermediate surfers. Change dates

Mon 19 Oct
Travel out
Fly ORD to NGO, changing at HNL, then 1h 05 by road. About 25h 50 door to door
Tue 20 Oct
Surf Minato
Best 15:00 to 18:00 local time: 4 ft at 8 s, wind 4 kn (7 km/h).
Wed 21 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 27 of 80.
Thu 22 Oct
Surf Minato
Best 15:00 to 18:00 local time: 4 ft at 11 s, offshore wind.
Fri 23 Oct
Surf Minato
Best 09:00 to 12:00 local time: 4 ft at 9 s, wind 8 kn (14 km/h).
Sat 24 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 20 of 80.
Sun 25 Oct
Travel home
Fly ORD to NGO, changing at HNL, then 1h 05 by road. About 25h 50 door to door

Rough cost

About £920–£1,810 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book. No town nearby, so no stay is in it.

Rough cost per person for this trip
What	How we worked it out	Each
Flights	return ORD to NGO, estimated from distance and season, changing at HNL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag	£595–£1,235
To the UK airport	parking or the train, there and back	£35–£65
Hire car	6 days, shared	£70–£115
Food	7 days eating out	£155–£290
Board and wetsuit	5 days, or about £85 to fly your own	£65–£105
Total		£920–£1,810

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

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Surf lessons · GetYourGuide Board and wetsuit hire · GetYourGuide

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