Beginner in Sendai, Japan

Apart from summer mornings, it`s usually blowy enough to give us some bumps, plus it`s a small island with a few bends, so we can usual pick a safe down-wind course when we get the chance - just got to watch out for the coral reefs at low tide!

owenfromwales wrote: Apart from summer mornings, it`s usually blowy enough to give us some bumps, plus it`s a small island with a few bends, so we can usual pick a safe down-wind course when we get the chance - just got to watch out for the coral reefs at low tide!

How did you get your surfski in Japan? I know Okinawa and Honshu are like 2 different countries from importer's perspective. The surfski scene here seems completely dead. All the websites are dated 2007, 2009 etc.

Hi Rod,
Yep. Okinawa is a long way from mainland and is very different, so I don`t really know how it compares. I know that in Hiroshima there is a Think outlet that runs things the Japanese way, ie people pay membership to the club and then book out the hours they`d like to use the club craft.
Down in Oki we`ve got the weather, but yeah, getting skis here is a maybe a big part of why it hasn`t taken off. I brought one 30 year old spec ski back from a trip to Aus in 2000 and I also have a Cornish spec ski my mate brought over, which is also 20 years old! I think bringing skis in with you is the best way, if you can get the airline to let you bring it on.
Masaru Tamura in Tokyo has his business `Surfski Supply` and he has imported a few good skis in the past.
One good option might be to buy a ski in Hong Kong and to fly over there to collect it yourself. Prices are good, a new Fenn Swordfish is selling for HK$16,000, which I think is about ¥160,000.
And the best way to meet the most active Japanese paddlers may well be to visit Hong Kong for the Dragon Run ski race, in about a month`s time.
Apart from my two spec skis, I only know of about 4 or 5 other skis, and I`ve only seen one ocean ski, as opposed to a spec ski! At least with so few other paddlers I don`t feel so bad about paddling spec skis, although I would love to get my hands on a Swordfish or a Custom Kayaks Focus one day.
ps I should also note that Scofits make Ayahavella surfskis on Amami Oshima, just north of Okinawa, in Kagoshima Prefecture. They don`t come cheap though, and you`ve probably got an even bigger nightmare getting it to your place than if you brought one in from abroad!

owenfromwales wrote: Hi Rod,
Masaru Tamura in Tokyo has his business `Surfski Supply` and he has imported a few good skis in the past.
One good option might be to buy a ski in Hong Kong and to fly over there to collect it yourself. Prices are good, a new Fenn Swordfish is selling for HK$16,000, which I think is about ¥160,000.
......
don`t feel so bad about paddling spec skis, although I would love to get my hands on a Swordfish or a Custom Kayaks Focus one day.

Masaru was the guy in the original post who went out of business after the tsunami. His site is still up and you can see his prices are also very high. I imported my Horizon direct from Custom kayaks and paid about 140,000 yen for the ski, accessories and the shipping (10000 + 5000 rand) and then 20,000 yen unloading charge at the docks. So that is a total of 16 man to get it to my door. The route was circuitous Durban - Singapore - Pusan, Korea - Sakata in Yamagata. Mark Lewin's main worry was that it would survive being trans-shipped from 3 containers and he massively wrapped it in bubble wrap. I did the custom clearance myself. A SW or Focus would be longer and more difficult to fit in a longer container. Not sure what would be the best route to Okinawa. Anyway it arrived in perfect condition. What about US military personnel bringing over a 2nd hand Epic?
Rod