When Tsurigasaki Beach in Ichinomiya, Chiba prefecture was selected as the surfing venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, residents of the small town of just over 12,000 people were ecstatic.
Surfing plays a major role in the town's economy, with over 60,000 surfers visiting each year to catch the best waves in Japan. Ichinomiya’s “surfonomics” or surf economy from the Olympics was estimated to be around 10 billion yen or over $124 million (AUD).
But things are looking a lot different now.
The ongoing states of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic and postponement of the games was already a huge blow, with the town’s hospitality industry relying on crowdfunding last year to keep it afloat.
Hopes to see their town come back to life were dashed with the announcement in March that no international tourists would be allowed to watch the games, then the devastating call to ban all spectators in July.
Tsurigasaki Beach, in Ichinomiya Town, Chiba Prefecture. Source: AAP
“Surfing is an outdoor event, with plenty of room to social distance, so we had hoped for an exemption,” says Kiyohisa Uzawa, President of the Surfing Industry of Ichinomiya.
“I am saddened that even schoolchildren ticketed for the event are unable to attend. We really pushed until the end, but unfortunately could not pull through.”
Over a third of school children in Ichinomiya are said to be surfers, and the sport forms an important part of their learning.
In 2019, three out of four members of the Australian surfing team, Julian Wilson, Sally Fitzgibbons and Stephanie Gilmore visited a local school in Ichinomiya prior to the ISA World Surfing Games.
Japanese surfer Amuro Tsuzuki practices at Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach in the Chiba Prefecture town of Ichinomiya on July 20, 2021. Source: AAP
“It’s an important lesson,” says Mr Uzawa, who has been actively involved in introducing, teaching, and spreading the culture of surfing to children of Ichinomiya.
“It’s nothing but frustrating that the competition is held right under our nose, yet we are unable to cheer on,” he says.
Although the competition is just days away, the town is far from the Olympic elation it was hoping to celebrate.
The community will now have to cheers on their homegrown surfer, Hiroto Ohhara remotely, when he appears in the very first round of the tournament, alongside Italo Ferreira (Brazil), Leo Fioravanti (Italy) and Leandro Usuna (Argentina).
Surfer Julian Wilson, of Australia, rides a wave during a practice session at Tsurigasaki beach at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Ichinomiya, Japan, July 21, 2021. Source: AAP
It’s too late now, but I wish the government did something sooner, so at least we could have prepared for this.
When Ohhara was asked whether he feels "pressured" during a press conference earlier this month, he described the pressure as a "flipside to expectation, and will do the best I can."
Kiyohisa Uzawa, who has known Ohhara since he was in Grade 2, says that “he is so well-loved by the community, which makes this situation even more difficult.”
Surfing will make its Olympic debut on 25th July.
'High-performance waves'
Tsurigasaki, or known to locals as Shidashita, is known for its small waves, however, being located in the farthest east point of Japan, it is able to catch swells from all directions, depending on the season and weather conditions.
Ben Wei is a Chiba resident, who will be a technical beach announcer at the Games. He is also known for commentating in WSL and ISA and has close ties with the community.
Wei describes Shidashita as “high-performance waves” which “caters to all types of styles of riding, aerials and progressive, traditional power surfing, and with the right swell direction even barrels…”
Uzawa says that the waves can be “tricky” but for Ohhara who “knows it all, “there is a definite home advantage”.
Ben Wei. technical beach announcer for surfing Tokyo 2020 Source: Ben Wei
Japan’s other competitor, and their best medal hopes, Kanoa Igarashi has also surfed at Tsurigasaki for years, though he resides in California now.
Australia’s Owen Wright said in a press conference prior to heading off to Japan, that in a small condition, "it is up to the surfer to produce power", and that it comes to preparation. Sally Fitzgibbons says “rapid energy and agility” is what holds the key.
Kiyohisa Uzawa says he hopes that the competition will run smoothly in the course of four days as planned, though extra days have been put aside, pending surf condition.
“I still do hope that the Olympics will be an opportunity to increase surfing population in Japan, as well as a chance to showcase our beach to the world.”
Despite the Covid-19 situation, Wei says that for those who are closely involved "the excitement is high".
The town is far from the Olympic elation Source: Kiyohisa Uzawa
"We are moments away from creating the largest stage that any surfer has ever performed on."
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