Building a list of Ocean Races in Japan. If you know of one I can add please email me at [email protected]
1. Kobe Yokohama Yacht Race. 340 NM. http://www.kyyr.jp As at March 2013 the decision seems to be that this race will be held every 2nd year and share the Golden Week week holiday with the Okinawa – Tokai yacht race which also races every 2nd year. So in 2013 we had the Kobe Yokohama with start date of April 29th and in 2014 we will have the Okinawa Tokai race with a start date of April 29th.
2. Toba Pearl Yacht Race. 180 NM Gokasho Mie, Toba – ToShima (Counter Clockwise)- Enoshima Kanagawa. http://www.tosc.jp/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/a4cc011cea253854f30eddf94baa68f2.pdf
3. Okinawa – Tokai Yacht Race. 720 NM http://okinawa.toscrace.jp/
4. Tanegashima – Misaki 540 NM http://misaki-ocean.jp/2011/tanegashima/index.html
5. Oshima Ocean race. 85NM
6. Zamami Ocean Race. 22 NM
Ocean racing in Japan is alive and well. For quite a long time Ocean racing in Japan went very quiet. I have not been able to determine the exact reason perhaps, some say, economic considerations or worries over safety or maybe even some other concern. The good news is that Ocean Yacht Racing does seem to be growing back.
The Okinawa Tokai race was not run for many years and then in 2010 it came back. I was lucky enough to join that race as a member of Ikaru Matsunaga’s Elliot 16 Schooner Cocorin. This race at 720 NM is the longest race on Japanese waters. This year 2014 I will join this race aboard “Roschana”.
The Toba Pearl race is a 180 NM run from Gokasho in Mie over to Enoshima in Kanagawa. The race is run every year and has stood the test of time as a stable part of Japanese Sailing Calendar. The year 2009 marked the 5oth runningof this event.