August 9 — Scouting the River This Time: Could Tone-Ozeki Be Wing Foiling’s Hidden Gem?
viva-wingfoilAugust 9.
Ever since I jacked up my pinky back on July 25, I still haven’t been able to make my comeback to wing foiling.
Having weekend after weekend go by without hitting the ocean sucks.
But I decided to make the most of this downtime by searching for low-maintenance practice spots easily accessible from Saitama.
Last week was Watarase Retaining Basin.
This week, I decided to check out another spot that’s been on my radar for a while:
Tone-Ozeki.
If Watarase is a massive retaining lake, Tone-Ozeki is straight-up a river.
Even though both are inland spots, what’s the difference between them?
Today wasn’t about riding.
It was a 100% scouting mission.
It’s a River, Not Standing Water
The first thing that struck me when I arrived at Tone-Ozeki was how different the water felt.
Since this spot is formed by damming up the Tone River, the water is naturally flowing and constantly circulating.
Watarase Retaining Basin isn’t filthy or anything.
But visually, it definitely has that “standing water” vibe.
Compared to that, this is a real river.
Regardless of actual water quality, at least visually, Tone-Ozeki feels a lot more inviting to jump into.
When you wing foil, you’re gonna fall.
And in my case, I still wipe out—a lot.
When you think about it like that, feeling good about getting into the water is actually a super important factor!
Ghost Town...
Unfortunately, my timing today was pretty terrible.
I pulled up to the spot and...
Nobody was there.
No windsurfers.
No wing foilers.
No SUPers.
Just a completely silent, empty surface.
Maybe I picked a bad time of day.
Or maybe there just wasn’t enough breeze.
I really wanted to see what actual wing foiling looks like here, so that was a bit of a bummer.
Still, just looking at the spot itself, it looks amazingly good.
The water area is plenty wide.
And above all—
There are no ocean swells.
For someone like me, who’s currently transitioning from beginner to intermediate, this glass-flat water looks ridiculously tempting.
The Biggest Selling Point: Parking Right Next to the Water
And this was the absolute best part about Tone-Ozeki.
The distance from your car to the water is insanely short.
It’s not like there’s a formal, paved parking lot.
It’s more of a massive open space where you park your car and walk right over to the bank.
Depending on where you park, you are literally steps away from the water.
This is a massive game-changer for wing foiling.
Board.
Foil.
Wing.
All the little accessories.
There’s a lot to carry.
At Watarase, if you pick the right parking spot, you’re about 20–30 meters from the shore.
I thought that was pretty convenient.
Tone-Ozeki is even closer than that.
Rig up right next to your car.
Then walk straight into the water.
If it really works out like that in practice, it’s gonna make life so much easier.
The Wind Actually Looks Pretty Promising
Scanning the area, the wind flow didn’t look half bad either.
Even though you’re inside the river embankment, there aren’t any extreme windbreakers around.
The surroundings are totally open.
As long as the wind direction aligns, I bet you get super clean, uninterrupted wind.
Flat water.
Huge practice area.
Instant water access from your car.
And relatively steady wind.
If all those conditions line up, this is basically the ultimate setup for grinding out repetitive drills!
Of course, since nobody was riding today, this is still purely in the realm of speculation.
Next time, I gotta come on a day when the forecast says,
“It’s definitely gonna blow today!”
Then I can see what it’s actually like.
Still, a One-Hour Drive Is a Bit of a Stretch
The main downside, once again, is the distance.
It’s about one hour from my house.
Trying to use it for quick sessions like,
“Hey, looks like it’s gonna blow for a bit this afternoon. Let’s go hit the water for two hours.”
That still feels a little too far.
That’s two hours of driving alone.
When you think about it, just like Watarase, I can’t quite call it a “convenient neighborhood practice spot.”
However, the water impression here is way better.
And when it comes to being close to the water, Tone-Ozeki definitely takes the win.
On the flip side, on a windy weekend, everyone and their mom is probably gonna fight for those prime spots right along the shoreline.
Securing a spot might turn into a total headache.
Since nobody was here today, I have no clue how crazy it gets.
I definitely need to pay another visit on a good forecast day.
Is a River Actually Better Than the Ocean for Practicing?
Being here today made me rethink what I actually need right now.
At Enoshima, you’re not just dealing with wind.
You’re dealing with waves and ocean swells.
Once your foil lifts, you have to constantly adjust your foot pressure to match the swell.
Fore-and-aft pitch.
Side-to-side roll.
Wing power.
And on top of all that, you have the vertical movement from the waves throwing you off.
From a control standpoint, it’s pure chaos.
Full of external noise.
For a beginner, it’s a super brutal environment to learn in.
Tone-Ozeki, on the other hand, gives you pancake-flat water.
You can focus 100% on the core basics:
Getting lift.
Flying stable.
Making turns.
For someone at my current stage—stuck right between beginner and intermediate—this might actually be a way more efficient place to practice.
I remember practicing in the waves at Enoshima once and thinking,
“Man, this is like a beginner skier trying to learn on a mogul field.”
Tone-Ozeki is like a freshly groomed, gentle slope.
To build proper muscle memory, this has gotta be the better option.
...But Something’s Missing
Still, as I stood there staring at the water for a while, another feeling crept up.
It’s quiet.
Like, really quiet.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
If you just want to lock in and focus on practice, it’s amazing.
But it’s completely different from Enoshima.
At Enoshima, you’ve got surfers.
Windsurfers.
Sailboats gliding by.
Summer beachgoers.
Crowds of young people.
Beach huts lined up along the coast.
Just walking toward the ocean gets your energy pumping automatically.
I thought I was going to Enoshima purely to wing foil.
Turns out, that wasn’t the whole story.
I was loving the whole package.
The whole “going to hang out at the beach” atmosphere.
Rivers for Basic Drills, the Ocean for Good Times
From what I saw today, Tone-Ozeki is a super strong candidate.
Especially at my current stage, where I haven’t fully mastered foiling yet, that flat water is a massive draw.
Strip away the distraction of the waves and stabilize the foil first.
Drill the foot pressure and wing control straight into muscle memory.
It seems perfectly suited for that kind of grinding.
And once I get way better?
Head back to the ocean.
By then, those swells that feel like an annoyance right now will turn into energy to play with.
Catching waves.
Using the swell to fly.
Once I reach that level, Enoshima is gonna be infinitely more fun.
Grind out the basics on the river.
Have fun on the ocean.
Maybe that’s the perfect split for me!
Now I just need to see what Tone-Ozeki looks like on a day when the wind actually blows.
Once my pinky finger heals up, I’m definitely coming back with my wing gear in tow.
Tone-Ozeki—right next to Watarase, officially added to the list of potential home spots!
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