Torii station beach provides access to a wide lagoon that never gets very deep and is one of the safer areas to ride on the island. This launch area is inside the US Army base. You need base access, but you can kite the same water by going to Momenbaru Beach 1 km south along Okinawa's west coast. Wind direction: S to NW Tides: 1.1m+
Getting there
There are two potential launch areas. The best area is on the north end of the beach where there is a dirt parking lot about 30 meters from the water.
Once you park, the beach is immediately in front of you behind a fence.
Kiting Conditions
North Launch Area (Recommended)
North area launch conditions: Easy. Depending on the wind direction, you can anchor from the wooden fence line between the parking lot and the beach or from a volleyball net pole further down.
South area launch conditions: Advanced. There is a large mowed grassy field among some light poles. You can anchor off the light poles. Then you need to walk between the light poles, down a hill and over a coral beach. You will need higher tide than the north end of the beach since there are several rocks and shallow areas, maybe 1.5+m. However, if the wind is steady and you understand where the hazards are, it is a launch option so I've included it here.
What to explore
The immediate area in front of the north launch area is a lagoon that you can ride down to about 1.1m tides. There is an outer reef about 300m offshore that at the right tide level can create a lot of flat water to jump. It is one about 1-2km down the beach from Momenbaru. Please check out the Momenbaru page for other ideas on what to explore, including the offshore atoll.
Other beach users
There are many beach users at Torii who have never seen a kite. They also have Army security and water safety people who will make sure that you stay away from bystanders. Do not walk up and down the main beach with the kite. If there are swimmers, snorkelers, kayakers, etc, please stay well away from them once on the water (100m).
A the very south end of the beach, near the south launch area, there is a helicopter landing area that can identified by a windsock. It is primarily an emergency landing spot, but if there are helicopters hovering in the area, stay away from the helipad.
