Surfing makes its Olympic debut next year at Chiba’s Ichinomiya beach but for many Japanese it is the Shonan coast, 50 kilometres south of Tokyo, that is regarded as the birthplace of the country’s modern surf culture.

FILE PHOTO: Competitors are seen during a Tokyo 2020 Olympics surfing test event at at Tsurigasaki-kaigan beach, also known as Shidashita beach in Ichinomiya Town, Chiba prefecture, Japan, July 18, 2019, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS