Olympics - Shonan the birthplace of Japan'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

ENOSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - 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.

It is here that the modern style of surfing was first brought to Japan in the 1960s by American servicemen based at the nearby Atsugi military base during the Vietnam War, who would head to the coast with their boards during downtime.