Japan has a new wave pool. It is called Shizunami Surf Stadium.
The man-made surf lagoon powered by American Wave Machines (AWM) was built in Shizunami, a surf town located in the Shizuoka Prefecture.
The country’s largest wave pool opens in spring 2021.
AMW used its PerfectSwell technology to create an artificial surfing arena similar to the one created in BSR Surf Resort in Waco, Texas.
The Shizunami Surf Stadium was built in record time – 389 days.
“We had to work cooperatively to overcome the supply chain and logistics challenges associated with highly-disruptive business conditions affecting world travel,” AWM notes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjBFcBpZH94
Innovations in a Competitive Market
The wave pool developers have also introduced a few innovations in the latest Japanese surf structure.
“We will add a new wave design feature called ‘Temporal Distortion,'” adds William McFarland, surf programmer at AMW.
“‘Temporal Distortion’ opens new dimensions of hydrodynamic control, allowing us to select waves for both beginners and high-performance surfers.”
In the end, customers should expect a “more dynamic wave.”
The American company is also fine-tuning the system’s power response for maximum performance and optimization.
One of the most interesting challenges will be understanding how a wave pool business model performs when run near the coastline and a popular ocean surfing region.
Shizunami Surf Stadium can be accessed by bullet train to Shizuoka Station and is surrounded by several surf shops.
Wavegarden and American Wave Machines are currently at the forefront of the wave pool industry, with several public facilities built and under construction.
At a slower pace, Surf Lakes and Kelly Slater Wave Co. are running R&D at test sites that are still not open to the general public.
It is expected that surfing’s Olympic debut in Tokyo will further expand the number of surf lagoons available worldwide.
