Fishing Spot Japan

Fishing rules in Kanagawa

What Kanagawa adds on top of national law, and what we still do not hold for it. Rules stack downwards: the prefecture may restrict more than the nation, and a cooperative more than the prefecture. None may permit what a layer above forbids.

Legal gear

These are the gear a non-professional may use in Kanagawa’s sea areas. The list is exhaustive: anything not shown here may not be used at all, which catches out visitors who assume a speargun or diving apparatus is merely restricted rather than banned.

Kanagawa

×Trolling●Hand line & rod fishing●Landing net●Scoop net●Cast net●Fishing spear (excluding harpoons)8●Rake / clam tool9●Hand gathering
○ Permitted● Permitted, but lights / fish-attracting lamps are prohibited△ Permitted, but not from a vessel※ Permitted, but chumming is prohibited▲ Permitted, but chumming from a vessel is prohibited× Prohibited

Footnotes that apply in Kanagawa

These are the prefecture’s own qualifications on the marks above, quoted from the source table in Japanese.

  1. 8
  2. 9
Source: https://www.jfa.maff.go.jp/j/yugyo/y_kisei/kisoku/todo_huken/index.htmlAs of 2026-03-31✓ checked 2026-08-25

If you are not a Japanese national

Under the Act on the Regulation of Fishing Operations by Foreign Nationals (Act No. 60 of 1967), recreational fishing by foreign nationals in Japanese waters is limited to 'gathering or catching of aquatic animals or plants on a minor scale'. What you may use depends on the size of the boat you are on.

Method / gearShore (no vessel)Vessel under 3 GTVessel 3 GT or more
Rod fishing, handlineyesyesguide-only
Landing net, scoop net, fishing spear, clam rake or knifeyesyesguide-only
Cast netyesnono
Trollingn/ayesguide-only

On a vessel of 3 gross tons or more, a foreign national may fish ONLY when the trip is run by a Japanese vessel under the control of a Japanese fisher — that is, a registered charter (yugyosen) or fishing boat. Most serious offshore boats are over 3 GT, so for offshore fishing a licensed Japanese guide is not a convenience. It is the law.

Up to 3 years' imprisonment, a fine of up to ¥30,000,000, or both — for breaching the gear and method rules that apply specifically to foreign nationals.

This is national law and applies in Kanagawa exactly as everywhere else. It sits on top of the prefecture’s gear list above — you need to clear both.

Size limits and closed seasons

Kanagawa VERIFIED

Set by the Kanagawa Fisheries Adjustment Rules. Taking abalone, sea cucumber or glass eel carries up to 3 years or ¥30,000,000.

Applies to: Sea and inland. The source regulation covers both sea and inland waters. Cooperatives add further rules on rivers and lakes.

Closed seasons

Ayu (sweetfish)1 Jan – 31 May, and 15 Oct – 30 NovOn parts of the Sagami and Sakawa the autumn window starts 1 Nov instead.
Yamame15 Oct – end of FebLake Ashi is exempt.
Iwana char15 Oct – end of FebLake Ashi is exempt.
Sculpin1 Jan – 31 Mar
Pond smelt — Lake Tsukui and Doshi River1 Mar – 15 AprCommittee instruction.

May not be taken at or under this size

Rainbow trout12 cm total length or under
Yamame12 cm total length or under
Iwana char12 cm total length or under
Common carp18 cm total length or under
Japanese eel24 cm total length or under

Prohibited methods

  • Inland — Weir traps, set nets and sweep nets
  • Inland — Any gear with a launching mechanism
  • Inland — Cast net between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise
  • Inland — Bin traps, dewatering, electric current, and any method using light
  • Inland — **Diving goggles** — using a mask to spot fish is prohibited (a viewing box is allowed)
  • Inland — Taking salmon anywhere in inland waters (Fisheries Resource Protection Act art. 28)
  • 12 named weirs and intakes — Taking anything within the posted distances above and below the structure — on the Tama, Sagami and Sakawa

Kanagawa bans the use of **diving goggles** to find fish in fresh water, which catches out visitors who assume snorkelling and spotting is harmless. Twelve weirs and intakes on the Tama, Sagami and Sakawa have no-take zones measured in metres above and below the structure. Six cooperatives hold the fishery rights; each sets its own permit rules, and several were revised in 2025–26.

Local committee instructions

  • Smallmouth bass and similar: taking them out alive, and returning them to the water, are both prohibited year round.
  • Carp: taking them out and stocking them are restricted year round.
  • Corbicula in the Tama River: taking, possessing and exercising the common fishery right are all restricted year round.
  • Lake Tsukui and the Doshi River: cast netting is prohibited in defined zones year round; pond smelt is closed 1 Mar – 15 Apr.

The prefecture publishes a Q&A on recreational fishing rules (PDF).

Source: Kanagawa Prefecture, Fisheries Division — river and lake rules (updated 27 Jul 2026) and sea rules (16 Jul 2026). Kanagawa Fisheries Adjustment Rules arts. 34, 35, 37, 38. https://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/docs/kb2/cnt/f790/p504690.html✓ checked 2026-08-28

Cooperatives that sell a permit online

4 in Kanagawa. Buying before you travel matters: on many rivers the price doubles if you buy it on the bank.

Kawasaki River Fishery Cooperative

Lure OK
Buy permit →

Hayakawa River Fishery Cooperative

Lure OKCatch & releaseWinter
Buy permit →

Sagamigawa Fisheries Federation

Lure OKCatch & release
Buy permit →

Sakawagawa Fishery Cooperative

Lure OKWinter
Buy permit →

Who holds the fishing right

6 cooperatives on record in Kanagawa, from the fifth-class fishery rights and permit rules the prefecture publishes by law. A right names the waters and the species it covers — outside that list no cooperative permit is required, though national and prefectural rules still are.

  • Kawasaki River Fishery Cooperative ?Tama River PDF published by the prefecture
  • Sagamigawa Federation , Sagami River system revised 1 Jun 2026
  • Sakawagawa Fishery Cooperative Sakawa River system revised 1 Jun 2026
  • Hayakawa River Fishery Cooperative Hayakawa River system revised 1 Jun 2025
  • Ashinoko Fishery Cooperative Lake Ashi — one of our listed areas revised 1 Jan 2024
  • Yugawara Kanko Fishery Cooperative ?Chitose River PDF published by the prefecture

Places we list here

What we do not hold, and who to ask

Being explicit about the gap is the point of this page. What is missing:

  • Sea-area and inland committee directives, which close specific waters or periods. We hold these for a few prefectures only.
  • Port and municipal rules. Posted on signs at the water, in Japanese, and published nowhere centrally.

Kanagawa Inland Fisheries Federation
045-212-4016

National rules apply on top of everything here — see Before you fish. How every figure is graded is set out in Data & sources.