Ocean surface waves are strongly forced by strong winds associated with wintertime storms the Japan/East Sea (JES). They are also modulated by tides and storm surges, especially near the coasts. The effects of the surface wind forcing, tides, and storm surges on the waves are investigated using a high-resolution atmospheric mesoscale model, a wave model,and a shallow water ocean circulation model. We conduct several month-long wave model simulations to examine the sensitivity of ocean waves to various wind forcing, tides, and storm surges during January 1997. Comparing with observed mean wave parameters (i.e., significant wave heights and wave periods), our results indicate that the variation in the wave fields is mainly caused by the winds over the open ocean. Tides and storm surges seem to have a significant impact on the waves near the shore when mean water depth decreases sharply from a few hundreds of meters to less than 10 m along the east coast of Japan. Improving surface wind forecasts will be crucial for the prediction of surface waves and storm surges in JES, especially near the coastal regions.