Best Beaches in Japan

 

Best Beaches in Japan.The exceedingly diverse topography of the Japanese archipelago, made of greater than 6,000 islands, large and small, manner a quest to find the most beautiful beaches in Japan is no small feat. This ancient land is actually brimming over with tamed and wild stretches of enchanting coastlines to select from.

If you occur to be a lover of sandy shores and lovely coastal walks, Japan serves up a cornucopia of varied, fascinating and remarkable beaches with the intention to discover, from the subtropical cobalt-blue waters surrounding Okinawa, down south to the more frigid seas off of the northern island of Hokkaido.

Whatever your preferred fashion of beach, right here’s a curated choice of 12 of the quality beaches in Japan.

Kabira Bay, Ishigaki Island, Okinawa

If you fancy a serene walk alongside a nice expanse of white sand with tremendously few holidaymakers splashing approximately the sea, look no similarly than Kabira Bay on Ishigaki Island, one of the most stunning locations in Japan.

While swimming isn’t allowed on Kabira Beach proper, due to the bay’s pearl cultivation pastime, the serenity you’ll locate here is one of the major reasons why those turquoise waters, lapping up against the sands of Kabira Bay, have created one of the nice seashores in Japan.

If you’d like a touch more adventure, you may opt for a tumbler-backside boat excursion here as properly, or perhaps a coral snorkeling experience out to the close by Taketomi and Hamajima islands—with the latter (that’s without a doubt just a sandbar) vanishing beneath the ocean come high tide.

Tanesashi Coast, Aomori

Toward the northern tip of Japan’s most important island, Honshu, you’ll encounter the town of Aomori, and the neighboring Tanesashi Coast, that’s part of Sanriku Fukko National Park.

And even as you’ll discover a few small seashores sprinkled about right here, many featuring piles of boulders, what makes this slice of Japanese coast stand out are the attention-catching wild lawns that grow as much as the water’s side.

Black-tailed gulls have selected this part of the Tanesashi Coast as their breeding ground, which means that there’s a good chance you’ll see these monogamous birds taking to the sky above Kabushima Island and Shrine.

When you do walk alongside Tanesashi’s sandy beach regions, you could listen to the nakisuna or “singing sands” below your ft, which produce vibrating sounds to accompany you as you meander along this brilliant sliver of Japanese coastline.

Shirahama Ohama Beach, Shizuoka

Shirahama Ohama Beach, in Shizuoka Prefecture, is near the capital of Tokyo, an nearly obligatory vacation spot whilst touring Japan. The white-sand Shirahama Beach, framed by verdant hillsides on either end, is an rather popular spot for locals and site visitors alike.

The truth that Shirahama can quick be reached by using bullet educate from Tokyo does imply that in the recent summer months, throngs of sunbathers, swimmers, and surfers have a tendency to replenish the shore, jockeying for position for his or her place within the sun. But the journey there and the enjoy of the bullet train is an journey in itself.

If you pick barely much less populace density, head to Shirahama Chuo Beach, just north of Shirahama Ohama Beach, beyond the pink Izu Shirahama Shinto Shrine.

Azama Sun-Sun Beach, Okinawa

You simply know that Azama Sun-Sun Beach, close to the southern tip of Okinawa on the Chinen Peninsula, has to qualify as one of the maximum lovely beaches in Japan—given that the word “sun” is used twice in the name.

Azama Sun-Sun Beach’s primary claim to fame, other than its adorable warm sand and turquoise water, is that it offers bathers a secure, artificially-created lagoon, ideal for you or your entire own family to swim in and experience.

Glass-backside boat rides, the nearby ferry to the scenic Kudaka Island—that is home to the non secular god Amamikiyo, credited with growing the Ryukyu Islands—plus lots of beach services make this Okinawan seashore a perfect spot in which you can frolic round within the ocean.

Mizunashi Kaihin Hot Spring, Hakodate

At first glance, the rocky shores surrounding Mizunashi Kaihin Hot Spring, placed on Japan’s northernmost most important island, Hokkaido, inside the suburbs of Hakodate, don’t appear that inviting in any respect—at the least to the average beachgoer.

The beach faces the regularly chilly Northern Pacific and is covered with smooth, true-sized stones. But to the locals, this small sweep of unassuming coastline is a magical spot.

Mizunashi Kaihin Hot Spring is butted up against the ocean, with its thermal waters handiest performing at low tide. This herbal onsen (hot spring) vanishes while the tide swooshes in, which affects the temperature of the water for the duration of the day.

The clever issue to do is to plan your go to right here for low tide, with a view to let you pleasure in the stark temperature contrasts. You can soak within the toasty hot spring even as gazing out over the cool Pacific.

Sunset Beach, Ishigaki

When exploring the considerable Japanese archipelago, there’s a respectable danger you’ll swing through Ishigaki Island, which is some thing of a nucleus for the far off southern Yaeyama Islands.

The remote island of Ishigaki, off the coast of Taiwan, is about as a long way faraway from the commercial coronary heart of Japan as you can get even as nevertheless being in Japan.

The pretty secluded subtropical Sunset Beach, authentic to its call, gives aficionados of the ocean immaculate white sands and lovely vistas throughout the East China Sea. You’ll rarely find large crowds here.

Sunset Beach is situated alongside a northern stretch of Ishigaki, and offers visitors submerged rocks and small coral reefs for snorkeling and tender sand for sunbathing.

Wakeboarding is an alternative here as nicely, which is best if you’re the form of person who needs a touch more hobby except basking in the wonderful sun.

Ibusuki, Kyushu Island

 

Ibusuki, on Kyushu Island, with its warm black sand, numbers most of the maximum beautiful beaches in Japan thanks to its stunning views, such as the conical Kaimondake volcano within the distance, at the side of the surrounding inexperienced countryside and hills. Another huge draw here is the precise culture of suna-mushi, or sand bathing.

The mechanics of a detoxifying sand bathtub at Ibusuki are easy: You arrive at the beach, exchange into a yukata, or light kimono, then with the assist of a beachside spa attendant, lie down (with a towel wrapped around your head for comfort, and to protect your face and hair) and are partly buried into the seashore.

Your whole body, store to your head, will then be sheathed interior a warm and soothing mound or “blanket” of black sand.

Ibusuki sand baths, which normally final 20 minutes or much less, are meant to rejuvenate the body and spirit, letting you come to be one with the beach and sand, assisting you relax via dissolving your anxiety and stress away.

Lake Biwa, Omi Maiko Beach, Kyoto

If you’re the form of visitor who prefers freshwater, Lake Biwa and Omi Maiko Beach, near Kyoto, might be the Japanese lakeside beach enjoy you’re searching for.

Lake Biwa is, in fact, the largest freshwater lake in Japan. Omi Maiko Beach, on the lake’s western shore, is handiest a half of an hour or so from Kyoto.

Biwa offers traffic to Kyoto, or even bustling Osaka, a fresh reprieve from the heat of the cities in summer time.

Omi Maiko Beach functions pebble and white sand seashores, clean water for swimming, plus beachside barbecue pits for grilling your lunch. The fir and pine trees lining the seashores, in conjunction with expansive vistas across the lake, add to the inviting, clean ecosystem right here.

Omi Maiko can get fairly busy, but if you scoot down the seashore a long way enough, you should discover a few peace and quiet.

Yoron Island, Yurigahama Beach, Kagoshima

Tiny Yoron Island, in Kagoshima Prefecture, is a small oasis in Japan’s southern Amami Islands. Yoron offers coral reefs inhabited by means of dozens of species of brilliantly coloured fish along with crystal clean water, sandbars and white-sand seashores on which to unwind.

The maximum famous of Yoron’s seashores, and one of the satisfactory beaches in Japan, is Yurigahama Beach, which is in reality a sandbar that vanishes at excessive tide. You’ll need to time your visit for while the tide is out.

The shallow, balmy waters surrounding “phantasmal” Yurigahama, while it does emerge from the ocean, make this tiny wasteland island ideal for photographs or a scenic morning or afternoon swim.

If you don’t want to wait for Yurigahama to appear, you may always head over to the a whole lot larger white-sand Okaneku Coast, with its romantic views across the ocean.

Miho-no-Matsubara, Mt. Fuji

The pebbly seaside of Miho-no-Matsubara, on the Miho Peninsula close to Shizuoka City, is famed for its iconic, artist-inspiring perspectives of Mt. Fuji (frequently seen in Japanese ukiyo-e art work), its dense pine forest, as well as a celestial legend regarding a fisherman and a goddess.

Head to Miho-no-Matsubara for stirring vistas of one of the most beautiful mountains in the world, Mt. Fuji. While there, revel in strolls alongside the seashore and among rows of pine trees, some greater than two hundred years antique, at the Kami no Michi or “Way of Kami” course. The path results in the adorable Shinto Miho Shrine, slightly inland and west of the seaside.

Miho-no-Matsubara is also where Japan’s fabled Hagoromo legend is about. According to the story, a celestial maiden left her otherworldly hagoromo (kimono) striking from a tree department right here and went for a swim.

A local fisherman discovered the kimono and idea it of tremendous fee, but in the long run handed it back to the deity after she agreed to offer him a heavenly dance.

Katsurahama Beach, Kochi

On Shikoku Island, that’s counted amongst Japan’s 5 important islands, you’ll find the metropolis of Kochi—not to be confused with a city of the equal name (Kochi or Cochin) in Kerala, India—and Katsurahama Beach, which numbers the various first-class beaches in Japan.

The Pacific Ocean’s currents at Katsurahama are too rough to allow swimming, however the seashore, subsidized by way of pine groves, nevertheless gives plenty of other distractions. A extensive statue of the prestigious samurai Sakamoto Ryoma, who hailed from Kochi, stands close to the sand and gravel coastline.

Katsurahama Beach, which lies simply south of Kochi’s Urado Bay, additionally holds a unique location in the hearts of romantic Japanese. Katsurahama is famend as a captivating spot for looking at up on the moon at night, thanks to the Yosakoi-bushi folk track, which cites Katsurahama as an superb place for viewing our planet’s natural satellite.

The whole vicinity is referred to as Katsurahama Park, in which you will stumble across the smallish Katsurahama Aquarium as well, plus, somewhat incongruously, the Tosa Dog (a breed of Japanese preventing dog) Museum.

Takahama Beach, Nagasaki

Takahama Beach, half an hour’s power from Nagasaki on the Goto Islands, is a truly hidden sanctuary of sandy perfection. The water right here is extremely clean and swimmable, that is one of the reasons why this spot is one of the most beautiful beaches in Japan.

The long seaside, with its stark white sand, is covered by a wide sandbank. Tumbling into the serene waves here, subsequent to the East China Sea, could be very gratifying certainly.

The seaside is surrounded with the aid of desirable green hills, that you recognize further if you choose the fast hike as much as the Gyoran Kannon Observation Deck.

From the observation deck, you’ll be capable of admire the authentic splendor of Takahama Beach. You can also absorb views of Sagano Island throughout the water to the west. Over the horizon is South Korea’s Jeju Island – but now not so close you could swim or paddle there, of path.