I turned my air conditioner on for the first time yesterday, so in my books it is already summer in Japan.
If you are anything like the rest of the world, you will want to go to the beach and enjoy yourself. Luckily for you, Japan is a giant island! There is beach all around you.
Today I bring you top 10 beaches of the Kanto area (the region of Japan around Tokyo Bay).
( Many of them are a bit of a hike if you live in the center of Tokyo. If you don’t want to travel 1 hr+ from Tokyo to get to a beach there is always Odaiba’s beach….)
1. IRITA BEACH IN SHIMODA、SHIZUOKA
from izu-beach.com
A white-sand beach where you have beautiful views of a very blue ocean.
Season: From mid July to the end of August
Access: Get off at Izu-kyu Shimoda and take the Tokai bus bound for Irozaki. Ride for 9 minutes and get off at Irita. The beach is 3 minutes from the bus stop.
(This is the bottom of the Izu Peninsula, it takes 3+ hrs to get there from Tokyo if you do not use the Shinkansen)
Facilities: 6 shower rooms with hot and cold water running year-round. 300 yen for 3 minutes. There are changing rooms connected.
There are toilets
Restaurants on the beach? Yes
Popular sports at Irita: surfing, body-boarding
2. ATAMI SUN BEACH、SHIZUOKA
from izubeach.i-ra.jp
Has the feeling of a resort town. Atami is a huge town with people coming in mainly for the hot springs.
Season: From mid July to the end of August
Access: Get off at Atami station and take the bus bound for Atami-wan (Atami Harbor). Get off after about 5 minutes when you reach Sun Beach. You can walk from the station as well.
(Atami is approximately 2 hrs from Tokyo)
(This is the bottom of the Izu Peninsula, it takes 3+ hrs to get there from Tokyo if you do not use the Shinkansen)
Facilities: 6 shower rooms. Changing rooms for women only.
There are toilets
Restaurants on the beach? Yes
Popular water sports: you cannot surf here
It’s a no-smoking beach.
3. SOUTHERN BEACH CHIGASAKI、KANAGAWA
from ysroad-chigasaki.com
You can see the rock formation, Eboshi Iwa, from the beach. This area is a popular place for fishing.
Season: From the 6th of July to the 1st of September
Access: Get off at JR Chigasaki station and take the south exit. Ride the bus headed to Hamamidaira Danchi for 8 minutes. Get off at the “Kaisuiyokuba-mae” stop.
(approximately 1 hr from Tokyo)
Facilities: there are showers and changing room.
There are toilets
Restaurants on the beach? 8 different ones!
Popular water sports: body-boarding
No pets, surfing or barbecuing
4. NAKAZATO BEACH, CHIBA
from pref.chiba.lg.jp
It is shallow here but waves here are a bit bigger than at other places, so there are more people doing marine sports here. There are also many hot springs in the area.
Season: From the 19th of July to the 25th of August
Access: Get off at JR Mobara Station and take the Kominato Railways bus bound for Shirako Shako. Ride for 25 minutes and get off at Nakazato Kaigan,
(About 1.5 hrs from Tokyo)
Facilities: no public ones available
There are toilets
Restaurants on the beach? 3 restaurants
Popular water sports: body-boarding ok if there is no fin part attached to the board.
5. TATADOHAMA BEACH, SHIZUOKA
from shimoda-city.info
A popular beach with surfers. There is a surfing competition that is held here. The beach is white sand.
Season: From the 13th of July to the 28th of August
Access: Get off at Izu-kyu Shimoda. Take the no.3 or no.4 bus and ride for 7 minutes. Get off at Tatado.
(Over 3 hrs away from Tokyo)
Facilities: 6 showers, you can use them for 300 yen. The changing rooms are attached to the showers.
There are toilets
Popular water sports: body-boarding, surfing
6. UBARA BEACH, CHIBA
from katsuura-city.com
Has been selected as one of the “100 best beaches of Japan.” The scenery is beautiful and it is pretty shallow.
Season: From the 20th of July to the 25th of August
Access: Get off at JR Ubara Station and walk for 3 minutes.
(About 1.5 hrs from Tokyo)
Facilities: no public ones available
There are toilets in 13 areas
Restaurants on the beach? 4 restaurants
Popular water sports: body-boarding ok if there is no fin part attached to the board.
No barbecuing outside of the designated zone.
7. OARAI BEACH, IBARAKI
from ibaraki-kitakan.com
There are rocks here that form tide pools. It is great for trying to catch shellfish. It is a good place for fishing and the water is nice and clear.
Season: From mid July to the end of August
Access: Get off at Kashima Rinkai Railways Oarai station. Take the shuttle bus (there are 8 a day) for 10 minutes to the tourist information center stop.
(About 1 hr from Tokyo)
Facilities: showers
There are toilets
Restaurants on the beach? 2 restaurants
Popular water sports: surfing is ok when it is off-season
8. OARAI SUN BEACH, IBARAKI
from ibarakiguide.jp
This is a handicap-accessible beach. There are 16 water-wheel chairs available for free rental, a special parking lot, and support in the showers, toilet areas, and changing rooms.
Season: From the 13th of July to the 18th of August
Access: Get off at Kashima Rinkai Railways Oarai station. Take the bus bound for Ibaraki Kotsu Sun Beach for 5 minutes. Get off at Oarai Sun Beach.
(About 1 hr from Tokyo)
Facilities: showers
There are toilets
Restaurants on the beach? 2 restaurants
Popular water sports: surfing is ok when it is off-season
9. ONJUKU CHUO BEACH, CHIBA
from onjuku-kankou.com
This is a pretty big beach with a lot of visitors. The beach is white-sand.
Season: From mid July to the end of August
Access: Get off at JR Onjuku station. Walk for 7 minutes and you are there.
(About 2 hrs from Tokyo)
Facilities: 2 shower houses
3 toilet areas
Restaurants on the beach? 7 restaurants
Popular water sports: no water sports
10. ISHIBE BEACH, SHIZUOKA
from izu-kaisen.com
This is a pretty popular place for the locals. During the summer season large boats filled with hot spring water get placed on the beach. You can take a dip in them in your swimsuit.They keep them out until October.
Season: From mid July to the end of August
Access: Get off at Rendaiji station. Ride the Tokai bus for 40 minutes and get off at Matsuzaki Bus Terminal. Take another bus from here for 10 minutes, headed to Kumomi Iriya and get off at Iwachi Onsen.
(About 4 hrs from Tokyo)
Facilities: they have showers, but they only have cold water. There are also changing rooms.
there are toilets
Restaurants on the beach? 7 restaurants
Popular water sports: no water sports
No fireworks, barbecue, shell-fishing, or marine sports
MAP OF BEACHES IN THE KANTO AREA (Japanese)
