Over the weekend I had a wonderful trip to obscure fishing villages, islands, and beaches in northern Kyoto and Shiga Prefecture. One of my favorite places that I discovered was this sandbar in Miyazu called Amanohashidate (try saying that three times fast)!
Amanohashidate is a 3 hour train ride from Kyoto Station with four different transfers, but its scenic atmosphere and remote location make it the ideal getaway for hotspring vacations or even just day trips away from the city. Due to my bus itinerary, I arrived here around 7pm just as dusk fell. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to walk across the entire sandbar this late at night, but surprisingly it’s open 24 hours, which is often rare for public beaches in Japan.
When I reached the southern tip of the sandbar (which is just a short walk from the station), the beach was illuminated with backlights in stark contrast to what it would normally look like during the day and some serene music was playing from a speaker. It was like being at a rave, but with calming music. I felt as if I was an alien that had landed on another planet!
Though I’ve been to many wild beach parties in Thailand, my stroll on Amanohashidate was something I’d had yet to experience. I’ve never seen such a thin and beautiful beach lit up like this. In the middle of the sandbar is a shrine, and there are lookout points on both ends of it. It takes about an hour to cross the sandbar by foot, but bike rental is available during the day. I was extremely tired from all of the travel, but during this trek I felt rejuvenated by soaking my feet in the water.
I’d recommend for most people to visit Amanohashidate during the day so you can ride the cable car, but unfortunately I did not have time to do this. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the experience I had here, and would recommend it to people who have already been to Kyoto and Osaka and are looking for something different. Walking across a sandbar is definitely a unique experience for most people traveling in Japan!
Before I went back to central Kyoto, I decided to try a course meal at a restaurant near the station called 310 Amanohashidate Japanese Table. Since I do not eat meat, I requested a fish and vegetable course a received avocado, salad, tofu, sashimi, and some delicious grilled fish and rice:
