Did you think that this photo was taken in Okinawa?

Well, while my friends go to Okinawa, Phuket, Bali, etc, I went to Takenohama Beach in Toyooka, Hyogo. Toyooka is not so far away from my hometown Himeji and it takes about 2 hours by car.

It is widely recognized that beaches located on the side of the Sea of Japan are much more beautiful than beaches located on the side of the Pacific Ocean.

However, even among the Japan Sea beaches, Takenohama is regarded as one of the best beaches and based on my experience, I would say that this has been the best beach so far.

Takenohama Beach

Address: Takeno, Takeno-cho, Toyooka, Hyogo
Station: JR Takeno St

Actually, Takenohama Beach has been designated as one of Japan’s best 100 beaches by the Ministry of the Environment. Every summer, about half a million people visit here and the beach is nicely crowded (not so bad).

The transparency of water is outstanding and the contrast between the deep blue sea and the white sand is fascinating. Japan is an island country, but actually, we can rarely see this type of beautiful beach unless going to Okinawa.

Deep Blue

When I was driving, suddenly this scenery was able to be seen and I was like, “What the hell is that!!!!“. It was such a beautiful blue lagoon and the color was much bluer than I expected. At that time, I was already sure that the day would be so exciting to us although we had not even got out of the car.

What I liked about Takenohama Beach is that there are mostly families, meaning that people behave nicely and have a good sense of etiquette. Even if Japanese people are well-known as polite and kind generally, still there are many people who do not follow rules like leaving a whole bunch of garbages, which I really hate to see.

Facilities

This is “Hamajaya” (Umi-no-ie) where you can rest, order meals, take a shower, change your clothes, keep your baggage, etc. The entrance fee is ¥800, but I think it is worth it. You will see a couple of Hamajaya just in front of the beach and behind Hamajaya, there is also a building where you can buy some small gifts, use the bathroom, etc.

Must-Have

Since the water (sea) is so clear that you will be able to see a variety of fish in the sea. Therefore, I recommend that you should bring a snorkel and/or swimming goggles. I could not help diving continuously and I kept swimming for 2 consecutive hours (because I had a 10-year swimming training). 

Or if you cannot swim, bring a swimming ring. Imagine that you lay down on the white sand, get suntanned, dive into the blue water, and just float and relax. You can forget about your stressful life!