A Walk Along the Japan Sea Coast Kuromatsu

In  the wake of the typhoon that had passed by a few days ago the sea was still far more active than normal and as I approached Kuromatsu it seemed somewhat bleaker than usual.

A far cry from the white beaches and calm, turquoise sea that Kuromatsu is known for in the summer.

For me Kuromatsu is associated with one of my favorite festivals, the summer festival, when boats travel out to the small island offshore to bring the goddess to the land. A couple of posts on thos matsuri are here and here.

A typhoon always brings out the surfers..... the waves may not look like much to someone from California or Hawaii, but people travel a long way for them here in Shimane.

Three small rivers/streams empty into the sea in Kuromatsu, though two disappear into the sand of the beach.

On my first ever visit to Kuromatsu I discovered a memorial to the 47th Ronin, the one who didn't comitt ritual suicide in one of the most well known Japanese legends..... but that deserves a post of its own

Stormy Beaches

Beaches

On the second day of my walk eastward along the Japan Sea coast was blustery with overcast skies as a typhoon had passed by the day before. Between Asari and Kuromatsu a section of the sea was relatively calm and a sole paddleboarder was out enjoying herself.

Once when I showed some Japanese friends some photos of beaches in Cornwall they wanted to know where the trash was. Here in Japan I often hear that all the trash on Japanese beaches has come from Korea. Its true that the current does flow in that direction and certainly some of the detritus is not Japanese, but the majority of it seems to be from commercial fishing. Every time we have heavy rains and floods the rivers fill with plastic from the riverbanks and makes its way to the sea.

Oshima, meaning Big Island, is just offshore. Uninhabited except by a kami. The shrine at Kuromatsu has no honden, the sanctuary normally found at the rear of a shrine and where the kami resides when it is present. The honden is on the island entailing a wonderful summer matsuri with boats going out to the island to bring the kami to shore.

The second line of wind generators is found on this next stretch of beach. The mountains behind are the edge of the mountains of Iwami Ginzan.

Okidomari World Heritage Site

Okidomari, near Yunotsu, is one of the sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage site connected to the Iwami Ginzan silver mine. It is one of two harbors that serviced the mines at the end of the 16th Century when the Mori Clan had control.

When the Tokugawa central government took over control of the mines in the early 17th Century they shipped most of the silver overland to Onomichi on the Inland Sea coast but Okiomari was still used a little.

The small settlement at the port is still in existence though many of the houses are now empty. At the head of the little valley is a grove of bamboo through which a path still passes.

This is the start of the Ginzan Kaido, the "road" that leads inland to the mines. It is about 12k long and is also one of the World Heritage sites. It is a very pleasant walk and I recommend it anyone who wants to get off the beaten track.

At the mouth of the harbor is a small island that once was topped with  fortifications guarding the harbor entrance. The Mori used the harbor as a kind of naval base long before the mines were discovered, and it is said it was earlier the hideout of pirates, though the distinction between pirates and navy at that time was flexible.

A Walk Along The Japan Sea Coast part 5 Asari Beach

Asari Beach

The second leg of my walk exploring the beaches and coves of the Japan Sea coast began at Asari, with its white sand beach. Actually, access to the beach is not easy at the dunes behind the beach are covered in factories and other industrial sites.

Most of these factories are extracting the sand, some for use in construction, but one of the factories is processing the sand to make moulds for casting car engine blocks. I once helped an employee who had to give a presentation at a conference in the US and I learned more about the science of sand than I really wanted to know.

The most notable feature of the beach is the wind generators, which also stretch to the next beach and are also located on the hills behind Gotsu. Interestingly the generators are Danish and the steel towers are Korean.

A typhoon had passed by the day before and so it was quite windy and wild with lots of waves. On a still, sunny day the sea is usually turquoise. At the far eastern end of the beach it is actually a park, but there ais absolutely no infrastructure or facilities...... the park being just a kind of classification.

A Walk Along the Japan Sea Coast part 4 No-Name Cove

Japan Sea Coast

Leaving Shiota I walk through the tunnel that carries route 9. The "sidewalk" is about 20 cms wide. Fortunately, they have opened a new By-Pass and the traffic through the tunnel has been reduced by about 95% so it was not so dangerous. Immediately after the tunnel is a small cove down below. There appears to be a path, used by fishermen I suspect, but it is well overgrown so I give it a miss.

The road winds and climbs and at the pass, a small lane leads off. There are no signs. The road winds down to a small car park and a wonderful little cove. No maps have a name for this place but it seems to be an official swimming spot. there is a little toilet and also a shower. The flag is flying saying no swimming today.

The tide is high and the onshore wind makes the sea rough, but a half dozen or so surfers are out. There are a bunch of small boathouses though I have never ever seen a boat on the water. I think they may belong to pleasure fisherpersons.

I get my feet wet scrambling over the rocks and pass through a couple of small beaches, but at the final rocky outcropping the sea is too high and I can't get through to Asari Beach, so climb back up to the road and head home. Years ago we were here when the sea was much calmer and the tide lower,  and we were able to get through. Some pics of that can be seen here on my Marine Day post.

A Walk Along the Japan Sea Coast part 3 Shiota

I suspect the fishing harbour at Watazu was busier in days gone by. It was big enough to have an ice-making facility, though it is possible that it was used by all the small fishing boats that come out of Gotsu around the corner on the banks of the river as I don't think there is an icemaking facility there.

Leaving the harbour there is then about 900 meters of narrow beach with the almost obligatory lines of concrete tetrapods just offshore.

Ahead is a headland that offers no possibility of walking around. The sand is piled high behind the beach, naturally as far as I can tell, and this embankment offers protection for the hamlet of Shiota in the hollow behind it.

Shiota, like my hamlet, is not a place anyone passes through. You either pass  by it, or go into. it. The lanes are narrow and most of the houses are older.

Route 9 and the Sanin rail line pass by somewhat enclosing Shiota before both of these main transportation arteries punch through the headland with tunnels. In the old days the Sanin -do, the ancient highway, passed over the hills a little inland from here.

A Walk Along the Japan Sea Coast part 2 to Watazu Port

At what I would say was the point where the Gonokawa river bank ends and the coast begins is a large rocky cliff and several smaller rocky outcroppings. As I passed the first rocky outcropping I was very surprised to see some surfers. There were three vans with license plates from Hiroshima and Yamaguchi, and I must admit I had never visited this spot before and had no idea it was a known surfing spot. The conditions were good as a series of waves continued to roll in....

Here was also a tetrapod farm. You cannot go many kilometers along the Japanee coast without coming across one of these. There are billions of tetrapods along the coast and rivers all over Japan.

From here a long concrete wall juts out into the sea and dog legs around to provide protection to the tiny fishing port. The seaward side of the wall is piled with tetrapods of course. Today is a national holiday so as well as the surfers there are also plenty of fisherpersons out fishing from the wall and the tetrapods. The wall is a little over 900 meters long.

Inside the wall is a small beach, with no waves obviously, and then begins the small port, with its own walls of concrete. There are only half a dozen small boats, and nothing is going out today with the sea swelling like it is.

A Walk Along the Japan Sea Coast part 1 the Mouth of the Gonokawa River

For my latest walking exploration I have decided to stay somewhat local and explore the coast of the Japan Sea. How long is the coast of the Sea of Japan?..... the closer you look at it and measure it more details become apparent, so its length tends towards the infinite. Standard fractal logic, so I intend to hug the coast as closely as possible and explore the nooks and crannies.

As I live on the banks of the Gonokawa River about 15k upstream from the Japan Sea that seems like an obvious place to start my first leg heading east. The Gonokawa is the longest river in West Japan, but it is a relatively young river. It literally comes out from the mountains at the coast. There is no alluvial deposits, no delta.

The West bank is dominated by the chemical factory that process wood pulp and cellulose. The East bank does have some beach. During the Edo Period the river marked the boundary between the Hamada Domain and this side of the river which belonged to the Shogunate being the extent of the Iwami Ginzan territory.

This side of the river the settlement is called Watazu and I have been told that in the old days there was no intermarriage across the river. Tomorrow is the Gonokawa Matsuri and the huge firework display will be set up on this side so that the majority of viewers in Gotsu will see them reflected in the river.

These photos were taken in mid August, just after sunrise at around 6am.

Kotogahama Beach Sunset

Kotogahama is yet another of the fine beaches we have here in Iwami. It is located just before Niima. Like most of the beaches, there are few people. We went there to watch an evening concert in a small cafe on the beach.

The beach is home to "singing " sand that was the inspiration of the nearby Nima Sand Museum. Actually the sand squeaks as you walk on it, but if you have heard any J-Pop then you know singing and squeaking are synonymous.

Living as we do in a narrow valley, sunrise and sunset is not something available to us, so I spent a lot of time watching the sun go down.

Our friends cafe is called Chinakamame and is highly recommended if you are in the area during the summer.

The nearby sand museum devoted to sand and inspired by the sand of this beach was built by one of my favorite architects who is from the area. I recommend at least a visit to the outside.

While, in my opinion, the exhibits leave much to be desired, I do find the interior of the museum as photogenic as the outside, featuring, as it does, the world's largest sand timer

To see some more of the beaches of this area I suggest clicking Japan Sea Coast Walk