A shallow beach stretching about a kilometer. When low tide coincides with sunset and the wind dies down in the evening calm known as Seto no yunagi, the tide pools turn to mirrors, and photos that look like Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni have made the beach famous. It has also been named one of Japan's 100 best sunset spots.
273-1 Nio-otsu, Nio-cho, Mitoyo, Kagawa
Sources: mitoyo-kanko.com
This moment in the journey
Chichibugahama, where the water mirrors the sky
I also made my way to Chichibugahama, one of Kagawa's most popular beaches. The shallows ran far out to sea, and someone had set up a tripod to photograph the water. I stopped by a "bookshop" standing by the beach, its noren curtain reading Hyakusai Shoten. What it offers isn't books, but local products rooted in the area, along with the stories those products carry.
I picked up a jar of anchovies from the Seto Inland Sea and opened the booklet propped beside it. The cover read "A Thank-You from the Seto Inland Sea," with a founding date of Meiji 45 (1912).
As the sun went down, the tide pools turned into mirrors. Chichibugahama is also called "Japan's Salar de Uyuni," and at dusk especially, the water reflects the beautiful sky. The setting sun and my own silhouette floated on the water a second time.
Watch this scene on YouTube6:55
More notes from this journey
Mitoyo (Mt. Shiude)
Mt. Shiudeyama
At 352 meters, the highest peak on the Shonai Peninsula.
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Hirakiyama Park
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Kotohira-gu Shrine (Konpira-san)
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Honetsukidori, Marugame's bone-in chicken
A bone-in chicken leg roasted in an oven, a dish rarely found elsewhere in Japan.
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Kamogawa, Chiba
Namero on rice
Namero is a Chiba specialty handed down along the coast of the Boso Peninsula.
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Kamogawa, Chiba
Sauce yakisoba
A staple of summer festival stalls.
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Grilled seafood skewers
The taste of the festival stall, on a small charcoal grill on the veranda.
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Kamakura, Kanagawa
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Kenchin-jiru
A soup of root vegetables and tofu, sautéed in oil before simmering.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kamakura morning set with grilled dried fish
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