You’re probably thinking, of course it does. Japan being an archipelago, it better have. Then again, Japan must come way down the list of places tourists consider for a summer getaway, right below places like Bali or Hawaii. Or maybe it’s just the Filipino in me, having been spoiled by luxurious white sand beaches in Boracay, the surf-ready waves in the northern coasts of Ilocos and La Union, and the sparkling blue lakes of Coron. There’s a joke made by a cousin of mine during one of my visits when he was still working in Singapore (he’s now based somewhere in the Netherlands) that Filipinos go abroad for work, then come back home for vacations.
But back to Japan: early this month I had the opportunity to visit Amanohashidate, towards the coastal tip of Kyoto Prefecture, facing the Sea of Japan. The primary reason for this trip was a retreat for our laboratory, alongside some handpicked members from collaborating universities and research institutions across the country. The trip there from Nara took approximately three hours. After a long ride on expressways cutting through scenic mountainsides of Kyoto, we were finally treated with a view of Miyazu Bay: a wide crescent of clear, blue waters sandwiched in between two picturesque mountains, with the famous Amanohashidate sandbar cutting right through them.
Trips to Japan typically come in one of two (clichéd) variations: exploring the dense urban sprawl of cities like Tokyo and Osaka, or sampling the many historic sites of Kyoto. Sunning in Amanohashidate and taking a dip in the cool Miyazu waters was something of a pleasant surprise. Our lab retreat was scheduled thus: a sequence of research talks in the morning, followed by about four hours of free time after lunch, then dinner, and we picked up on our academic concerns with some poster sessions to cap the day.
During those free hours, we were ushered by Z, a fellow doctoral student at the lab who had just finished a three-month internship in Italy, and had come back with some new European sensibilities. Part task-master and tour guide, Z led us into the Amanohashidate view land, which offered breathtaking views of the sandbar and the crescent of Miyazu bay, and then after all the walking in Japan’s harsh summer heat, we came down to the beach for some much-needed swim.
The entire lab had checked into a traditional Japanese ryokan fronting the bay area. At first I was iffy about the rooms not having an en-suite shower, but an onsen on the upper floor with an almost panoramic window looking out at the sea was a welcome alternative. I made it a point to wake up at 6 AM, just as the onsen area opened and while everyone else was still dead asleep from all the late-night drinks that punctuated the poster sessions. It felt quite luxurious to be taking a soak early in the morning in the furo, sweating the alcohol out of my system while enjoying the sea view. The onsen being empty was another plus, since it meant I didn’t have to be conscious of being in the nude around labmates and colleagues. I even got to take a picture of the place.
But really the biggest selling point of Miyazu for me was the trains. I think partly because it’s a provincial area with very few residences (and surprisingly few tourists), the trains haven’t been modernized to the point of indistinguishability from the metro lines that ply the more populated areas of Osaka or Nara. The JR and Willer company train lines still look like older carriages right out of a Kurosawa picture: colorful and quaint. On our second day, Z led us to an out-of-the-way part of Miyazu, to a construction spot jutting out of the bay where we could watch and take pictures of trains passing through a bridge. I feel like half of us that went there were confused as to how this qualified as a tourist activity, but I sure got a treat out of it.
There were a few more activities that Amanohashidate had to offer. Some temples, which is to be expected of a prefecture like Kyoto. We had our lunches at restaurants that offered fresh seafood (though paying as much as 500 yen for a piece of oyster did make my eyes water). Our brief visit to Amanohashidate certainly introduced me to a character of Japan I wasn’t expecting, though I honestly should have. I’m eager to know more about other beaches that Japan has to offer, and I’m certainly in the lookout now.
Dominic Dayta 
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