My favorite place to go is a very short distance from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. I have been asked for directions several times, so I thought creating a specific blog post would be helpful.
I have done posts about Tzusu Beach several times.
This one is the first time we went to Tzusu Beach. There are lots and lots of photos!
This is the second time we went and discovered the sea glass for the first time.
This is another link with some fun pictures.
Mother's Day 2011. Tzusu Beach is my favorite thing! We went there on Mother's Day and then dinner at California Chicken. A great Iwakuni day!
So, do you know how to get to Yellow Hat from the Monzen Gate? You can also get there from the main gate...it's just faster to slip out of the Monzen Gate. If not...it's a hardware store on 188 that has a big yellow hat on the sign...it even says "Yellow Hat."
You are at the stoplight, with 188 in front of you and Yellow Hat on your left. You turn left on 188. Check out your odometer because it is EXACTLY 8 kilometers to the turn for Tzusu Beach.
You will know you are getting near, even if you didn't check your odometer, when you see this sign on your left for a pediatrician's office.
Then you will be going slightly up a sort of long hill and about halfway down the decline is when you hit the 8 kilometer mark and turn left (sea is on your left) into the entrance for Tzusu Beach.
The entrance curves to the right and around a retirement home. The parking lot is behind the retirement home.
There is a typical (rusty with weeds) Japanese park (but the kids still love it!) right in front of the parking lot along with restrooms (squatty potties, no Western potties) and a vending machine. Down at the beach, there is a small beach area to the right (with another restroom building) and then if you go left through the tunnel (We yell "ECHO! ECHO!" and "YODLELEYHEHOO!!!!!!!!!") there are a few more areas of beach. Some rocky, some beachy. All fun in their different ways!
You get much, much more sea glass (brown, clear, green, blue and, my favorite, Japanese pottery) when it is low tide. I just found this link that publishes the low and high tide times!
If you go during the week, during the morning, you may see yochien (preschool) kids playing on the beach. They like to run through the tunnel yelliing too!!!!!! :) Sometimes they also bring the residents of the retirement home out in wheelchairs to enjoy the sea view and air.
There is a "Ninja" playground (our title) in the woods behind the beach as well as a rusty zipline that is super fun. YOU NEED TO BRING BUG SPRAY if you plan on going there!!!!!!
Be sure to bring a plastic grocery bag, or two or three, for all of your sea glass and shell treasures. Also, I like to pick up litter along the way as well and throw it away or recycle when I get home.
It's also a good idea to pack a change of clothes for your little people because they will probably get wet, as in soaked, playing in the tide pools.
There is a faucet to rinse your feet at the restrooms closer to the beach, on the level of the big palm trees.
Some days there are freaky bugs that swarm and swarm on the walls and the beach. I tell my kids to stomp (when they're scared) and say "FE! FI! FO! FUM! I smell the blood of an Englishman!" to scare them away. They'll scatter. They really are creepy.
You only need to plan an hour and a half or two hours (with travel) to do this. It is not something you have to save for a Saturday, but a great morning or after school activity. It can be really hot (like everywhere) in the summer, so pack drinks and snacks for the car for the ride home. If you brought a change of clothes...stop at the Gyoza House for a quick lunch on the way home!
Enjoy! I hope this is helpful to my fellow citizens of Iwakuni! :)
I have done posts about Tzusu Beach several times.
This one is the first time we went to Tzusu Beach. There are lots and lots of photos!
This is the second time we went and discovered the sea glass for the first time.
This is another link with some fun pictures.
Mother's Day 2011. Tzusu Beach is my favorite thing! We went there on Mother's Day and then dinner at California Chicken. A great Iwakuni day!
So, do you know how to get to Yellow Hat from the Monzen Gate? You can also get there from the main gate...it's just faster to slip out of the Monzen Gate. If not...it's a hardware store on 188 that has a big yellow hat on the sign...it even says "Yellow Hat."
You are at the stoplight, with 188 in front of you and Yellow Hat on your left. You turn left on 188. Check out your odometer because it is EXACTLY 8 kilometers to the turn for Tzusu Beach.
You will know you are getting near, even if you didn't check your odometer, when you see this sign on your left for a pediatrician's office.
The entrance curves to the right and around a retirement home. The parking lot is behind the retirement home.
There is a typical (rusty with weeds) Japanese park (but the kids still love it!) right in front of the parking lot along with restrooms (squatty potties, no Western potties) and a vending machine. Down at the beach, there is a small beach area to the right (with another restroom building) and then if you go left through the tunnel (We yell "ECHO! ECHO!" and "YODLELEYHEHOO!!!!!!!!!") there are a few more areas of beach. Some rocky, some beachy. All fun in their different ways!
You get much, much more sea glass (brown, clear, green, blue and, my favorite, Japanese pottery) when it is low tide. I just found this link that publishes the low and high tide times!
If you go during the week, during the morning, you may see yochien (preschool) kids playing on the beach. They like to run through the tunnel yelliing too!!!!!! :) Sometimes they also bring the residents of the retirement home out in wheelchairs to enjoy the sea view and air.
There is a "Ninja" playground (our title) in the woods behind the beach as well as a rusty zipline that is super fun. YOU NEED TO BRING BUG SPRAY if you plan on going there!!!!!!
Be sure to bring a plastic grocery bag, or two or three, for all of your sea glass and shell treasures. Also, I like to pick up litter along the way as well and throw it away or recycle when I get home.
It's also a good idea to pack a change of clothes for your little people because they will probably get wet, as in soaked, playing in the tide pools.
There is a faucet to rinse your feet at the restrooms closer to the beach, on the level of the big palm trees.
Some days there are freaky bugs that swarm and swarm on the walls and the beach. I tell my kids to stomp (when they're scared) and say "FE! FI! FO! FUM! I smell the blood of an Englishman!" to scare them away. They'll scatter. They really are creepy.
You only need to plan an hour and a half or two hours (with travel) to do this. It is not something you have to save for a Saturday, but a great morning or after school activity. It can be really hot (like everywhere) in the summer, so pack drinks and snacks for the car for the ride home. If you brought a change of clothes...stop at the Gyoza House for a quick lunch on the way home!
Enjoy! I hope this is helpful to my fellow citizens of Iwakuni! :)
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