Sunday, June 10, 2012

Gone Seoul Searching in Japan: Taking a day trip to Tokyo's Zushi Beach

Zushi beach makes for a great day trip from Tokyo.
Everyone is having a blast in the warm water as they paddle board, wind surf, and swim.
  
     When you get a beautiful sunny day during the rainy season in Japan you have to take advantage and head to the beach. The coastal atmosphere has completely surprised me with its mellow yet active atmosphere. People take walks on the beach while drinking a beer, go windsurfing on neon colored crafts, and do some good old fashioned sun bathing. The water is warm and the breeze is cool. No offense Korea, but you guys need to be more adventurous when it comes to beach life and water activities, and this also means that you can't be afraid to get a tan!

These guys were carrying a small boat and paddle board.
     Zushi is just north of Kamakura and Enoshima, where many tourists and Japanese frequent to see the famous Kamakura Daibutsu (Buddha), Enoshima island, and other temples and major sites. The neighborhood itself is wealthy as there are many nice houses with quite big plots of land and fertile gardens. I like Zushi because of the fact that it is a beach for the sake of a beach, to be enjoyed for beach fun and nothing else. Kamakura and Enoshima are more touristy as they have many other attractions besides the beach. If you are looking for sand, relaxation, and water fun then Zushi beach is right for you.

Beer and tacos in Japan, I'm sold!
     Beware of the crazy birds at the beach! If you leave food out for one second they will swoop down and steal your lunch. My friend and I were sitting very close to one another eating some chips when suddenly, a bird swooped down in between us brushing my sunglasses with its wing and grabbing the chip out of my friends hands with its nasty little claws. This bird had guts and we could see it circling above us getting ready for another kill!

Nearby corner stores are great to stock up on some cheap drinks.
    There are plenty of great restaurants all near the beach as you walk from Zushi station. Among them are Thai, Mexican, Korean,  and American. We stopped for dinner at a great burger joint called Freshness Burger. This is on the left hand side if you are walking from the station down to the beach and is packed full of hungry Japanese and Westerners alike. We ordered the double double with grilled onions and french fries and were delighted to discover a "real" burger joint. They even have burgers with blue cheese and avacado. How much more Californian does it get?
California girl stoked to be at the beach!
    Finally, be prepared to fork out some money for the train ride down there. From where I live in Kanagawa, the train ride there was a steep 950 yen. Yep! That is about $20 round trip just to get to the beach. You may be able to find cheaper routes that will save you a couple of bucks each way, so check out Hyperdia before you go. If you haven't used Hyperdia yet, it is an extremely reliable English time table of all of the trains in Japan. Enjoy the beach!

More windsurfers.

The cute tiki place that has Mexican tacos and beer.
The first view of the beach from under the bridge.

A bunch of windsurfers out at Zushi.

Two Americans stoked to be at the beach!

There's nothing like a beach side game of connect four!

A family that took a day trip down to the beach, this girl has a little red wagon, my childhood memories came rushing back!

Inside the burger joint "Freshness burger" at Zushi beach.

A great hamburger in Japan.

A shot of Zushi station, nothing special.


Nice houses around the neighborhood in Zushi.























If you have any questions or comments about "Gone Seoul Searching in Japan: Taking a day trip to Tokyo's Zushi Beach"  please leave them in the comment box below or email them to goneseoulsearching@gmail.com 
  Creative Commons License  Gone Seoul Searching by Marie Webb is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at goneseoulsearching@gmail.com.




5 개의 댓글:

BB said...

Great post- I didn't realise they had beach resorts like this in Japan. I am really enjoying your blog. This might be a random question but how old are you and what kind of ages are the people teaching through Westgate? I have thought about applying (I also taught in Korea a while ago) but I will be a nearly 30 year old woman and feel kind of old..! I was much younger when I was in Korea. ha! :-)

Marie W said...

Hello BB!

There are a ton of beach resorts in Japan. Especially quaint getaways on many of their islands and in the mountains for onsen (hot spring) vacations. I recently turned 24 years old. I am one of the youngest teachers working for Westgate right now. All of my co workers seem to be in their late twenties 28,29 through mid thirties. There are also quite a few people in their upper thirties and forties. So you are NOT OLD my any means! It is such a short contract if you are doing extracurricular courses, only 3 months! So it is great if you are looking to experience another country while doing something short term. However, It is a long work day. I leave my house at 7;25 and get home every day at around 6:30-7pm and that is early for alot of teachers. This is because of a far commute to and from work because of where the Westgate apartments are located. But I highly recommend the job : ) it definitely has its pros and cons, but it is very professional and the Japanese students are very interesting in comparison to many of my Korean students, they are all in clubs, on teams, and have part time jobs and live very active lifestyles.

BB said...

Thank you for your excellent reply Marie!

Illaura said...

Thanks for the tip about Hyperdia! It's going on my study abroad essentials list!

Marie W said...

absolutely llaura! Hyperdia is great! : )

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Creative Commons License
Gone Seoul Searching by Marie Webb is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at goneseoulsearching@gmail.com.
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