Sawada no Hama

The water at Sawada is so shallow that at low tide you can walk far out across the flats among the big rocks. Many of those boulders came ashore with the Meiwa tsunami of 24 April 1771, and some may be older. The beach is on the national list of Japan's 100 best beaches, and the approach lights of Shimojishima Airport run out into the sea at the Shimoji end.

Stone fish weirs, called nagaki, still stand on the tidal flats and are a city folk-cultural property. The shallows make Sawada poor for swimming or snorkelling. Come at sunset, check the tide before you walk out, and turn back before the flood tide, which runs strongly at springs.