Our Visit to Jodogahama Beach, Marine House National Park at Iwate Prefecture, Japan (Day 2 of 9)
On the second day of our summer getaway, we woke up early at around 6:30 in the morning. We book the Rutoin Hotel, and it is, in fact, our favorite hotel when it comes to buffet breakfast. There are a lot of choices on the buffet table, and it was all nutritious. We stayed at our table for about 1 hour and ate all we wanted for breakfast.
We left the hotel at around 8:30 am and started our drive to Iwate Prefecture. It took us 3 hours before we reach the beach area. Kids continued to take their naps inside the car and had a snack on our way. At around 11 am we arrived at Marine Park. There were very few parking spaces open by that time, but we were still lucky we found one open space at parking 1 because there are 3 huge parking areas. Parking 1 is the nearest to the beach, so we advise you to use it for faster access. A shuttle bus will pick or drop passengers from the parking area, but we failed to hop on by the time because we are a little late on the schedule. Instead, we walk to the beach, which takes around 15 minutes from parking area 1. There are many options to go by the beach, but for us, we went down the visitor area, checked a little of what’s inside, and went straight to the marine house after. To enjoy the visit here, renting a boat is the primary option.
Upon arriving at the beach, tourists will easily notice these birds asking for food. If you rent a boat, they will give you the food for birds. With this, my children enjoy feeding the birds as they fought to catch the food.
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Two boats are available for rent during our visits, one small for a family of four like us, and then the other one is fit for a big group tour like 10 persons. There has 1 boatman inside to manipulate the boat. Since there are only two boats, we waited for around 30 minutes for our turn to ride the boat, and feeding the birds help entertain the children while waiting.
Wearing of life vest and head protection gear while sailing on the ocean is a requirement, and it is provided once you paid for the boat ticket.
The tour on the beach takes 30 minutes to finish. The view was amazing with different aspects of views. A lot of rock formation which looks like a small island. Rocks that have the shape of animals and a historical story about a Japanese prince were discussed during the boat trip. Before, they said that a prince used to go up the temple around the rocky island and hid inside.
After our boat ride, we walk to the beach and rest for a while. Our children whose always love to catch small fish or seashells, started to hunt from under the rocks. It was surprisingly so many small shells hidden under the rock. We took a look at it and released it right away. The water is a bit cold but perfect for sunny weather on that day.
Head to the restaurant after playing at the beach water. It was already 1 pm by the time we get to the beach restaurant. Food was delicious with seafood in it.
By 2:30 pm, we are leaving the coast by riding the shuttle bus. Inside the shuttle bus is a guide that was giving trivia all about the ocean waves. He said the speed of a tsunami is about 900 kph. Tsunami evacuation can be seen in the visitor’s area too.
Jodogahama beach is truly a place for a scenic view. Driving for long hours to reach here is worth it. The experience of seeing the peaceful surroundings of the beach is just so unique. No wonder this is included in the list of the best beach in Japan.
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