After the train ride, the girls set out for the Kujiranami beach from home (about 15 minutes walk). They went over the bridge at the entrance to the property (map). The view of the Japan Sea is approximately Northwest.
This beach is just to the right of the view from the bridge (map). This cove is typical of the Japan Sea coast in this area: stretches of sand separated by volcanic rock. To get to the next beach, climb around the rocks.
The next beach was larger with breakwaters (map). They found quite a few shells.
To the right, at the end of the beach is a cave. Notice the idol in an alcove inside.
And these tunnels are just to the right of the beach cave. Kujiranami means "whale waves" in English. The Japanese have a good sense of humor as illustrated in the tunnel entrance whale motifs.
The little tunnel at left is for walking to the next beach.
I had actually gotten off the train early at Kujiranami village so that I could explore more. (The others continued riding back to where we had parked the van.) I climbed a hill.
This is a detail view back toward where we were staying. See the Bible Institute building on the very top-right? See the blue whale at the lower-left? Notice the highway between them?
Then here is the full picture. This view is from above the Kujiranami station back toward where we were staying. The left side of the picture goes toward Kashiwazaki city.
Then, in this old picture, the Bible Institute building is visible along the line of the highway. Also, see the truck at the bottom and then the intersection corner above it? That is where the blue whale was put.
This picture illustrates the most significant change to me between now and then: the trees. Japan had stripped the land during WWII. So there were no old trees around when I was a child. (That is why I was so impressed by the trees on Nojiri Lake's island.)
From this hill looking to the right is the view of the main Kujiranami beach. For the summer months, the locals build temporary beach pavilions on the sand. Kujiranami is a popular summer beach location for Japanese vacationers.
That cave seen before is below the hills' edge on this beach.
Farther right looks over the breakwater beach where the girls ended up. The nearest green hill across the beach is a beautiful little park.
The train line at left beyond the beach follows the coast. I remember as a young child standing on a bridge there over the tracks mesmerized as a steam train approached with smoke and vigor. Someone called me and I ran to that hill park before I got smoked out.
At that park are stone benches for enjoying the view.
I had walked all over this area as a kid and completely knew my way around it still. And now I was so enchanted to re-discover the rugged beauty of this area.
I met the girls as they walked on the beach. Melanie & I then walked back a different route from the others.
Remember the blue whale? It is the entrance to a pedestrian underpass. This is probably the funniest whale motif. Did you also notice that it is spouting water? (I had pushed a button to activate it!)
When I was a kid the valley behind the Kujiranami property used to be terraced rice paddies.
However, as you can see of the same valley now, they are not worked any more.
The road into the Kujiranami property continues on up the mountain. I used to enjoy hiking it for views of the area. My walk this day turned into dusk. This is overlooking Kujiranami village.
We drove up up the mountain road the next morning to the good viewpoint I had found. This is Kujiranami village in the day. You can see the left beach breakwater and the beach cave at the right.
The same view from a wide angle. It looks North, and hourglass-shaped Sado island would be visible to the north if the view were clearer. The coastline on the right is beyond Kashiwazaki city.
On a hot day many years ago, we had hiked up that mountain road. These large leaves we found made funny hat substitutes. (Lisa in pink, Mom & Marilyn at right, I'm the tallest.) The same Kashiwazaki coastline is visible behind us
So we found some large leaves for a commemorative re-creation. However, the trees obscured the view in the same direction.
Unfortunately you can also see Mom's arm was in a cast. She slipped, fell and broke an arm bone while we were all exploring a path the day before.