Okiura Beach
I made a new find. (New to me, anyway.) The last JET here, Zoé, told me that one of her favorite places on the island was Okiura Beach. I am slightly ashamed to say that I just saw it for the first time. It is gorgeous. We have 2 beaches advertised for public visitation on Hakatajima, though we have many more since we’re an island. The biggest one is called, unsurprisingly, Hakata Beach. It’s a manmade beach on the far side of the island from me, which features a snack shop and a nice parking lot and whatnot. It’s nice. Okiura Beach is different. It’s marked by a very small, rusted sign that is fastened with plastic snaps to a road girder. Classy. Ha ha. Anyway, I walked down the road once more. The last time I turned here, I walked straight (where the sign actually points) and I found myself at a very small port for ferries. This time I took a left onto an unmarked concrete road and hastily walked along the side, not wanting to become roadkill. I found my way up and over a small ridge, and then down back towards the water, and there she was stretched out in front of me - Okiura Beach. I went on a really cloudy day, which makes me think that if this had been a sunny day I would have been totally bedazzled. (And not by that stupid girly toy from the 80s that still won’t die.) I walked the length of the beach a few times, just taking in the sights. I liked the smooth rocks on the ends - they are interesting because they contain some kind of crystalline material that is evident when they break. Maybe like a rose quartz or something. I dunno - I never studied rocks. I also liked the little gazebo area / camp area that they had set up off the road. It looked like it hadn’t been used in a really long time - knee-high grass covered most of it. I couldn’t get over the color of the water - which, again, I’m sure would deepen and clear up on a sunny day - and found myself mesmerized by it. I think I will return there for some reading before summer hits - while it’s still mostly unoccupied. It’s an amazing place. You were right, Zoé. 
