Shirahama
Shirahama, A Resort Town On The Kii Coast With A Long White Sand Beach (Shirarahama), Hot Springs And The Sandanbeki Sea Cave, Long The Kansai Region'S Seaside Getaway. Crowded In Summer, Open As An Onsen Town All Year. · Shirahama, Wakayama
Shirahama is a seaside onsen town on the Kii peninsula in Wakayama, long the Kansai region's getaway on the Pacific. Its centrepiece is Shirarahama, a bright white beach of soft quartz sand about 600 m long, next to a row of hotels and ryokan. Beyond the sand are the Sandanbeki sea cliffs and cave, with an elevator down into the cave, Senjojiki, a broad flat shelf of rock, and the Engetsu-to island arch, a sea-eroded rock with a hole in it. Adventure World, a zoo and amusement park where giant pandas have been kept, draws families. The town also has the Saki-no-yu, a public bath open to the sea, said to sit on one of Japan's oldest hot spring sites. It takes about two hours from Osaka on the JR Kuroshio limited express, so it suits a weekend or a long day. It is worth the trip for summer swimming and an onsen night, and it is crowded in July and August. It is less interesting for a rushed day with bad weather.
Shirahama, Nishimuro District, Wakayama, on the Kii coast, reached from Shirahama Station on the JR Kinokuni Line or by air to Nanki-Shirahama Airport, Shirahama, Wakayama, Japan
The beach and the coastal rocks are open all year, with no gate, though swimming is practical only in the summer season, roughly July to August, when lifeguards and beach huts operate. Sandanbeki cave and Adventure World have fixed daily hours, commonly from morning to late afternoon with a last entry earlier, and they can close on a weekday or for maintenance. Public baths and hotels open daily, with day-use hours that differ by bath. Trains on the JR Kuroshio line run through the day but with gaps, so check the last return. Confirm opening times, closed days and fees before you go.