Photo/Illutration Chirihama beach in Ishikawa Prefecture is packed with cars and motorcycles even during the off-swimming season on Oct. 9, 2020. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The Chirihama Nagisa Driveway on the Noto Peninsula, which juts out into the Sea of Japan from the coast of the central Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa, is known as “the only sandy beach road in Japan on which you can drive a car.”

The beach is made of fine sand that has been hardened by seawater into something like a paved road, allowing cars to drive on the beach. In the summer of 1955, a tourist bus drove onto the beach and put it on the tourist map.

In normal years, the beach would be vibrant with people. Some park their cars on the beach and swim in the sea, while others enjoy driving along the beach. But this beach is endangered.

“At this time of the year, the beach should be at its widest,” sighs Kazuo Toyama, 80, who was born and raised near the Chirihama beach.

The beach narrows in winter as it is chipped away by high waves. In summer, however, it widens again as mild waves bring sand to it. But this seasonal cycle of expansion and contraction has been disrupted, and the beach has been eroding since the 1980s at an alarming rate of about 1 meter per year on average.

The Ishikawa prefectural government has been dumping huge amounts of sand out at sea to promote sedimentation. It has also been installing concrete blocks on the seafloor to mitigate the strength of waves. These efforts are beginning to produce results, bit by bit.

Toyama, however, remains concerned about the future of the beach.

“Chirihama is vital for the identity of our city, Hakui. I don’t know how long we will be able to continue spending huge amounts of money to preserve the beach.”

Why is the beach shrinking? Masatoshi Yuhi, 57, a professor at Kanazawa University in Ishikawa Prefecture, says the ecological “balance of payments” of the beach has been disturbed by man-made problems.

The construction of a port and a sand-control dam has reduced the inflow of sand. Gravel digging in the past has also contributed to the erosion of the beach.

“Researchers in marine engineering call the phenomenon ‘encroachment’ instead of ‘erosion’ as a warning to themselves,” says Yuhi.

Usually, a Shinto ritual is held in September on the Chirihama beach to pray for an end to erosion.

I naively thought there always were beaches where there was a sea. But beaches can disappear unless they are preserved by people. As I stood on the beach “in deficit,” I realized the grim reality.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 5

* * *

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

Related News