The beach resort is located on the Tobishima Kaido of Aki-nada!

“Hiroshima Prefectural Beach” is a beautiful white-sand beach in the south-eastern part of Kamikamagari-jima Island, on the Tobishima Kaido (Sea Route) in Aki-nada.
It is one of the most popular swimming beaches in Hiroshima, and there are many facilities and buildings including the “Kure City Kamagari B&G Sea Center” where you can experience sea kayaking or SUP (Stand Up Paddle Board), the “Kure City Astronomical Observatory Hall” on the seaside, tennis courts, restaurants, various accommodations, and a hot spring resort.

Of course, many people come to this beach in the summer time. However, summer is not the only good season to visit here.
You can see beautiful sunsets or sunrises in autumn and winter.
Moreover, the best season for doing astronomical observation with a telescope is also autumn and winter, when the sky is clear and full of stars!

“Kure City Astronomical Observatory Hall” is uniquely located on the beach, and it is one of only 2 astronomical observatories along the seaside in Japan.
You can attend a regular observation meeting every Saturday, and you can also do so on a weekday if you make a reservation. The fee is just 200 yen and very reasonable!
Surprisingly, you can see Saturn’s rings and some of its moons along with the planet when you take a look at the night sky through the 42cm Maksutov telescope!

This beach is far away from the urban area, so this location is the best for sky-watching with clean air and little influence from city lights.

It is also worth it to see the sunrise at the beach from the promenade along the observatory.
I recommend staying overnight, and taking a walk in the early morning to the roof of the observatory, where there is also a lookout.

Various accommodations at Hiroshima Prefectural Beach

Hiroshima Prefectural Beach celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2018, and new dome-shaped cottages for accommodation have been opened!

Based on the white color of the dome cottages, you may even imagine that you are staying on the Aegean Sea!
You can hear the gentle and comfortable sound of waves on the beach.
One cottage is for 2 people, and the other two accommodate 4 people, so why don’t you stay there with your family or partner?

Each cottage has a pretty big balcony, and of course you can see the beach from it.
There are cooking utensils, a refrigerator, rice cookers, etc. in the cottage so that you can cook your own food.
Barbecuing on the beach is actually prohibited, but you can do a barbecue on the balcony only if you use the rental cooking stove (rental fee: 2,000 yen).
You can get some meat or vegetables as a barbecue set even if you have not made any preparations!

The wooden cottage (like a log house) on the hill is a very relaxing accommodation with a beautiful view of Setouchi.
The view from the balcony is especially nice as you can get the whole view of “Koi-ga-hama (the beach of love)” underneath.

Not many people know about this, but the beach is also a great spot for watching the sunset in autumn and winter.
Hiroshima Prefectural Beach and Koi-ga-hama are both designated as one of Japan’s 100 Most Beautiful Beaches.
I hope you can see a fantastic sunset just like the one in the picture above.

Now you can understand why I recommend that you stay there overnight without worrying yourself about the long drive back home in the dark!
And of course, one more important reason to stay is that you can see a great sunrise in the morning!

Kenmin-no-hama (Hiroshima Prefectural Beach) Kamagari
Address／7605, Oura, Kamagari-cho, Kure-shi, Hiroshima
Phone／0823-66-1177
Open／9:00～21:00 (Kagayaki-no-Yakata)
Closed／No holiday for Kagayaki-no-Yakata (other facilities have holidays for each)
Parking lot／Available
http://kennhama.net

Accommodation charge:
・Kagayaki-no-Yakata: from 8,200 yen (including dinner and breakfast)　
・Dome shaped cottage Kamagari：from 10,000 yen for a cottage for 2 people
・Cottage Kamagari： from 30,000 yen for a cottage accommodating up to 10 people

Kure City Astronomical Observatory Hall
Address／Oura, Kamagari-cho, Kure-shi, Hiroshima (Inside of Hiroshima Prefectural Beach)
Phone／0823-66-1166
Open／9:00～21:00
Closed／Mondays, Tuesdays, and the year-end and New Year holidays
Regular observation meeting／19:30～21:00 every Saturday ※Reservations required for weekday observation
Fee／High school students or older: 200 yen/Junior high school students or younger: 100 yen
Parking lot／Available
http://kamaten.net

Photographs and text by Hironobu Matsuoka