Shichirigahama Beach

Shichirigahama is the long, scenic beach that stretches west from the cape of Inamuragasaki toward Enoshima, along the coast between Kamakura and Fujisawa. Its name means roughly seven-ri beach, an old measure hinting at its length, and it is one of the most photographed stretches of the entire Shonan coast. Backed by the coastal road and green headlands, and open to the wide sweep of Sagami Bay, Shichirigahama is less a swimming beach than a place to walk, surf and gaze out at one of Japan's classic sea views.

The view is the reason to come. Looking west across the water, the island of Enoshima sits close offshore with its bridge and observation tower, and beyond it, on clear days and especially in the crisp air of winter, the unmistakable cone of Mount Fuji rises above the horizon. Sunset here is a genuine spectacle, the sky and sea turning gold and rose behind the island and mountain, and it is no surprise that this scene appears endlessly in films, photographs and advertising as the very image of the Shonan shore. The dark, iron-rich sand and the surf give the beach a moodier, more dramatic character than the golden sweep of Yuigahama.

Shichirigahama is a magnet for surfers and windsurfers, who are out on the water year-round, and the coast road above the sand is lined with stylish cafes and restaurants that make the most of the sea view, giving the area a laid-back, slightly fashionable Shonan atmosphere. Swimming is not the main draw here, and there is no designated bathing beach with summer lifeguards as at Yuigahama, so the crowd skews toward walkers, photographers, surfers and diners rather than families with buckets and spades.

The beach has its place in history too. It was near here, in the waters off Shichirigahama, that a tragic 1910 boating accident claimed the lives of a group of schoolboys, an event long commemorated locally and a reminder that the bay's beauty comes with real currents and swells. Today a memorial stands above the shore, and the sea should always be treated with respect, particularly by non-surfers.

Visiting could hardly be easier. Shichirigahama Station on the charming Enoden tram line sits just a three-minute walk from the sand, and the railway crossing beside the station, where the little green-and-cream trains pass with the sea and Enoshima behind, has become a pilgrimage spot for fans of a famous basketball anime that used the scene in its opening. The Enoden is a private line not covered by the Japan Rail Pass, though IC cards work normally. Public restrooms are available, cafes are plentiful along the road, and paid parking can be found nearby, though it fills fast on fine weekends. Come on a clear late afternoon, order a coffee with a sea view, and watch Fuji fade into the sunset; Shichirigahama is the Shonan coast at its most photogenic.