Over the past week i’ve had a great mate of mine from Australia in town. Motts has made the most of his time here in Tokyo and has also managed to get a few days down to Kyoto mid week and a day in Nagoya Sunday for the Sumo.
Motts has been a massive supporter and regular reader of this site since it’s launch and it was great to show him somethings i love about Japan first hand. On the weekend It was too hot to do the next installment on the JR Yamanote Line although he was angling for it … instead we spent a lazy Saturday down at Shonan Beach, Enoshima.
Shonan Beach is about an hour away on the Odakyu line if you take the Limited Express Romance Car, the hour is made easy with a few cans of the local brew.

It was hands down, one of the best days i’ve had in Japan, sitting in a bar on the beach is something i’ve done in many many countries and Saturday was the first time i’d done it in Japan.
It’s a different side of Japan down that way, and the memories of past holidays in Ilha da Itaparica in Brazil and Jomtien Beach in Thailand came flooding back.
The beach isn’t exactly the golden sand of the Gold Coast and the water isn’t the bluest in the world, there’s also plenty of shite that’s been washed up on the shores.
All that aside, Shonan Beach was and is a lot of fun, i will be back, many times throughout this summer.
Time for a beer before hitting the sand. Beers are a tad expensive but you have to expect that at a tourist destination like this … 600 yen isn’t that bad.

There’s a good crowd down there on the weekends, stretching quite a long way up the beach.

Plenty of tanned bodies, male and female.


The first sign of a bar on the beach, things were certainly looking up.

And looking up further again.

Old mate hasn’t just gone half way here, he’s oiled himself up a bit too.

The water was surprisingly warm.


This looks like us for the day, as much as it’s great to get down the beach, it’s nice to get out of the direct sun and keep yourself hydrated.

It wouldn’t be a true beach bar if the barman wasn’t shirtless and shoeless.

It doesn’t take long to meet other patrons of the bar. Motts has caught on to the mandatory peace sign in photos already.

Too bad the bloke taking the photo had a thing for the roof and not more of the girls.

The girls numbers grew throughout the day, as did our dialog with them. Oh to be 19 again.
I actually had some video footage of the girls but did 2 things wrong, 1 didn’t change the setting to beach so i caught a LOT of glare and 2 i had it set to full HD so i’m not able to upload to Vimeo. That’s reason enough to go back down there.



The bar i spent most of the day, doesn’t look like much but the basic ones are often the best.

Taking advantage of the outside shower.


Heading back up the walkway the crowds were dispersing quickly.


Over the river and back to the station.




Some likely lads cruising in the Impala.

Even the station was a highlight down Enoshima.

While we waited for the Romance Car we managed another brewski.

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Nice post, Neil. Looks like a great day!
I am so very jealous and want to get back to Japan!!
55 days to wait, sigh
Looks like a very nice day, indeed. And, the ladies were friendly to boot. Please get your video problem fixed so we can see more of them.
No topless girls then Duck?
Unfortunately mate, no … not the day i was down there. Fingers crossed for next time.
You gotta love those hotties!
Japan is so blessed!
sun, surf, wave and chicks Japanese style – great post Duck
Cheers man, thanks for stopping by and checking it out … well officially by leaving a comment anyway, sure you watch from a far from time to time. Will ping you on facebook, got a few things to discuss re this November.
Girls in bikini’s F.T.W!!!!
Great day, Duck. Lot of super memories. You didn’t mention the fact though that I went back to my hotel with one of the girls from the photos whilst you left empty-handed.
If only that was the case mate, unfortunately you will go home 0-7.
funny that i know the JR Yamanote Line now
glad you had fun at the beach!
Seems nice beach to visit.
I made it to enoshima yesterday for the first time for the summer. you captured it well neil! give it another few weeks and you’ll be hard up to find a spot to put your ground sheet down..
Looks like i’ll have to get down there early then Glenn …. half your luck getting down midweek too by the way!
those beers look so good! girls ain’t bad either
Ah man, I envy you! I used to love going to Enoshima every weekend in the summer. A lot of people hate it since it’s so Dirty and crowded, but give me that atmosphere over the beautiful but deserted beaches of Zushi & c any day! And all those girls in bikinis made-up to the eyeballs – thought I’d never tire of it.
Make sure you make it to some of the fireworks festivals too!
It’s one on the first places i’ve been in Japan where the entertainment and socialising hasn’t seemed so sanitized, i love it.
Check out the fireworks display at the end of this video. It wasn’t so much for the fireworks, but this was one of the best in Tokyo – Futagotamagawa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEXWD74eqGU
GREAT video man!, The chick in the pink at the beginning isn’t too bad either!
ha ha thanks, that’s my Girlfriend of 3 years actually. Speaking of girls, I LOVE your header on this blog. Where’s the rest of that photo set?!
There isn’t one Mark, unfortunately i didn’t take the photo myself. I came across it while trawling through the images from Google, never seen it again so lucky i grabbed it …. not sure where from either so can’t give credit.
So I take it that Japan accepts older men to be hanging out with much younger girls then? I mean, no offense, but teenage chicks in bikinis hanging out with you guys in, say, LA, would certainly raise a few eyebrows at the least, right?! Judging by how popular foreign guys seem in your shots, I take it picking up girls in Japan is easier than in the west? Living out there for over a year, you gotta be on double figures by now!! Cheers, G
Japan accepts older men and younger girls within their own culture, not just from foreigners. As for ‘picking up girls’ you’ve still got to have some game about yourself no matter where you are, i mean if you’re a dickhead in your own country that still translates when you get here. It does help that we look and act different than Japanese guys and it’s not uncommon for Japanese girls to like Western guys because we have a ‘ladies first’ mentality that often doesn’t appear here.
An amusing read here if you’re interested …. http://www.toplessrobot.com/2008/08/the_10_most_common_gaijin_youll_find_in_japan.php
I was down in those parts recently. It really is a fun place to be.