Nakatajima Dunes

photo by Mike B in Colorado from Boulder, CO, USA · CC BY 2.0

photo by Mike B in Colorado · CC BY 2.0

One of the three great dunes of Japan: on 3–5 May, battles are fought with kites.

Four kilometres of sand along the Enshū Sea, up to 600 metres wide: it is counted among the three great dunes of Japan together with Tottori and Fukui. Every year, from 3 to 5 May, it hosts the giant kite battles (凧揚げ合戦) of the Hamamatsu Matsuri, one of the largest city festivals in the country: the neighbourhood teams cut their rivals' strings between 10:00 and 15:00.

The dunes, formed by sediment carried by the Tenryū River and reshaped by the wind, are part of the Enshū-nada coastal park. Outside the festival days they are a place for walks, and the beach below is a nesting area for sea turtles in summer.

ℹ️ Free entry all year round. Free car park at Kazaguruma Park (200 spaces, 8:00–17:30, until 19:00 from April to September) or the Nakatajima Kaihin-kōen car park (352 spaces).

🚉 大畑 · 15 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · hamamatsu-pippi.net · nsaq-museum.net

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