Itoshima 2019: Watching the surfers at Niginohama Beach

After leaving Mataichi Salt Maker I bicycled for about an hour and then took a break at Niginohama Beach on the north shore of the Itoshima Peninsula. As it turns out, I had stopped at one of the surfer beaches of Itoshima and there were a fair amount of people out in the water with their boards. The waves weren’t all that big when I was there but they were just big enough for the surfers to catch. Since the waves are small I imagine this beach is good for people who are learning how to surf and aren’t quite ready to graduate to the bigger waves, or maybe it’s a place for people who want a more relaxed surfing experience. Regardless, Niginohama was a pretty chill beach and after capturing some photos I relaxed for a couple minutes and just watched the surfers and the waves they rode.

On my way back to the road I took note of the pine trees by the beach. These coastal pine trees are common in Itoshima and a few years ago many of them were badly damaged by a big typhoon but it looked like the surviving trees were starting to grow again. It’ll be years before the trees are fully healed but as long as another powerful typhoon doesn’t strike the region in the near future they should be able to bounce back from the damage.