We have been looking forward to returning to Tatadohama for several weeks now. Several years ago, we went to the summer fireworks festival at Shirahama (a popular beach nearby) and loved it. We wanted to see the fireworks again this year but unfortunately I had to proctor a reading exam at the university in the afternoon. The traffic in Izu is heavy on weekends but on a 3-day weekend, it would be probably a very frustrating drive on a Saturday afternoon. (It takes 2.5 – 3 hours in the middle of the night, so it probably take at least 5 or 6 hours). We decided to pass on the fireworks festival (keeping my fingers crossed for next year) and leave just after midnight and sleep in the car when we got to the beach.
We arrived at 3:15 am, managed to find a parking spot and quickly went to sleep. The sunrise is early these days, so I was unable to sleep for very long. I was up and about by 4:30 am and was in the water by 4:45 am. As you can probably imagine, I wasn’t the only one out there. There were 5 or 6 surfers already in the water but with each passing minute, more and more people entered the water. Most of the people seemed to be riding longboards.
I forgot the memory card for the camera, but I knew that there is at least one website that posts daily pictures of Tatadohama, so I knew that there would be at least a picture for the blog.
Here’s a nice panorama picture that was taken at just after 7 am. As you can see, there are already quite a few families and sunbathers at the beach. Quite a different scene than my local points of Yoshida and Kashima. (Mind you, I haven’t been to Kashima during the official beach season).
I knew that the website site posts pictures that are taken around 7 am, so I was determined to stay in the water until at least 8 am! As the tide went out, the number of waves decreased drastically so it there was lot more waiting than surfing. However, my determination was rewarded. Here’s a zoomed section of the above panorama photo. If you look closely, I’m in the clump of 6 surfers on the left side of the photo (the 2nd from the left to be precise).
Here’s another picture that was taken much later in the day, but it will give you an idea how many people visit this beautiful beach.
We actually left at around 11 am after having enough sun, waves and crowds for the day. Looking forward to returning to Tatadohama next month!
