You are not going to find fresher and better tasting fish and other sea creatures in the world than in Japan. On our way home from the beach last month, we stopped at a fish market and hand selected our piece of tuna. The vendors had a live demonstration of cutting the fish for people to purchase. The market is located near Shirahama Beach on the Kii peninsula, so the catch is fresh. This is also the place of the infamous dolphin harvest featured in the documentary The Cove. I hope it was sustainably harvested.
The day at the beach reminded me of the Mediterranean, with warm water, green hills and lots of people. It was our first beachtime all summer, so it was quite exhilarating. Now that the swim “season” in Japan is over, the beaches will be less crowded and we hope to go a couple of times in September before it gets too cold. Shirahama means “white beach” or “white bay” and it was a very popular tourist beach in the 1970s. Due to erosion, they had to import white sand from Perth, Australia, but I think they have it under control now. It has lost its popularity due to other options being available for beach holidays, but it is still a pleasant place to go. It is about a 2-hour drive from our home.
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