Shiraishi Beach

Shiraishi Beach sits north of Fukutsu city with white sand, clear water, and a direct sightline to Okinoshima, a sacred island worshipped since ancient times. For centuries, people gathered here at the end of rice planting season to perform offerings of sake and sekihan rice in the direction of the island and share a meal on tatami mats spread across the sand. Those traditions continued until the mid-twentieth century. The swimming season runs July through August, and outside that period the narrow access road to the beach is closed to vehicles. On a calm day it is a quietly beautiful stretch of coast.