The beach children most want to be taken to
With its huge floating obstacle course and pool, this is the beach I would have begged to be taken to as a child.
There is a floating assault course, one of the largest in the prefecture. You can go down slides, bounce on trampolines, climb walls and cross balance steps. It costs ¥2,500 a day for adults and ¥2,000 for children.
Next to the beach there is a pool that people who are not staying at the hotel can use as well. It is popular enough to be busier than the sea, and yet it is kept clean — perhaps because the facilities are new.
The number of marine activities and water sports on offer is among the largest in the prefecture. This photograph was taken at the reception counter, but it did not come out clearly enough to read, so for details see the menu on the official website. One thing to note is that some activities are cancelled at low tide or when equipment and boats are being maintained. Some can be booked in advance, so if you have your heart set on one it is worth enquiring through the website beforehand.
The swimming area shelves gently and is little affected by waves, so the clarity is high. As for colour, at low tide the swimming area is too shallow to show any. At high tide you can enjoy the blue gradation running from the emerald green of the shallows out to the deep blue offshore.
There is almost no shade near the swimming area. There are trees that cast shade, as in the photograph, but they are few and some way from the water. To take it easy near the swimming area, hire a parasol set (¥3,780). If you do not mind being further off, there are around ten sets of covered tables and benches right beside the beach building, and those are free to use.
The swimming area is shallow, so adults will find it unsatisfying; for children it is about right. As the sign in the photograph says, snorkels are not allowed. Swimming goggles are fine.
At low tide you can go rock pooling on the left-hand side of the swimming area as you face the sea. There are hermit crabs and small brown fish of 3–4 cm.
As you would expect of a beach owned by a hotel, the changing rooms are luxurious. On the upper floor of the building there are shower rooms and changing rooms that look like a converted bath house. They were bright, spacious and clean.
There are clean separate men's and women's toilets. There is no foot rinse, but the poolside showers can be used, so it is easy to rinse off not just your feet but all the sand on you.
There is a parlour on the beach, with a menu of light meals — yakisoba, takoyaki and the like. As for shops, there is a Lawson right beside the beach that you can walk into in your swimming costume. In its way, the ultimate beach shop.
This is the marine activity area. As mentioned among the things to recommend, the range of marine activities and water sports is among the largest in the prefecture — anything you can do at another beach, you can do here. Alongside the rides towed by jet ski, such as the banana boat, there is snorkelling, sea walking, cruising and even a coral-planting experience. For details see the menu on the official website. The range of hire equipment is much like other beaches: a parasol set ¥3,780, children's arm bands ¥500, and a child's float with a window to see the seabed through ¥1,620. Ordinary swimming goggles are not for hire, and even if they were, there are few fish to look at.
Camping and barbecues are not possible at this beach. At the neighbouring Okinawa Kariyushi Beach Resort hotel you can barbecue at the poolside terrace tables, which is a fine setting. As an aside, at Christmas this hotel opens its illuminations, fountain show and live music free of charge, looking after local people as well as visitors.
The swimming area was laid out on a gently shelving stretch of shore, so at low tide even the deepest part dries down to about an adult's knee. The photographs on this page were taken at low tide. The marine activities are likewise unavailable while the tide is low, so if that matters to you it is worth checking the tide times in advance.
The facilities are lavish, and the cost of hiring a beach parasol and the like is correspondingly on the high side.
In Japanese (for maps, taxis and car navigation): かりゆしビーチ 沖縄県名護市喜瀬１９９６
We run beach yoga here too. Check availability and book in a few steps.