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San'in Kaigan NP, Kyoto
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After the 1997 Nakhodka oil spill reached this beach, about 12,700 people removed roughly 250 tonnes of oil over 3 months. Local residents helped lead the effort to restore the singing shore.
A late-18th-century account said the sand could sound like 13 notes—but reported that sand carried home to a garden made no music. Its voice depends on the beach, not just a handful of grains.
Most of the beach squeaks like a koto when sand is rubbed, but a rocky stretch called Taikohama (“Drum Beach”) makes a low, drum-like sound when tapped or stepped on.
Around 900 kinds of microscopic shells and tiny single-celled foraminifera have been recorded here. White and little ringed plovers also visit, making this singing beach a busy habitat at a very small scale.
The beach’s unusual sounds inspired poems across centuries: Hosokawa Yūsai and Gracia wrote about it in the 1500s, and poets Yosano Tekkan and Akiko visited and wrote verses in 1930.
Kotohikihama’s “Barefoot Concert” joined music with care for the coast. For its 2023 finale, the event’s memorable invitation was: “The trash you pick up is your ticket.”
The beach is also home to the sand-burrowing spider イソコモリグモ, which makes its shelter in a hole about 10–20 cm deep. Its tucked-away burrow is one more sign of life hidden in the dunes.
The squeak comes from quartz-rich sand grains rubbing and vibrating together. Fine dirt or other impurities can silence them; waves help wash the grains clean again, so the beach’s sound is tied to its environment.
Local residents formed the Kotohikihama Singing Sand Preservation Group in 1987. Its work has included beach cleanups and patrols; in 1999, the group began efforts to make the beach smoke-free.
