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Ashizuri-Uwakai NP, Kochi
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Rounded stones frame Ryugahama’s shallow, white-sand center. Over the pale granite seabed, a boat’s shadow can show so clearly that the boat seems to hover above the water.
By 2013, 1,150 fish species had been recorded around nearby Kashiwajima—a Japanese record for a limited area. Warm Kuroshio water mingles with nutrient-rich currents from the Bungo Channel, bringing tropical and temperate fish together.
The campground beside Ryugahama has a large salt marsh where plants listed in Japan’s Red Data Book grow. A Kochi prefectural plan for 2012 described this wetland as one of only 2 in the prefecture.
Nearby Kashiwajima has its own winter buri sushi, heda-zushi, passed down since around the Meiji era. The fish is salted and vinegar-cured with a little skin left on, then traditionally enjoyed with wasabi.
A local marine research NPO recounts that Kashiwajima Bay’s fixed nets once caught as many as 2,400 yellowfin tuna in a day. The nets are gone; the bay now supports farming of bluefin tuna and sea bream.
At Ryugahama, coral and sea anemones grow where the rocky shore meets the sand. The local marine research centre reports dozens of clownfish gathering among the anemones in this shallow water.
Local sixth-graders snorkel at Ryugahama each year with marine researchers and park volunteers. During a 2026 lesson, a colorful wrasse gave students a live example of a fish changing from female to male.
When Ryugahama’s campground opened in 2012, more than 100 townspeople gathered for a celebratory mochi toss. A national park ranger noted the local custom of sharing many bales of rice cakes at festive occasions.
