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San'in Kaigan NP, Hyogo
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Nearby Nekozaki Peninsula was once Keshima, an offshore island. Sand carried down the Takeno River gathered between island and shore, gradually joining them to the mainland.
Salt-making in Takeno dates back to the Muromachi era; Edo-period records say the region paid taxes in salt instead of rice. Today, seawater from Tanjō-no-ura is wood-fired into “Tanjō salt.”
Summer’s white squid (shiro-ika) is a Takeno specialty served live. The local tourism association says squid are difficult to keep alive after capture, helping make this sweet, translucent treat especially tied to the port.
The mouth of the Takeno River was a “wind-waiting port” where Kitamaebune cargo ships sheltered from storms. Nearby coastal rocks still bear holes cut for tying up the vessels.
Takeno’s history as a bathing beach reaches back to the Edo period (1603–1868). Japan’s Environment Ministry notes that the shallow, white-sand shore was already known as a bathing place then.
Each May 3, the Kitamae Festival brings Takeno’s seafaring past to the shore: local children pull a float shaped like a traditional cargo ship along the beach.
At Takeno Port, a siren sounds at 4 p.m. to announce the fish auction—an unusual evening start for a market. The harbor sits at the Takeno River mouth, beside the beach town.
Seen from offshore, Nekozaki Peninsula looks like a crouching cat; from roads along the coast, the same landform resembles a Kewpie doll lying on its back. Its “portrait” changes with your viewpoint.
The black walls in the neighborhood behind Takeno Beach are charred cedar boards, not paint. Their carbonized surface helps shield homes from sand and salt-laden winds; local residents work to preserve the streetscape.
Driftwood gathered in Takeno’s beach cleanups is reused as firewood to boil Tanjō salt instead of being discarded. It’s a local loop linking shoreline care with a food made from the sea.
