Japan | Yokosuka & Kannonzaki Lighthouse

Last September I fulfilled a life-long dream of visiting Japan. It was a quick trip, for I could have probably stayed in Japan forever, but a trip filled with family, mini hikes, lots of sight seeing, and of course, eating, eating, and more eating.

Once again Sly and I flew separately, Sly on the direct flight, and me on the planes, trains, and automobile route. I took a train from Daegu to Busan, then from Busan I flew to Fukuoka where I connected to Tokyo/Narita. Once in Tokyo it took me about an hour to try and figure out how to buy a SUICA card from the automated machine despite having English prompts. I don’t know what was going on but none of the machines would take my bills, which in turn made me flustered, sweaty, and shifty-eyed. Luckily I had quite a bit of change with me left over from Sly’s previous work trips and, after purchasing a little rice triangle from a convenience store, had just enough left over to purchase my card and fare to Yokosuka.

First on the agenda: visiting family. Sly’s brother and family live in Yokosuka and greeted me at the train station once I arrived from Tokyo. The train ride was not too long (once I figured out the correct train to get on) but since I literally had been traveling all day we took it easy. I checked into our hotel, freshened up, bought some food for breakfast from the grocery, played with my nieces and nephew, and ate a home-cooked meal at my BIL/SIL’s home.

Sly eventually met up with me later in the evening…and went straight to bed. It was a work trip for him and he had to be up early the next morning.

While Sly was at work, I met up with my Sister-in-law for an easy coastal hike to Kannonzaki lighthouse with the kiddos.

matching outfits!

The hike curved along a rocky shoreline with plenty of tidal pools, gravel-y beaches, and gently crashing waves. The kids and I climbed around on the rocks before getting back on the trail to the lighthouse.

Soon the flat, paved trail turned into a moderate climb up large graduated steps. I could have probably worn better footwear but my flimsy sandals seemed to hold up just fine. As we climbed higher, the vegetation became denser, and the spiders became larger. I would not want one of these things dropping on my head (it’s possible I would die from a heart attack), but from a safe distance these massive red and yellow striped spiders fascinated me.

Once at the top of the hill we spent some time messing with some of the contraptions in the lighthouse museum and then climbed even more steps to the top of Kannonzaki Lighthouse.

From the top we could see what felt like the entirety of Tokyo Bay. It has been said that up to a thousand ships pass through these waters on a daily basis. We watched as ships and sailboats sailed across the horizon but mostly we played “drive-through-take-out window.”  Several vents placed in the lighthouse walls allowed my niece and nephew to communicate with me from the inside of the lighthouse while I was on the outside. This game went on for quite a long time with me “placing my order” with my nephew at one of the outside vents and then walking to the next vent to “pick up my order” from my niece. It’s always so funny and curious to experience how children see the world: I was interested in the view whereas the kiddos were interested in lighthouse vents.

Several trails continued from Kannonzaki Lighthouse. One seemed to lead to to a guard station (?) that was maybe only accessible during low tide?  Or maybe it just ended at water’s edge? I was more than curious to follow the trails, sandals and all, but by now the kiddos were tuckered out (too much drive-through-window, I guess) so we headed back down the lighthouse’s spiral staircase and ate snacks and looked at ships through telescopes.

future explorers

DETAILS

Kannonzaki Beach Lighthouse | COST: Trail entrance/parks are free, ¥200 to enter lighthouse, children free | DESCRIPTION: If driving, access beach via seaside Route 16, park and then begin your hike. Open from 9am -5pm. From the parking lot the trail is flat and paved and very easy. Eventually the trail splits off. We followed the signs clearly marked with a lighthouse icon up some steps to the top of the cliff. It’s a moderate and short climb — approximately 15 – 20 minutes if walking extremely slow and taking photos of lots of spiders. I ‘hiked’ in sandals so I would say not very strenuous at all. | FACILITIES: Parking is available for a small fee, though I think it was free when we went on a weekday afternoon. Bathrooms are also available. Beach camping and bbqing permitted. It looks like there’s also restaurants somewhere along the trail (according to the sign) but we didn’t see any nor did we explore the trail that seemed to lead to the restaurant. We packed snacks since it’s the perfect place to picnic, though I don’t recall seeing picnic tables. | GOOD FOR: Kids. The tidal pools along the trail are perfect for beach combing and the rocks and beaches are great for climbing/running around. Supposedly there is also a trail that leads to Kannonzaki Park which has a playground for kids and a view of Mt. Fuji. | TIP: If driving along seaside Rte 16 you’ll notice a very modern white building — this is the Yokosuka Museum of Art. My sister-in-law pointed it out to me and mentioned it was a wonderful place to grab lunch. I would go for coffee and the view — two of my favorite things.