Whether it\u2019s a day trip to the beach, a dip in a pretty lake or going for a wild swim in a river, making the most of the summer sun and immersing yourself in outdoor waters is one of the best ways to relax as well as enjoy the scenery as we reach the warmer seasonal climates. The Kansai region in Japan has no shortage of outdoor swimming locations including all of the aforementioned options. Simply pick your spot, pack a towel and head for any of these great locations.<\/p>\n
Situated in the middle of Kansai, in Shiga prefecture not far from Kyoto, Lake Biwa is one of the region\u2019s most popular outdoor swimming destinations. It\u2019s Japan\u2019s largest freshwater lake with an area of 670 square kilometers. Furthermore, it\u2019s believed to be one of the oldest lakes in the world at around four million years old. There are plenty of opportunities for locals and tourists to not just swim but camp, fish, take a leisurely cruise or engage in water sports. There are even a few nice beaches at certain parts around the lake. Perfect if you fancy a swim in still waters against a lush mountain backdrop.<\/p>\n
Website:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.japan.travel\/en\/spot\/1052\/<\/a><\/p>\n This beautiful white marble sand beach close to Osaka has become a favourite romantic resort known informally as Lovers\u2019 Sanctuary (complete with a red heart-shaped sign in the sand). It\u2019s not hard to see why with its entrancing white sand, perfect sunsets, and closeness to Kansai International Airport meaning that you can watch planes taking off and coming in to land. There is also now a 2 km leisure park next to the beach with shops, restaurants and \u201cglamping\u201d facilities. You can reach the beach in under an hour from central Osaka using the Nankai Electric Railway. One of Kyoto\u2019s best beaches, this serene spot is in the Amino ward around 2.5 hrs from central Kyoto station. The 1.8 km beach is considered to be one of the top 100 must-see shorelines in Japan. It\u2019s famed for its \u201csinging sand\u201d that squeaks under your feet as you walk, due to the sand\u2019s high crystal content. The beach is also super-clean and was the world\u2019s first non-smoking beach. A good place to go to if you want a sea swim in a place that doesn\u2019t get too packed.<\/p>\n Address:<\/strong> Kakezu, Amino-cho, Kyotango City, Kyoto 629-3112<\/p>\n The Totsukawa river winds through the pretty mountainous village of the same name in the southern part of Nara prefecture. It\u2019s ideal for a scenic summer swim. The emerald water flanked by mountains warms up nicely around July\/August. You can either bathe or take a gondola through the waters and, if you wish, trek along a mountain path afterwards to cross the spectacular Tanize Bridge. At 297 m long, it\u2019s one of the longest suspension bridges in Japan. With its name translating as \u201cwhite sand\u201d, Shirahama is a tourist summer favourite in Kansai. Located in the southern beachy Wakayama prefecture, the narrow 620 m strip is a sister beach to Waikiki beach in Hawaii and it\u2019s a worthy comparison. The white sand (imported from Australia) sits nicely between palm trees and the emerald green sea, making it one of Japan\u2019s most iconic summer swim destinations. Be warned, though as it tends to get pretty busy! \u758b\u7530 \u6e09<\/a>, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whether it\u2019s a day trip to the beach, a dip in a pretty lake or going for a wild swim in a river, making the most of the summer sun and immersing yourself in outdoor waters is one of the best ways to relax as well as enjoy the scenery as we reach the warmer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":6193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,118,86,63,82],"tags":[223,622,219,57],"class_list":["post-6192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japan","category-kyoto","category-osaka","category-outdoors","category-travel","tag-kansai","tag-kansai-outdoors","tag-outdoors","tag-swimming"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6192"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49612,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6192\/revisions\/49612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Sen\u2019nan Marble Beach<\/h2>\n
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\nWebsite:<\/strong> https:\/\/welcome-sennan.com\/tourist-spots\/marble-beach<\/a> (in Japanese)<\/p>\nKotobikihama Kakezu Beach<\/h2>\n
Totsukawa River<\/h2>\n
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\nVillage Website:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.vill.totsukawa.lg.jp\/<\/a> (in Japanese)<\/p>\nShirahama Beach<\/h2>\n
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\nWebsite:<\/strong> https:\/\/visitwakayama.jp\/en\/stories\/shirahama_kushimoto<\/a><\/p>\n
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