Sea Glass Beach, Okinawa: "Jewel" of the Ryukyus

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At Sea Glass Beach in Okinawa, you can find sparkling jewels of sapphire blue, pearl white, emerald green, and onyx black everywhere—and it’s all free. If you’re reading this with head cocked in wonder, you’ve probably already guessed that I’m not talking about a beach littered with precious stones. No, the sparkling jewels I’m referring to are a wondrous conglomerate of nature at its finest. The ocean rolls and roars, a majestic symphony of whooshing and crashing with the wind topping the waves with caps of white like a cupcake in a bakery you might find elsewhere on the island. The rolling waves culminate against jet black jagged rocks topped with bright green moss. The combination of color is unique to anything else I’ve seen while living two plus years on the island. The sand around is a khaki brown, moist from recent tide activity, printed with the little tractor-tire tracks of Hermit Crabs. If you go to the beach at around five-thirty in the evening on a winter’s day as the sun sets, the residual light of day casts ideal illumination for photography. Indeed, the spot is popular for wedding pictures.

The sea glass found on the beach is plentiful. It is collected mostly by tourists and local merchants. Sea glass is glass and similar material such as pottery that has been worn over the years by the natural elements. Sea glass can be found on many beaches in Okinawa but it is particularly prevalent at Sea Glass Beach. In fact, we went there looking for sea glass but the memories of the natural treasures all around me were what I took home with me that day.

There are no highway signs or maps available to get to Sea Glass Beach. If you go, I recommend traveling with enough daylight to account for a little extra navigation in case you get lost. There are also no restrooms on or around the beach. There is a small park within 5-10 minutes drive from the beach with public restrooms.

Directions (Traveling South to North) from Okinawa Hai, (http://okinawahai.com/sea-glass-beach/) posted by Emily Cozzie, July 16, 2014

- Take the expressway towards Nago

- Get off at Exit 9

- Take the first left heading towards 329 (once on that road there will be a big silver dome on your right)

- Take a left onto 329

- Drive until you see the second 13 and take a right onto it. (It will be just after the College of Technology)

- Take a right just before the "Y" in the road and go down a hill

- Take a left at the light (there is a gas station at that light)

- Drive on that road until you come upon a huge house with a red tower-like roof

- Take a left onto the gravel road directly across from the house

- Drive straight down the gravel road. You will come to a "Y." Here, you will turn right. There will be a sign (all in Japanese) that leads to the path down to the beach.

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Photos

Sand_Dollars_and_Sea_Glass, Sea Glass Beach, Okinawa
The dark piece of sea glass is right above the sand dollars.