Yuigahama Beach

Introduction

Yuigahama is Kamakura's most accessible sweep of sand. Legally the beach runs 3.2 km from Inamuragasaki to Iijima cape at Zaimokuza, though custom reserves the name for the section west of the Namerigawa river. Its shallow gradient and gentle waves earned it a place among Japan's 88 best bathing beaches: in summer beach huts line the sand, while autumn and winter bring surfers, bodyboarders and paddleboarders. On clear evenings the sun sets toward Inamuragasaki with Enoshima and Mt Fuji in view. The shore carries real historical weight. Known as Maehama in the Kamakura period, it hosted mounted archery contests recorded in the Azuma Kagami, served as the ritual purification ground for shoguns before pilgrimages to Izu and Hakone, and became a battlefield when Nitta Yoshisada stormed Kamakura in 1333. At very low tides the stonework of Wakaejima emerges offshore, the remains of an artificial harbour licensed by the shogunate in 1232 and often described as Japan's oldest port structure.

✨ Highlights

🛈 Practical Info