How about enjoying your dinner with your feet in the sand while watching a beautiful sunset? Doesn’t sound like vacation in Japan but rather something you would do on your honeymoon in the Caribbean? No, at Inage Seadside Park you can do this, only a few stations from Tokyo!
Inage Seaside Park is a large recreation area in Chiba Prefecture located on Tokyo Bay and with a wonderful view of the ocean. You can see the buildings of Tokyo on the other side, and if you’re lucky to have clear air, you can also see Mount Fuji, as the view from Inage is westwards. The park has a lots of benches to sit down. If you go to the waterfront, you can walk on the beach and collect shells or just stroll a bit with your feet in the water. The constant sound of small waves is really relaxing.
When the sun starts to set, you will soon notice that you’re not the only one who might want to take pictures. The day I was there, lots of Japanese were looking for a good photo spot, setting up their tripods and getting ready. I was wondering a bit why there were that many people. A sunset is nice, but nothing I haven’t seen before, so I thought there must be something special about this place.
The sun went slowly down and the glistening of the sea changed from a bright yellow to an orange and then almost red. The sky wasn't cloudy, but the air wasn't clear either, so I had no chance of seeing Mount Fuji. But suddenly the sun began to set behind something, way before it touched the horizon. I asked a photographer who was standing next to me, and he said that the sun was just disappearing behind Mount Fuji! Even though I could not see the mountain itself, it was a great moment and I could imagine what it might look like with a clear sky.
You reach Inage Seaside Park with the Keiyo Line, and from Inagekaigan Station it’s a 15-20 minute walk. If you need accommodation in the area but don’t want to be too far from Tokyo, you can stay at HOTEL MYSTAYS Maihama, which is just next to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea. That way you can spend one or two days in the Disney Resort, travel easily to Tokyo and enjoy your dinner at Inage Seaside.
