21st Century Forest Beach: A convenient beach with nearby restaurants and accommodation

👋 Haisai! I’m CULT.
How are your preparations for your Okinawa trip going? Is anyone planning to visit during the winter? Today, I’d like to briefly talk about a place called 21st Century Forest Beach, which is worth a visit if you’re planning to come between December and February.
Of course, visiting in the summer is great for swimming and setting up jellyfish nets, making it a wonderful spot for various reasons. However, what makes it truly special is the angle of the sunset. In winter, the sun in Okinawa sets towards the southwest, and since this beach faces southwest, it becomes a fantastic viewpoint.

📌 Location and Opening Hours

The 21st Century Forest Beach is located right next to Nago City. While Nago might seem rural to Koreans, it is actually the largest city in the northern part of Okinawa. ⏰ Lifeguards are on duty from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM, allowing you to enjoy swimming during this time. However, after this period, there is no supervision, and any accidents could be serious. [Google Map]

⛱️ 21st Century Forest Beach

This place is not originally a dedicated beach area but a living space for Nago citizens known as the 21st Century Forest Park. It includes facilities like a gymnasium and a baseball field, intended primarily for residents, but it’s open to everyone. Among these, the beach is what we can enjoy.
The reason I recommend this spot is that Nago city has many delicious eateries and affordable, conveniently located hotels, making it an excellent choice for those seeking a cost-effective trip. Common sense tells us that near Busena, even the cheapest hotels start at 300,000 won, and private places exceed 1.2 million won, right?
Since not all of us are wealthy, I believe it’s wise to prepare for a trip that suits our circumstances. 🧐

This is the view at sunset. The beach is divided into two main parts, but the section monitored by lifeguards is located on the opposite side. It would be ideal to have lifeguards everywhere, but Okinawa is chronically short of labour, making this difficult. Additionally, Okinawa holds the unfortunate title of having the highest drowning rate in Japan, which makes safety a particularly sensitive and critical issue here.
So please, let’s enjoy water activities in the safe areas monitored by lifeguards ⛑️

This photo was originally intended for weather notifications, but it also serves to show that you can enjoy it in this way.

Okinawa Weather on 24th June 2025: You can check what the weather was like on that day in the post.

This is what you will actually encounter if you enjoy swimming here. The green buoy is a jellyfish prevention net to keep jellyfish out, and that area is within the range that the lifeguard can control.

Always pay attention to safety while enjoying water activities. On 24th June 2025, a tragic incident occurred where a Korean person sadly passed away. [Related Article]

Even if you don’t go for a swim, you can head out to the breakwater in the evening to enjoy a stunning sunset like this. You don’t necessarily have to swim in Okinawa, do you? Just grabbing a drink from a convenience store or a vending machine and sitting in the park to watch the sunset could be a fulfilling trip, don’t you think?

The photos were taken in June. In Okinawa, the sun sets towards the northwest in June, creating a sunset behind the village of Nago. On the other hand, if you visit here in winter, you can enjoy a stunning sunset below the horizon.

You can visit the breakwaters you see over there. The 21st Century Forest Beach has a total of three breakwaters, all of which are accessible for people to walk on. From one side, you can enjoy a more expansive view of the horizon. If you want to immerse yourself in the sunset a bit more, I recommend going to that breakwater over there to enjoy it. However, if you visit in winter, be sure to bring warm clothing as it can get quite windy.