Tropical Beach
👋 Haisai! It’s CULT here.
Today, I’m going to tell you about a tropical beach that’s perfect to visit when driving around Okinawa with a rental car. Typically, tourists pick up their rental cars and head north after arriving in Okinawa. While there is the Naminoue Beach in the city, the Tomari Bridge blocks the horizon, which can feel a bit stifling. This beach is the first one where you can see the horizon as soon as you leave the city. It’s conveniently located next to the wide Route 58, making it very accessible, and there are commercial facilities available, so you can easily stop by and then continue on your way.
📌 Location and Opening Hours
As shown on the map, Tropical Beach is located in Ginowan City, where the southern region of Okinawa ends and the central region begins. I’ll provide information on the opening hours and operation details while you look at the photo below [Google Map]
Opening hours vary depending on the period, so please make sure to check carefully before visiting. Lifeguards are present during opening hours, and in Okinawa Prefecture, swimming in areas without lifeguards is strongly prohibited. If you swim separately in areas without lifeguards or in unauthorized places and a fatal accident occurs, insurance will not cover it even if you are insured.
Therefore, please ensure you enjoy swimming safely during the times when lifeguards are overseeing your safety 🛟
🏖️ Facilities at Tropical Beach
There is a free car park at Tropical Beach, but if you visit on a weekend afternoon, it might already be full, and you may need to park in a nearby paid car park. If you go at a slightly off-peak or early time, you can find a convenient spot to park.
Vending machines are basically everywhere. You can also spot Westerners around, as there is a US Marine Corps camp nearby, so you often see military personnel, and there are quite a few Westerners on the beach itself.
These tent-style benches are available for a fee. I couldn’t check the exact price, but in Okinawa, such benches can usually be rented for between 2,000-3,000 yen per day. Here are the other rental prices. (per day basis)
Parasol 1,000 yen / Sunbed 1,000 yen / Swimming tube 500 yen / Children’s life jacket free
In the central part of the beach, there are commercial facilities. Here, you can find essentials for swimming or visit the kiosk to order a simple meal or ice cream. The opening hours are the same as the timetable mentioned above. If you’re planning a barbecue party, you can make inquiries here.
And there are also coin lockers available. They double as changing rooms. While these are commonly found at most beaches in Okinawa, the facilities here are a bit better maintained.
There is also a coin-operated shower, but the unique feature of Tropical Beach is that it also has a hot water shower. Hot water shower facilities are usually not common. However, since the cold water showers aren’t too chilly, I don’t think it’s necessary to insist on hot water. It costs 100 yen for 3 minutes of water.
The foot bath can be used for free.
Even if you’re not swimming, for those who just want to dip their feet in the sea up to their ankles, this is essential. If you get into the car with sand on your shoes or feet, those grains of sand will keep rolling around inside the car until the end of your trip. It’s subtly annoying and not good for your skin, so after dipping your feet in the seawater, I recommend rinsing them with fresh water.
🏖️ The View of Tropical Beach
This is Tropical Beach. It was late June, and the tide was low, with the sea receded quite a bit. This makes it even safer, especially if you’re travelling with children. The blue buoys you see in the photo are both a jellyfish prevention net and the lifeguard’s safety control zone. If you get stung by a jellyfish or an accident occurs outside that line, insurance won’t cover it.
As I always say, safety first, safety second, the most important thing is your safety 🙏
I climbed up onto the breakwater to capture the view of Trophill Beach. Watching the sunset from the breakwater is also a nice option. Typically, in summer, the sun hovers near the horizon around 7 PM. If you happen to be travelling north or south along Route 58 around 7 PM, take a moment to enjoy the sunset from this breakwater.
You can enjoy a more open and refreshing view of the sunset compared to the American Village Sunset Beach.
Oh, what an adorable signpost! Where are you from? I’m from Prague, Czech Republic, and it seems similar to Paris, France. I came from about 8,500 km away 🤗
If you’ve come to the sea, you must gaze at the stunning horizon, right? In eastern Okinawa, you can easily enjoy the Pacific horizon, but the western side has a few more restrictions. This is because, historically, the western sea of Okinawa has been continuously affected by tsunamis due to earthquakes, leading to the installation of many tsunami prevention breakwaters in the middle of the sea. However, Tropical Beach is located slightly outside the tsunami impact zone, so when you look at the horizon, the breakwaters are less visible.
If you turn your gaze, you can also see the American Village. It’s approximately 4km away in a straight line. I’ll upload more about the Sunset Beach at the American Village soon!
When travelling from the south to the north of Okinawa, or vice versa, using a rental car, I often recommend taking Route 58 instead of the highway. How about stopping by Tropical Beach along Route 58 to enjoy the summer? It’s very accessible, and if there’s no parking space, you can simply head to Araha Beach instead. Although, Araha Beach does have less parking space. Okinawa has numerous beaches to expand your options, and I’ll introduce them all to you!
I’ll wrap it up here and will be back with more Okinawa travel information. Matayasai 👋
