On a good day, from our place in Yokohama you can get to Kamakura/Enoshima in just over an hour. Which is about as much as Pi can stand in the car. We actually stayed overnight at a hotel in Fujisawa (another post on that will come), so it was only a 20 min drive the next morning to get to the beach.
We took Pete to the beach when he was about 4 months old. He enjoyed it about as much as he enjoyed looking at the curtain, or sticking his hands in his mouth- which is to say a fair amount, but young babies enjoy everything about the same amount.
This was the first time he really went to the beach as a toddler, and he freaking loved it. He loves sandpits, and we were sure to bring all of his toys. Best of all, the water wasn't too cold so we could go swimming. We brought his swimming clothes, and my husbands, but I thought it would be too cold for me so I didn't bring mine. However, I borrowed a pair of Husbands shorts and went in like that.
Little Pi's face was just amazing. Squeals of delight as the water splashed up on him. He loved the waves, and went nuts when we took him into the water up to our waists. Unfortunately it was a bit too cold for him though, and while he had the biggest smile on his face, he was also shivering.
We took him back to the shore and out of the water, but every time we did he just ran straight back to the water. We ended up having to call his swimming session early as his little lips were turning blue. It was so much fun though, and he had such a great experience.
Here are some tips for beaching the in Kamakura/Enoshima area:
Park somewhere that has showers. It was a little expensive where we parked (400yen-600/hour), but they also had showers with hot water (for 300yen). It was so nice to wash off the sand and salt afterwards. It made it much easier to get baby into clean fresh clothes too,
Don't forget the sun protection. Sunscreen is a must, but also long sleeved rashies (rash vest, rash guards) and a hat (slip, slop, slap- for the Aussies). We bought Pi's rashie second hand online, and you can find many good ones on yahoo Auctions. Otherwise sport stores have them in the summer months. If you wanted to search online in Japanese they are called: ラッシュガード (Rash guards). His hat we bought from motherways; it has a legionaires flap that pulls down, and chin strap and a great brim.
Swimming nappies can be bought from drugstores, babystores and supermarkets in the summer months. We paid for a reusable cloth one, and it was well worth it. We bought ours from akachanhonpo.
We bought a pop-up sunshade too. Last year we had a sunshade, but it wasn't pop up, and was IMPOSSIBLE to put up on a super windy day. The tent was ripped in the end- due to a combination of wind and Husbands frustration. We bought our pop up tent from a camping store for 4000yen (including tax). It is GREAT! You can also buy them online, from sports stores, big department stores like Aeon, and even Ikea. I strongly recommend paying the money for a pop-up one. So much easier. Ours is only 1.8 kgs too.
Don't forget the sand toys :)
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