A popular driveway where anything can run
Chirihama Nagisa Driveway is located on the western seashore in Noto Peninsula Quasi-National Park which boasts a lovely scenic coastline facing the Sea of Japan. The sandy beach which runs straight for 8km is famous as the only beach in Japan where motor vehicles can drive on it. This kind of shoreline is rather unique in the world and it is a valuable beach whose numbers are rare; America’s Daytona Beach and New Zealand’s Waitarere Beach can be included in this group. Not just 4WD cars but sports cars, large buses, motorcycles, bicycles and other vehicles are allowed to navigate through the area. The internationally popular BBC motor vehicle show, “Top Gear” has even made its presence known on the beach. Chirihama is also famous as a scenic point for sunsets and is enjoyed for exhilarating drives in tandem with the beautiful marine scenery.
The secret of this natural seashore driveway lies in the sand
Chirihama Nagisa Driveway being a natural beach is able to be driven on by any kind of vehicle due to the smooth nature of its sand. The special characteristic of the sand is that unlike normal beach sand which has grains ranging from 0.5-1mm in size, the grains of sand of Chirihama only measure a quarter of a millimeter so when the sand enters the sea water, it tightly firms up forming a natural coastline driveway, ideal for vehicles which will not sink into the sand. The driveway can be driven upon all throughout the year 24 hours a day so you can enjoy the ocean scenery changing depending on the time and season.