Amanohashidate

Amanohashidate is one of the three most scenic views of Japan, and we'd heard it was a nice place so we decided to head over for the weekend. It's on the other side of the island (on the Japan Sea), which made it a bit trickier to get to because few trains run out that way. We left on Friday immediately from work and it took us about 3 hours to get there.
The town is famous for its 3.5km sandbar which cuts through the bay. There are hills on either side of the sandbar and the view from the top of the hill is supposed to resemble a "bridge to Heaven" -- when you turn your back and look at the sandbar between your legs. At first Jason said he felt a bit silly doing this, but I think he was reassured when he saw the entire tour group of Japanese grandmas give it a shot.
On Saturday we hiked across the sandbar and up the hill on the far side. It was a very pleasant hike and the view was spectacular. I enjoyed looking at the sandbar, but I liked the view out to the open ocean even better. The water was an incredibly soothing shade of blue. I really felt like were were somewhere tropical.
On Sunday morning we went to the top of the hill on the other side. In addition to the lookout point, there is a mini amusement park. Most of the rides were somewhat dilapidated and didn't seem all that appealing, but I did want to go to the archery range. Jason shot some, too. I wish I could say my kyudo paid off, but it really didn't. This was a typical archery bow and it felt much different than my 6 ft. kyudo bow.
There are more pictures on the picasa site.