Paddle Park

Kubota-san has been running sea-kayak tours since 1996. Located just across the water from Hiroshima’s famous sightseeing spot, Miyajima Island, Paddle Park offers half day and full day tours not only to Miyajima, but to other nearby beaches and interesting paddling spots too. Even on a grey day and some light rain on the return leg, we had a great afternoon. It’s a completely different way to experience Miyajima, and good exercise too.

Paddle Park offers half day and full day guided tours as well as overnight trips which include sleeping on some of Miyajima’s beaches inaccessible other than by boat. During the summer, Paddle Park also offer shorter sessons for kids at the Tsutsumi-ga-ura Beach Park. As the weather turns milder at different times in the year, we highly recommend trying it out. Please note that if you have your heart set on paddling under the torii gate, it depends on the tides each season, so make sure you ask about the best time when you make your booking.

Kubota-san is a very friendly guy who is a great tour and paddling guide. Weekends and summer holidays are the busiest times of year, but he is open throughout the week if you want to book a tour or lesson without a long wait. Paddle Park has a good website and blog [ja] which also includes English pages with information about their half-day and full day tours. English page. Check out their Facebook page for lots of pics from their latest activities.

Most full day tours are around ¥10,800 per adult and ¥8100 per child of junior high school age or older. Other special tours further away cost a bit more. Most full day tours include a meal and a snack. Half day tours are ¥6480 for adults and ¥4320 for junior high school aged kids and older. Lessons include an introduction as well as work on specific skills as well as lessons for younger kids who are interested in kayaking- these are held from July to the end of August on Miyajima’s beach park, Tsutsumi-ga-ura.

It was an amazing experience being out on the open water enjoying views of Miyajima island while getting some exercise and feeling meditative. It was wonderfully calming with the quiet sounds of waves lapping up on the boat and the paddle cutting through the water. We had chosen the half day tour and although the weather wasn’t great, we still had a great experience. As we arrived at low tide to the island of Miyajima, we couldn’t paddle under the torii gate, but instead landed on the beach surrounding it.

The beach was lively and full of people digging for clams in the sand. We walked with the guide over to the charming little Kiyomori Chaya coffee shop and restaurant on the island and enjoyed a cup of tea and a chat before heading back. I would love to go again on a longer paddling tour that included lunch if we have the chance. Neither of us are experienced paddlers, but we were able to take in a quick lesson and enjoy the paddling tour. I would highly recommend it. See all of our pictures from our paddle trip and some short videos on the Flickr album here.

Hours: 11:00-20:00 Everyday
Address: 1-2-9 Monomi-Higashi, Hatsukaichi-shi, Hiroshima-ken
Tel & Fax: 0829-50-4340
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paddlepark

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