An article published by Kobe Shimbun NEXT at 8:30 on Thursday, 5/16, titled “Charcoal does not return to nature… Don’t leave it or bury it after beach BBQs! Nishinomiya City in Hyogo urges visitors,” was picked up by Yahoo! and has become a nationwide topic.
The article features Omaehama Beach.
According to the article, many people are leaving charcoal used for barbecues on the sand at Omaehama.
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What happens when charcoal is left behind
Leaving charcoal behind apparently damages native plants.
“Charcoal is hard to break down and has high water retention” → “weeds grow around it” → “native coastal plants are damaged”
Above all, a beach covered in charcoal looks terrible, and that’s not really a beach anymore, is it?
Apparently 2,000 people came to Omaehama for BBQs during this year’s Golden Week
During this year’s Golden Week, as many as 2,000 people apparently had barbecues at Omaehama.
The reason so many people come seems to be that it can be used for free and is located about a 15-minute walk from Hanshin Koroen Station.
With that many people, and because charcoal seems like something that might naturally decompose, many people may have simply left it behind.
However, in reality, charcoal does not decompose.
The members of “浜・川・山の自然たんけん隊” who collect the charcoal waste are doing truly difficult work, and they deserve our deep respect.
There will apparently be an Omaehama cleanup on Sunday, May 19
To clean up this charcoal waste, local volunteers and “浜・川・山の自然たんけん隊” will apparently hold an Omaehama cleanup.
浜・川・山の自然たんけん隊 ～Omaehama, Koroen Beach, Shukugawa, Rokko and Kabutoyama
Because this news has become a nationwide topic, the “浜・川・山の自然たんけん隊” website has become difficult to access.
Places where you can barbecue in Nishinomiya
There are very few.
Places where BBQ is allowed in Nishinomiya
- Omaehama
- Koshienhama Seaside Park, Oki area (free, application required)
- Kabutoyama Campground (paid, 100 yen per person for Nishinomiya residents)
The number of places where barbecues are allowed in Nishinomiya is decreasing.
Places where BBQ used to be allowed but is now prohibited
- Mukogawa riverbed
- Shukugawa riverbed
- Shin-Nishinomiya Yacht Harbor
Finally
In Nishitsuu’s “Miyao” content, some people from Nishinomiya have named Omaehama as one of their favorite places. If we surveyed Nishinomiya residents, it would probably rank quite high. One major reason barbecue facilities are disappearing is that people do not take their trash home, so this is something we should all be more mindful of.
