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Kannonzaki Park is located a short distance by car south of Yokosuka Navy Base (CFAY).  The park faces Tokyo Bay and includes beach and rocky tide pool areas, as well as hills covered with lush green forests and hiking trails.  (For more details click on the links below.)  Situated within the park is a small and unique facility called 観音崎自然博物館 (Kannonzaki Shizen Hakubutsu-kan), which means "Kannonzaki Nature Museum".  It was established in 1953 as a museum and ocean research facility.  The sea located offshore from the museum is called the "Tokyo Bay Catchment Area" where the runoff waters from the surrounding hills and streams mix with the incoming ocean water flowing from the Kuroshio Current (黒潮).  The result is an area very rich in biodiversity.  The exhibits in the museum are based on the theme of “real nature and ecology” in the Tokyo Bay Catchment Area and the Miura Peninsula, and include seaweed, seasonal flowers, plants, trees, shore creatures, insects, amphibians, and reptiles.  Visitors can not only see the creatures and their behavior, but also smell and touch them, using all of their senses to experience real nature & ecology.  In particular, visitors can touch live octopus, sea urchins, starfish, sea cucumbers, crabs, and fish in the touch pool on the terrace. The museum also propagates rare coastal plants that remain in Kannonzaki Park, planting them in the museum garden, and conducts surveys of aquatic insects, amphibians, and other freshwater aquatic organisms on the Miura Peninsula.  Of note, collocated with the museum are a Visitor Center and a small restaurant called "Restore", which serves coffee, wine, and light meals (menu link below).  There are pay parking lots located right by the museum and at nearby Tatarahama Beach Park, so going to visit via automobile is convenient.  All in all, the Kannonzaki Nature Museum and surrounding green park and beach areas are a great family-friendly place to visit.  We hope you will have the chance to enjoy and relax in Kannonzaki, while you live in Japan. 

Written by Goodfield      

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LINKS:

Kannonzaki Park

https://us.iino.cc/blog/blog.html?eid=00091

https://japan.stripes.com/travel/exploring-japan-quick-trip-from-yokosuka-nb-to-kannonzaki.html

Kannonzaki Nature Museum

https://en.suizok.com/kanto-en/kanagawa-en/kannonzaki-nature-museum

Restore Restaurant Menu

https://restore-sea.jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/071be333d9d870a3b51fee54555e9d6e.pdf