Our first destination "Kasa Matsu Kouen" (umbrella pine park) was right by our accommodation. The weather started off promisingly but by late morning it started to rain. Visibility from the top (reached by cable car or chair lift) was already a bit poor.
This was taken on our way down:
We then took the boat from the north (Miyazu) back to Amanohashidate by boat to walk across the sandbar in the afternoon.
The town itself is quite touristy (mainly local tourists) but still pretty.
The rain never really abated but we walked across anyway, enjoying the scenery and various wildlife.
I think this is some sort of Orb spider. I saw the Golden Orb Spider in Florida which looked similar and spun equally impressive (and large) webs a few years ago. Large specimens I've seen are around 12cm in length:
Also a well camouflaged but approachable skink:
