An Enchanting Star Sand Beach


Following my previous blog post Rabbit Island, we remain in Japan to discover an enchanting star sand beach.




It’s Hoshizuna-no-Hama (which literally means “star sand beach”), in Japan's Okinawa prefecture, and if you look closely, you’ll see that the sand of this beach is very special:  the sand grains really are stars!





According to a local legend these tiny star creatures are the offspring of the North Star and Southern Cross. It was said that their children were born in the sea of Okinawa, but a serpent swallowed them leaving only their skeletons behind.


See also Touching a rainbow

The truth is that these unique grains are not really sand but actually the exoskeletons of tiny unicellular organism, called Foraminifera that live among the sea grass. Their exoskeleton (or shell) is shaped like a star with 5 or 6 pointed spines that help them, move from one place to another. When they die, they leave their star shaped shells behind to be washed up ashore. The result is an enchanting beach sprinkled with stars. 

















The best time to see a lot of these star creatures is after a typhoon. They will have been loosened up from the sea grass, and the massive waves caused by strong winds bring them on the beach.

This surely is one of the unique world’s hidden wonders.


Have a lovely journey!

#MorenaGiannascoli
Location: Okinawa Island, Ginoza, Okinawa Prefecture 904-1304, Japan

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