Photos: Tetrapod beaches of Japan
Near Tappi Saki, Aomori (Photo: Mr_M_Montgomery)
Hit the beach anywhere in Japan, and you are likely to see endless piles of tetrapods — enormous four-legged concrete structures intended to prevent coastal erosion. By some estimates, more than 50% of Japan’s 35,000-kilometer (22,000-mi) coastline has been altered with tetrapods and other forms of concrete. Critics, who blame the tetrapod invasion on decades of excessive government spending designed to bolster the construction industry, argue that in addition to posing a danger to swimmers, surfers and boaters, tetrapods actually accelerate beach erosion by disrupting the natural processes that shape the coastal environment. Meanwhile, others have developed an aesthetic appreciation of the tetrapod landscape, as evidenced by a host of stunning Japanese tetrapod photos on Flickr.
Location unknown (Photo: saksak)
Location unknown (Photo: f l u x)
Kawasaki (Photo: gullevek)
Kobe (Photo: Joshua Richley)
Hamamatsu, Shizuoka (Photo: seotaro)
Yakushima (Photo: TommyOshima)
River bank, Shikoku (Photo: kodama)
Amarube (Photo: shikihan)
Tetrapod molds — Location unknown (Photo: Toru Aihara)
Location unknown (Photo: electricnude)
Location unknown (Photo: takay)
Location unknown (Photo: saksak)
[Images: Flickr photos tagged "Tetrapod" & "Tetrapods"//Further reading: Japan Times, Wikipedia]
Great post! The pictures are amazing. I remember seeing those odd tetrapods along the coast in Shimizu and being really intrigued with them. While strangely beautiful in some way I can also appreciate peoples distaste for them.
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WOW amazing photos
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What an amazing collection of pictures here. These tetrapods look like an alien army conquering our coasts… Great!
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Is there no end to beautiful nature of Japanese engineering. These are not only functional but aesthetically delightful
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Wow! Just think how much of Japan would still be left if they had had those tetrapods back in the Jomon period.
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scary how beautiful these can be. Nice roundup!
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Most Japanese coasts are covered with these. That’s why when people come here and ask about going to “the ocean” I tell them it’s like going to a concrete factory!
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nice pictures..btw i saw the same in Ukraine (Black Sea) and in Russia too..at the rivers. (rounded concrete tetrapods)
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Hey, thanks for including my photo in the collection. :)
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isn’t more about repelling an invading army by sea?
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I never thought those concrete things would look beautiful!!
Another truth is that those tetrapods are favored by many anglers since the tetrapods increase the crab population drastically which lure snappers and many other fish. Basically the tetrapods become a great habitat for sea creatures.
But recently some places (e.g. Beppu in Kyushu) started projects to remove the tetrapods and put the shore back to the original state by adopting some new tsunami-wave blockers placed under water away from the beach.
Btw, there are still many beautiful natural beaches in Japan (You just have to go off the beaten tracks).
For amazingly beautiful Japanese beaches, check the photos by these guys (their photos are published on National Geographic).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ippei-janine/sets/72157600321338295/
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We have these at our Jedi too
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We’ve got ‘em where I live (Isle of Wight).
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How ugly what a way to mess up a coastline.
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the japanese scare me………
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Can you share the drawings/dimension of a 2 tonne steel molds for concrete tetrapod?
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I find the tetrapods an eyesore. They look terrible and they collect a ton of trash that no one ever cleans up. I live in Okinawa and an incredible amount of formerly beautiful coastline has been lost to tetrapods and other concrete atrocities. It’s not just the coastline that is being destroyed with concrete structures; pretty much the entire southern half of Okinawa is pure concrete with the occasional tree thrown in. It’s quite hypocritical that Japan is making a big deal over the proposed Henoko air field for the US military because of environmental concerns when the Japanese have no problems dumping concrete in to the ocean elsewhere with no regard to the environment where the US military is not involved.
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