I'd Rather Be Beachcombing

If you're lucky enough to live near a beach, you have access to a hobby that is free, relaxing and potentially rewarding...beachcombing. Growing up, I occasionally stopped to pickup things along the beaches of Southern California, but usually that amounted to seashells, sand dollars, pebbles or, on a good day, colorful sea glass. It wasn't until I lived in Aormori, along Japan's northeast coast, that I really got into beachcombing.

Do you see it there? You've probably seen glass balls like that decorating seafood restaurants or hanging in antique shops. Did you ever stop to consider that they are not just a decoration but actually have a use? These fishing floats are still used today by Japanese and Korean fishing crews. When they break loose from nets or are washed off the decks of fishing boats by storms, they end up floating around the Pacific Ocean in a clockwise current, for years. In fact, there are probably millions of glass floats dotting the ocean. Occasionally, caught in cross currents or driven towards the beach by storms, these glass floats wash up on the Northwest beaches of the U.S. and the Northeast beaches of Japan.

Sometimes you can actually get lucky and see a glass ball just lying there like that, fresh from the sea. Many times though, you'll find these treasures mixed in with other not so sought after items...

or quite a ways up from the water. Sometimes the balls will be just lying there in the sand...

while much of the time the glass float you're after will be partly buried, recently exposed by the wind...

My wife, shown above, and I beachcombed quite a bit on the beaches near our home, sometimes early in the morning before I went to work. One of our favorite beaches though was a remote northern beach that was used for artillery practice by the Japanese Navy.

We got a lot of information about beachcombing Japan from the book I'd Rather Be Beachcombing by Bert and Margie Weber. The book includes stories of beachcombing on the same artillery range and shows other things besides glass floats, and artillery shells, that can be found, including old Japanese money. My wife was lucky enough to find some old coins there, just like the book described:

So, whether you're in Japan, Northern California, Oregon, Washington, or even Alaska, you will probably be able to find your own glass fishing floats on the beach. But no matter what beach you live near or vacation at, take time to walk it. There aren't many things more relaxing than walking along the beach and maybe you'll even find a treasure to take home, or just to photograph and leave for others to enjoy. Oh, and stop to watch the sunset too!