By Shin Takebe
The University of Shimane
This summer I was working at Iwami Seaside Park as a lifeguard. It was really fun because during my free time, I could enjoy some activities with other lifeguards but also there were dangerous days. It was a really hard job for me but I got a lot of experiences through this job.
Hamada city, in Shimane prefecture is located on western side of Japan. This prefecture facing the Japan sea so there are many beaches. Iwami Seaside Park is the largest beach in Hamada city, the total length of this beach is 3km! You can see beautiful sky and sea at this beach but when typhoon is approaching, The waves get higher and nobody can swim. At the beginning of the August, This beach was always crowded but Around late August, the sea bathers were less than before.
There are lifeguards who belong to Hamada Lifesaving Club and they are lifeguarding at the beach during the summer season. The members are twenties to fifties. Also they did some activities like stand up paddleboarding, wakeboarding, and snorkeling. They are not professional because they are working at company during the week and if they have a free time like the weekend, they lifeguard at this beach.
The first day, I had free time so I did stand up paddleboarding with sea bathers and other lifeguards. That was a hot, sunny day so I got a tan but the sea was a really beautiful. That’s why we really enjoyed this activity. In the middle of August, a typhoon came to Japan. This caused big waves, These big waves took some sea bathers out to the sea and I helped them by using a rescue board. The rescue board is looks like a long board to surf but it has more buoyancy and thick. We have a lot of rescue board and we use this like this situation. It was a really dangerous day but no one was hurt. Around late August, there were less sea bathers than at the beginning of the month, so we did wakeboarding. I think that wakeboarding is a little bit it more difficult than the other activities but we really enjoyed this sports.
In brief, it was really hard job but I learned that how to help people who are taken away by the big waves, how to work as a lifeguard, and so on. My Lifeguarding job became a great summer memory that I can not forget!!
