FUJISAWA, Kanagawa Pref. -- It's almost 5 a.m. and the sky is warming as the sun rolls up to burst open the horizon. The pacific rhythm of the ocean waves dominates the soundscape of the virtually deserted beach.

For Atsuko Sakurai, a local surfer, this is the best time of day to pursue her passion. She strides excitedly onto the beach, but her glee fades quickly into quiet dismay as she steps around the minefield of cracked bottles, smashed cans and other assorted trash.

Seeing such a messy beach, Sakurai can only sigh.

Summer is officially here and it's the season when piles of trash from weekend parties at the beach welcome early morning surfers and trouble the residents. The ocean debris is a serious environmental issue for Kanagawa Prefecture's popular beaches, and the condition gets only worse as summer wears on.

Katase and Kugenuma Beach, located in Fujisawa, are popular leisure spots where people come together for surfing and sun bathing in the Kanto district. Due to the close distance from large residential areas including Tokyo, taking only an hour by train or car, Fujisawa city has more than 2,100,000 visitors every summer.

According to Kanagawa Coastal Environmental Foundation (KCEF), almost two tons of trash are collected every day at Kugenuma and Katase beaches in summer. KCEF is founded by 13 different cities along Sagami Bay and various companies in 1991 for the purpose of maintaining the quality of the 250 km-long bay by one organization.

"If you see the beach covered with garbage, it will definitely lower the city's popularity," as Hiroyuki Takase of Fujisawa City Hall Environment Bureau Trash section said. Fujisawa owes much of its livelihood to tourism. Therefore, the marine debris issue has become a huge, growing concern for Fujisawa residents as well as the local government, said Takase.

Yusaku Akashi and Yoshio Inoue work for Fujicutter, the company subcontracted with KCEF, and they clean Katase and Kugenuma beaches every day. Picking up trash by hand for eight hours, Akashi has recently sensed that the busier season is getting closer and closer.

"Even in May, we find a lot of plastic trash on the beach, especially after a sunny weekend," he said. Plastic bags and empty lunch boxes from convenience stores, smashed cups and bags from fast-food restaurants, expended fireworks and cigarette butts have become more prominent than before.

During the busiest period, between July and August, they utilize two pickup trucks and one dump truck to transport collected debris to a processing plant. "During summer, we do that five or six times per day, but after the season, we still drive three or four times per week. It's a lot of work," said Inoue.

Japan Environmental Action Network (JEAN) is a nongovernmental organization focusing on preserving the marine environment and researching the marine debris. According to its analysis in the 2001 Campaign for the Ocean, 14,496 plastic bags, 17,311 plastic beverage bottles, and 60,989 cigarette butts were collected nationwide, reporting that the number of littered cigarette butts comprised most of the marine debris collected in 2001 nationwide.

"The number (of collected cigarette butts) is tremendously, high," said Azusa Kojima, a representative of JEAN. Cigarette filters, which are made from chemical fiber, never dissolve. Most plastic trash as well resolves into thousands of small pieces from exposure to ultraviolet rays and the elements. This debris piles up and injures and kills untold thousands of marine animals that swallow or become entangled in debris, Kojima said, adding "the day when the ocean becomes a plastic sea is definitely coming."

The woes for Kanagawa Prefecture's beaches will worsen as the weather warms.

"Many people use the beach as if it were only a big ash tray," said Masamitsu Ogawa, a member of KCEF. Walking along the 2.5 km-long boardwalks between Katase and Kugenuma beaches, cigarette butts can be found everywhere. Mixed into the light blond sand, it's hard to pick them out. "Since they are so small compared to other garbage, a beach cleaning machine that we use cannot pick them up," Ogawa complained.

Littering by beach visitors is not only the reason that causes the marine debris in Fujisawa.

The Hikichi and Sakai rivers, which run through five cities in Kanagawa and Tokyo prefectures, pour into the sea at Kugenuma Beach, carrying tons of scrap wood and household garbage. According to KCEF's 2001 annual report, 718,710 kg of flammable garbage and 154,803 kg of nonflammable garbage was collected from the Fujisawa coastal area.

The jungle crow population exacerbates the problem.

Even when conscientious beach goers deposit their refuse into trash cans, pesky crows manage to pick most of the trash out of the cans before garbage collectors come.

In order to preserve the beloved beaches in Fujisawa, local surfers and residents make efforts for the cleaning up the beach.

"Tourists come here only to enjoy themselves," Takase said, bemoaning the lack of public awareness. The Environment Bureau Trash section annually organizes a campaign for the purpose of cleaning up the coastline as well as raising needed awareness to this problem.

Fujisawa City Hall sponsored the 27th Gomizero Campaign in 2003, enlisting 61 organizations and 4910 people to take part in a massive cleanup effort. About 1,710 kg of flammable garbage and 1,110 kg of nonflammable garbage was collected within a day.

Various local groups also voluntarily organize campaigns. Nishihama Life Saving Club and Kugenuma Beach Clean Club organize cleanups once a month, with local surfers often pitching in.

"We cannot surf without the ocean, so it's very important to be thankful for it," said the surfer, Sakurai. She takes part in campaigns as much as she can, but when she has work on the day, she contributes to the cleaning in an unusual way. As owner of a local cafe, she supplies cookies to campaign participants.

According to Kojima, because people's attention toward the beaches in Fujisawa is relatively high, the beaches are considered as "well treated," despite the large amount of garbage tossed there every summer. "Things are much worse in depopulated areas," she said.

"If only every smoker would pick up their cigarette butts, one aspect of the marine debris would be easily solved," Kojima sighed and said, "Not littering is more important than collecting garbage."