The Izu Peninsula

The Izu Peninsula, a beautifully calm place surrounded by beaches and breathtaking sights of Mount Fuji. Scattered around are majestic castles and famous Onsen towns overlooking the sea. It sounds like perfection so I decided to spend a few days exploring the region.

Located just 2 hours from Tokyo, with easy access via the local JR trains I embarked on my solo journey south towards Izu. I planned on spending 3 days and 2 nights in Izu, staying in Atami for both nights. I had a brief stop off just before reaching the Izu Peninsula in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture. It was a nice city spearheaded by it’s main feature; the majestic Odawara Castle. This was where I headed to first. It offered beautiful views on both sides of the castle, with the vast sea in one direction and mountains on the other. Living in the grandeur and concrete jungle of Tokyo, I forgot how much I had missed this nature. After exploring the rest of the castle, I headed back towards the station to get some, (hopefully), good food. I was not disappointed! The Chinese restaurant I had chosen had sweet and sour chicken, as well as Karage, rice and some Miso Soup, for well under 1000 Yen. I was in heaven! And now, I was ready to explore the Izu Peninsula!

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I arrived in Atami soon after leaving Odawara. It was a coastal town famed for it’s many Onsen, beach and it’s own castle. The hostel where I was staying was on a hill and offered beautiful views of the whole of Atami. But best of all, it had it’s own Onsen which I’d be utilising later! But first I set out exploring the small town; walking along the beach and going to the castle via cable car. Similarly to Odawara, the castle offered spectacular views of the rest of Atami, which I enjoyed immeasurably. After exploring the castle for an hour or two, I returned back to my hostel and made full use of the Onsen!

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The following day I woke up bright and early and planned to explore the nearby town, Mishima and visit the oldest Onsen in Izu; Shuzenji. I arrived in Mishima at around 10am and went to Mishima Rakujuen, a scenic park containing a variety of animals on the far side. The animals included some pigs, very large rabbits and a curious alpaca, who wouldn’t stop staring at me! They didn’t have too much space to walk around, which was sad, especially the alpaca which is a larger animal yet only had a relatively small area to wander in comparison to its’ size. After I observed these animals for a while, I got a quick snack and went on my way to the Mishima Skywalk. This was the thing I was most looking forward to on the trip. A relative close-up of Mount Fuji in all it’s beauty! The views certainly did not disappoint! A narrow skywalk swaying in the wind with the majestic Fuji in the background was an incredible experience. This was the first time I’d seen Mount Fuji up close and it was a sight to behold.

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Afterwards, it was a trip further down the Izu Peninsula to Shuzenji, which was a beautiful little town famous for it’s Onsen right in the middle! It was an open air Onsen but was more like a foot bath with people waiting to dip their feet in the hot water. I must admit it was extremely soothing after the travels of the previous two days. Just next to the Onsen was the local speciality, Wasabi Ice Cream! Considering I’m not a big fan of wasabi, I don’t know why I bought it and it tasted just as I expected; disgusting. Aside from this minor blip, Shuzenji had some beautiful small bridges and was otherwise a lovely day trip to go on! After this, I went back to Mishima and went on a lovely river walk that resembled more of an obstacle course. Jumping from stone to stone on the rivers’ surface, I was fortunate not to fall in! Then I had some delicious food in a local Izakaya before heading back to Atami and my hostel.

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My final day in Izu was maybe my most adventurous one. It involved going down to Ito City and exploring the Orange, more like black, beach before getting a local bus all the way to Mount Omuro, a one hour bus ride away. Mount Omuro is a now extinct volcano that rises up nearly 600 metres from the ground in a perfect circular shape. It requires a cable car to get to the top, which was very fun just on it’s own! It offered stunning views of the surrounding mountains with even Mount Fuji being visible from the top. Once I reached the top, I noticed something very strange on the crater, people were playing archery on there! I decided I must also do this and rented out the bow and arrows, descended onto the crater’s surface and started taking aim at the target. As it turned out I wasn’t very good and only hit the red centre target once, being so shocked I took a picture of it! After climbing back up the steep slopes and regaining my breath, I walked around the mountain to some more picturesque views of the surrounding sea, mountains and countryside below. It was definitely the highlight of my trip.

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After descending back down the cable car, I caught another local bus and embarked on my final leg of my journey to the Jogasaki Coast. Whilst there I ate some amazing pork broth ramen before setting out to see the Kadowaki Suspension Bridge and lighthouse. The area was stunning and the sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs were echoing throughout the area. The sheer drop of the cliffs were immense. I admired the beauty of it all for around an hour before heading back to the bus stop, which was literally in the middle of nowhere. Then it was time for the long bus ride back to Ito Station and from there back to Tokyo.

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Overall it was an amazing journey to a part of Japan that’s not often explored by Westerners. In fact, I only saw a handful throughout my entire travels there. The Izu Peninsula is a beautiful place with a lot of hidden gems and I would definitely recommend visiting it to anyone who is a lover of mountains, beaches and natural beauty.