Kawazu + Jogasaki Coast

Living in Tokyo, I finally got the chance to research and learn more about cities nearby but unknown to foreigners. Kawazu is located in the beautiful Izu Peninsula, which is one of the many cities along the coast. Kawazu is most known for the early blooming “kawazu-zakura” that bloom from February to March. It’s the perfect day or weekend trip from Tokyo to see the beautiful sakura. And unlike Tokyo, these sakura are bright pink in color!

Day 1:

I traveled with my friend Erin who also lives near Tokyo. We started our morning early to catch the train from Tokyo to Kawazu. If you’re looking for the cheapest route, I recommend taking the JR Tokaido Line to Atami then transwer to the JR Ito Line all the way to Kawazu. The total journey from Tokyo would cost around 3,500 yen but takes 3~4 hours. If you have a JR Pass, you can take the shinkansen for free. If not, than it would be quite costly… During the sakura matsuri, Kawazu gets pretty crowded so you might want to go early to grab a seat on the train.

The sakura trees line the path along the river which is about five min walking from the station. Once you get there, you will see a bunch of food stands as well! Some with sakura themed snacks. We had to try the sakura taiyaki for our first stop. Sakura itself doesn’t have a strong flavor, but the color of the taiyaki was really cute and it was quite tasty. Erin and I made our way through the area, enjoying the beautiful sakura, and taking pics basically every five steps. For brunch, we stopped at a restaurant stand and tried “kinmedai” a type of fish that is famous in the area as well. It was a cute shop which allowed you to grill your own seafood at your table! The path lining the river is long and there are many shops selling all kinds of foods and snacks! Go with an empty stomach!

Kawazu is also known for the “nanadaru” or seven waterfalls. After walking along the river, we caught a bus to the waterfall to explore the area as well! The bus to get there costs about 1,000 yen one way. It was quite an expensive trip, and the bus doesn’t run frequently. If you also want to go here, you should get off at the Mizutare bus stop and walk down the trail. Along the way, you’ll see the different waterfalls among the rocks and greenery. The trail was relaxing but not entirely worth the money to get there. If you have a car, it would be recommended!

Going back, we decided to end our day, watching the sunset at Imaihama Beach. The beach is a short walk from Imaihama Kaigan Station. We walked around, watched some surfers, and enjoyed the sky changing colors until it was dark. We were pretty exhausted from carrying our backpacks all day, so it was a nice relaxing break. After it got dark, we went to our hotel which was near Izukogen Station, a little up the coast. We stayed at Gem Stay In (ジェムスティーイン伊豆高) in a private room for two. The hotel was 3,250 yen per person with shared bath/common room. Japanese hotels are so clean, so you really can’t go wrong for the price even in a shared hotel! Since we arrived after dark, the whole town was dead. We thought there would be more shops or even restaurants open, but we had a hard time finding somewhere to grab dinner. We settled on an izakaya that served okonomiyaki and monjayaki. A great end to the night! After checking in, we took a shower and got our beauty rest for the next day.

Day 2:

We checked out next morning around 10 AM and made our way to the train to head towards Jogasaki Coast. We grabbed some bread for breakfast and ate it on the way to the hike. You can catch a bus from Izukogen station to the start of the Jogasaki Coast trail. The trail itself is not super long, but we walked the entire one-way trail which took a couple of hours. Along the way, we hit the suspension bridge, lighthouse, and got some great views of the ocean and coastline!

Since the weather was a bit gloomy, we decided to head back and stop over at Atami for a late lunch snack. The trains in the Izu area are quite expensive to travel from place to place. So you should beware and expect to spend on transportation. After getting to Atami, we got some delicious fish cake, and the famous Atami Pudding! We ended our day traveling back home on the train ~ It was a long but fun two day adventure!