If you love the ocean and seafood, the Izu peninsula is the best place to travel to for a short vacation. I traveled to Kawazu, a city in the southern part of the peninsula earlier this year for the sakura matsuri. Living in Tokyo for the past year, I was dying to see the beach again, so I asked my high school friends if they wanted to do a trip out to Shimoda, another southern city in the peninsula. Taylor, is teaching with the JET Program in Shizuoka, located in the northern part of Izu. We met up with Ashley, who is currently working in Tokyo, and her roommate, Yocchan, who grabbed us from Mishima Station, nearby Ash’s grandmas house. While being in Japan, I finally got to reconnect with them after all these years. We lost touch a bit after high school, but luckily got to hang out and reconnect while in Japan! It felt just like old high school sleepover days.
Day 1:
We met around 10 AM at Mishima Station. For me, it took around two hours on the local train to Mishima (Around 2,500 yen). From there, we hopped in a car and drove the rest of the way to Shimoda! Traveling in Izu is accessible by public transport, but definitely more convenient with a car. There are so many scenic lookouts, hidden waterfalls, and hiking trails which you can access year round (although sunny weather is the most ideal time to visit). June is notoriously known as rainy season, and unfortunately we were caught in the rain for our short trip to the coast. On the first day, the morning started off rainy and turned into a light drizzle by mid afternoon. After about an hour of driving, we stopped by a waterfall lookout and wasabi field. The lookout was beautiful and definitely worth a stop. Before heading back to the car, we ate some ayu, a river fish often grilled nearby many rivers in Japan! I highly recommend if you love fish, its tasty and very salty…but be careful of bones!
After stopping, we drove the rest of the way to Mishima, about two more hours. As we reached Shimoda, we were pretty hungry, so we stopped at a local “kaitenzushi” or revolving sushi place for lunch! Shimoda is home to some of the best quality fish you’ll ever eat. Kaitenzushi is known to be a cheaper lunch as you can choose how much you want to eat and what quality of fish you want to splurge on. I went for the more expensive ones as a yolo moment. I ordered botan ebi, negitoro, kinmedai, and kuromutsu to start off. The Izu Peninsula is known for great kinmedai which is basically a red snapper. The fish itself is a bit fatty and oily, but has super great flavor. If you’re in the area, you MUST try it! Out of the four sushis I ordered, I enjoyed the kuromutsu the most. It’s a fatty bluefish that is slightly seared…sooo good. We also shared an order of Kinmedai Oshizushi which is a sushi that is pressed with shiso-flavored rice and topped with a thick cut of seared kinmedai. Thinking we didn’t eat enough, we also ordered miso soup filled with clams, crab legs, and kinmedai parts for only 350 yen! I also tried a piece of wagyu and uni sushi which was good but pricey (around 500 yen for only one piece). For everything, it came out to around 2,500 yen which is a bit expensive but for the quality and amount we ate was very good. My favorite overall was hands down the kinmedai oshizushi and I would drive back just to eat it again!
After lunch, we got to our airbnb around 3:30 for check in. The house was an older house refurbished inside with modern, wooden furniture and decor. Our host set up our futons for us, and even gave us some homemade tea to enjoy! We really wanted to camp in Shimoda, but due to the weather, we decided to go for this airbnb instead. It happened to be only 30 seconds away from the beach, making it a perfect location for our short trip. By the time we arrived, we were blessed with a clear sky and even got a little bit of sun at the end of the day. We changed into our swimsuits and swam in the cool, salty ocean water. We were happy to relax and take a break from our crazy Tokyo lives. The beach was serene, and while we were basically the only ones swimming in bikinis, we still felt at home in the ocean.
After swimming, we went down to a nearby fishing pier that Ashley and Yocchan often go to. While they set up, Taylor and I walked along the pier and explored the area. We were so lucky to have the sun setting off in the distance. At first a little hesitant, we didn’t want to try fishing. But oddly enough, Taylor and I started to catch some fish within minutes of putting the fishing pole in the water. It was my very first time fishing and I am still shocked that I caught multiple fish. While the sky turned pink and purple during the sunset, we kept catching fish until the sun went down. We caught around 10 saba (horse mackerel), cleaned, gutted them, and took them home to eat. While I’m not a big fan of touching and smelling like fish, it was a cool experience, and I’m excited to go fishing again.
For dinner, we stopped by the supermarket to get ingredients to make tacos. We picked up some wine and umeshu, along with fruits, chips, and breakfast food to keep us going for the rest of the trip too. For the rest of the night, we drank a little, gossiped and reminisced on high school and college days, and of course, ate a lot!
Day 2:
The next morning, we woke up to horrible rain. It was pouring all morning in Shimoda, so we were a bit bummed, but glad we got some sun the other day. For breakfast, we cut fruits, and cooked toast, eggs, and made “nanbanzuke” with the saba we caught. Our airbnb host let us check out whenever we wanted to since there were no other reservations that day. Since it was raining, we took our time to pack up and relaxed a bit before we left.
As I may have mentioned in previous posts, June is Ajisai or hydrangea season, and luckily we happened to learn about the Ajisai festival at Shimoda Park. Although it was raining a bit, by late afternoon the rain had turned into a drizzle, and we decided to make the most of our day by stopping by. While I had seen beautiful Ajisai in the Tokyo area, this park has got to be one of the best places to view the flowers. Hundreds and thousands of Ajisai bushes line the park area. Seeing the beautiful flowers this year has been one of the highlights of my year! Ajisai blooms in different shapes and colors, which make it so fun to see all the different combinations while you walk along the trail. Although it was rainy, the moisture and rain drops on the flowers added to the beauty of the place even more.
After exploring the park, we made our way back to Mishima Station. The drive back was so green and luscious. We drove past beautiful scenery and greenery versus the often dull and modern Tokyo view. Along the way, we stopped by the Tokyo Rusk factory, picked up some omiyage, and made our way back in time for dinner! For dinner, we stopped by Ashley’s grandmas house in Mishima to eat and play with her dog, Ichirou, and then left to go home. While it was a short trip, it was really relaxing. I got to catch up with old friends, and I am excited to take more trips out to Shimoda in the future. Before living in Japan, I never really explored outside of Tokyo. But from this past year, I was able to visit more beautiful parts of Japan, taste the local foods, and share those memories with my friends! If you’re planning a trip to Japan, consider Shimoda as a weekend getaway during your next trip!
Trip Costs:
Train (Roundtrip): 5,000 yen
Airbnb: $65.22 ($260.86 total) https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/24567590
Food + Gas: Around 5,000 yen
Total: Around $165