[Trip Report] Izu Peninsula + Niigata + Tokyo

[thwysg]

Solo trip on my own from 15-28 Feb 2017. Not sure what you all need to know. Will try to see if I could include some pictures (used iPhone to take so not good quality ones).

I'm one who goes for festivals and local cuisine but seems to be visiting too many festivals and not much on food this time round.

My actual itinerary. Different from what I planned originally since I encountered three days with extreme winds and heavy showers in Izu.

Itinerary
D01 - SG > Tokyo > Atami > Ito Onsen walkabout
D02 - Jukkoku Toge + Atami Baien Ume Festival + Atami Onsen walkabout
D03 - Atami: Kinomiya Jinja + Atami Ginza > Mishima
D04 - Izu-Nagaoka + Numazu + Kawazu Sakura Matsuri (light-up)
D05 - Mishima Skywalk + Mishima Taisha + Shuzenji Onsen
D06 - Matsuda Sakura Matsuri + Gotemba Premium Outlets
D07 - Mishima > Shimoda: Minami no Sakura to Nanohana Matsuri
D08 - Mt. Nesugata + Irozaki cruise + Irozaki Jinja hike
D09 - Shimoda > Imaihama-kaigan: Kawazu Sakura Matsuri
D10 - Mt. Omuro + Jogasaki coastal hike
D11 - Imaihama-kaigan > Nagaoka: Echigo-kawaguchi Setsudou Hibotaru Matsuri
D12 - Nagaoka: Ojiya Fusen Ikki > Tokyo
D13 - Tokyo: Hyakudan Hina Matsuri
D14 - Tokyo > SG

Flights
JAL

Hotels
Atami - Itoen Hotel Atami-kan
Mishima - Dormy Inn Mishima
Shimoda - Shimoda View Hotel (more like a ryokan)
Kawazu - Izu-Imaihama Tokyu Hotel
Nagaoka - Hotel Mets Nagaoka
Tokyo - JR Kyushu Hotel Blossom Shinjuku

 

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The passes I used in this trip:

JR East Pass (Niigata) - ¥17,000
Mt. Fuji-Shizuoka Area Tourist Pass Mini (3D) - ¥4,500
Tokai Bus Zensen Furi Kippu 東海バス全線フリーきっぷ (3D) - ¥4,600
Izu-Kogen + Jogasaki Bus Furi Kippu 伊豆高原・城ヶ崎バスフリーきっぷ (1D) - ¥800

The rest of the transportation expenses was paid using cash and Suica.

 

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My usual methods on research - Google, travel websites and magazines. Bought a Rurubu travel magazine on Izu from Kinokuniya.

Once I've decided on the festivals and locations, I search for all possible bus, ferry and train timetables under Izu-Hakone and Tokai.

As for hotels, this time round I tried booking through Japanese sites which made the search for available rooms during my travel period way much easier. And some, cheaper.

 

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Day 1

Touched down at Haneda airport and collected my JR East Pass. Proceeded to Shinagawa to catch Super View Odoriko to Atami. High curved panels for this limited express train. Requested to get a sea-facing seat but was told fully booked.

So ended I got to see Mt. Fuji throughout the trip.

Shopping street in front of Atami station. There's two. My hotel for the day is located at the end of one of the shopping streets.

Itoen Hotel Atami-kan

 

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**Seems like I'm having issues with imgur app. First time using it. Will post text first and re-edit the posts with the image links.

Waited till 1pm to do a check-in but the staff told me to come back again after 3pm to collect my room key. So I left my luggage at the hotel and went ahead to visit Ito Onsen and Ito Marine Town.

In order to reach Ito Marine Town, I took Izu-Kyuko Line local train (The Black Ship Train) to Ito station. It's covered by JR East Pass. Take the local bus from the bus terminal next to the station. ¥170 per trip (about 5 min ride). Cash only.

This small place is divided into a few areas - shopping (dried and wet products) and restaurants. There's also a small area for Hina dolls display by the Marine Town shops.

Colorful facade.

Fishermen's zuke-don 漁師の漬け丼 (¥2,360). Comes with pickles and miso soup plus a raw egg for you to mix the rice with the fish. Salmon, squid and maguro marinated with soy sauce topped with salmon roe and seaweed. Had sake from Shizuoka prefecture instead of a beer despite this is a microbrewery restaurant.

Took the bus back to Ito Onsen after lunch. Started walking with reference to the model walking course in Rurubu. Didn't stop by to have tea as I was too full and the sun was setting way earlier than I expected. And cold, below 5°C. Shops close early in winter.

Toraikan. Preserved heritage building. Can stay next door K's Hostel. I believe the two share the same building.

Views you get when traveling with Izu-Kyuko Line and Odoriko trains.

Saw advertisements of Itoen Hotel in Rurubu and the hotels are generally budget friendly (flat rate for 365 days). Booked two nights with breakfast and dinner which include free flow of cold crabs. Cost me ¥8,100 per night (excluding bath tax ¥150). The wifi is only available at the lobby. But not sure why I couldn't connect after I came back from Ito.

Room for one at Bekkan.

Surprised to see free flow of Asahi draft beer, warm Ozeki sake and Nikka whisky highball. Most of the customers were just crowding round the drinks and the crab areas. I was down with fever and didn't have much appetite. Went straight to bed after dinner.

 

[evilerniex]

fall sick during solo trip is super sianz
dun have anyone to look after u

 

[thwysg]

fall sick during solo trip is super sianz
dun have anyone to look after u

Tell me about it. My SO was so worried. Fever was on and off too. The weather made it worse.

 

[evilerniex]

Tell me about it. My SO was so worried. Fever was on and off too. The weather made it worse.

i kanna fever when i was travelling solo in germany during winter also. luckily recovered after taking panadol and half a day of sleep, coz need to travel to next city

 

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Day 2

Wanted to reach Atami Baien around 0830 but ended up reaching there close to 0930. Found out that there's a Izu-Hakone bus coupon for unlimited travel between Atami station, Atami town, Kinomiya Jinja, Atami Baien and Jukkoku Toge, plus a return trip for Jukkoku Toge cable car at ¥1,200.

http://www.izuhakone.co.jp/bus/coupon/

Was a good deal. Down side was the bus only comes every hour. The last bus leaving Atami station is around 1400. And the last bus leaving Jukkoku Toge was around 1500. So it's impossible to take the bus to Atami Ginza or to Kinomiya Jinja after lunch around 1400+. Managed to cover the cost: Atami station > Atami Baien > Jukkoku Toge + cable car ride > Atami station. Caught the bus leaving Jukkoku Toge at 1330.

If you're an Atami town resident or staying overnight at Atami (ryokan/hotel), you just need to pay ¥100 for entry. Else it's ¥300.

Events in Atami Baien.

One of the street stalls. Selling yokan and ume cha. The first guy in black on the right is the 4th generation owner of this old sweets shop. Young ah beng.

Waterfalls, a short narrow passageway beneath the waterfalls and many bridges in this garden.

A lot of pink and white plum trees. Rare ones are red and yellow.

Spent at least 1.5hrs here. There's wheelchair designated routes. Very good place to take pictures of mejiro since the trees are clustered closely, commonly known as "Ume-jiro" うメジロ.

 

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By the time I reached the bus stop outside Atami Baien to Jukkoku Toge, it was another 1hr wait. It was around noon then when I reached outside of Jukkoku Toge.

Heading back to the base station. The cable car station is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

Decided to take it easy instead. Had kinmedai (grilled and cooked with sauce) set meal. Around ¥2,300. The set meal with a whole kinmedai (¥3,500) was already sold out in many local restaurants. Went back to hotel to rest and decided to head out to Atami Ginza and Sun Beach before dinner.

 

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Discovered coin laundromat and dryer at Atami-kan.

Bought these huge strawberries from a counter selling produce from local farms in Shizuoka. Didn't manage to go for strawberry picking (peak season).

Started to walk from the hotel to Atami Ginza. Windy path with lots of bends. Going down was easy but the way back was a killer.

Dead town. That's just around 5pm and many shops in this town are closed on Wednesdays and alternate Thursdays.

Could see Atami Castle from the beach.

Sun Beach is lit up at night. Moon Terrace (think it'll look beautiful on full moon nights) and sakura trees. There's also Omiya no Matsu and the sculptures of the two leads in the story - Kanichi and Omiya.

 

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Day 3

Today was supposed to be the day for me to check out and move over to Mishima. My original plan was to visit Hatsushima. But the morning news came with warnings on extreme winds and rain. Had to give up on this since ferry services were suspended. Ended up going to Kinomiya Jinja.

Took a train to Kinomiya station.

About 3-5 minutes walk from the station. Entrance of Kinomiya Jinja.

Main temple. There's a few smaller shrines such as Inari Jinja next to the entrance. There will be staff ushering visitors to wash your hands and rinse your mouth before entering temple grounds.

The main attraction in this temple is actually this more-than-2000-years-old camphor tree. There's a younger one around 1,300 years old near the entrance.

A mikoshi.

A small little cafe selling cakes, drinks and soups in the temple. There's free wifi too! The winds came and blew sand and leaves couple of times. Announcements were broadcasted to all visitors to watch their safety as there are many steps (stairs) in this big area.

 

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Took a bus heading back to Atami station at the bus stop in front of the entrance of Kinomiya Jinja. Alighted at the Shi-Yakusho Mae 市役所前 and headed towards Atami Ginza and Sun Beach again. It's a Friday so I expected the streets to be more lively. But sad to say, the rain and the wind came.

On the left is the old Japanese sweets shop where the 4th generation young owner was helping out at the street stall in Atami Baien Ume Matsuri. Saw a couple of queues outside small restaurants since it was lunch time.

When I reached Sun Beach, one side was pouring like crazy yet on the other half, it was all clear blue skies. Decided to head back to Atami station as the rain got heavier.

Left my luggage at Kuroneko Takkyuhaibin in Lusca (small shopping mall at Atami station) after I checked out in the morning. ¥500 for the day. More convenient than searching for a coin locker in the station big enough to store my big luggage. Couldn't go anywhere due to the rain thus I had lunch (simple pasta set meal that comes with a drink at ¥1,100) at Lusca while using free wifi (max. usage of 3hrs per day) from the mall.

Booked my seats for the trains from Ito (Izu) to Nagaoka (Niigata) and Nagaoka to Omiya before leaving Lusca. Went to board the train to Mishima with my luggage when the rain was gentler. It was almost 3pm.

Queued and collected my Mt.Fuji-Shizuoka Area Mini Pass from the South Exit of Mishima station. Hotel is also located near the same exit.

Booked Dormy Inn Mishima as I thought it looked new and not too far away from the station (5min walk). Staying here for 4 nights which works out to be ¥8,240 per night (breakfast included and the use of onsen). Coin laundromat is available in the onsen area. Ladies need to collect a password everyday from the reception in order to enter the bath.

Single room and view from the room. Could hear the trains going by, clearer especially when it's late at night.

Wanted to visit the few attractions in Mishima neighborhood but the sky turns dark quickly after 5pm. Started the walk to Mishima Taisha (closes at 4pm in winter). There's a small area called Taisha no Mori Mishima 大社の杜みしま (opposite the shrine) for community events, exhibitions and interesting shops. Ate at this place Ohakoya recommended by Rurubu with a local beef steak-don (¥1,480, comes with salad, soup and almond jelly dessert) and Mishima gyoza (¥300) plus sake from Shizuoka prefecture (¥700).

Retired for the day. Still sick and tired with the rain and the winds.

 

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Day 4

Original itinerary was to visit Nirayama because of the community bus running on Saturdays only. Saw Kawazu Tourism page reporting full bloom for sakura trees in Kawazu town and there's light-up from 1800-2100. So tweaked a little to the itinerary: Izunokuni Panorama Park > Numazu Port > Kawazu Sakura Matsuri (instead of Nirayama Reverberatory Furnace + Strawberry picking).

Breakfast at Dormy Inn Mishima. Read reviews on Dormy Inn that they serve local cuisines based on the prefectures they are located in - unagi takikomi gohan (mixed rice with freshwater eel) and kamaboko with sakura ebi (fried fish cake mixed with sakura prawns) for Mishima.

Was running late thus didn't try other food. Ended up missing my train by 1 minute anyway.

Activated Mt. Fuji-Shizuoka Area Tourist Pass Mini (3D). Took Izu-Hakone Railway to Izu-Nagaoka station 伊豆長岡 and switch to a local bus heading towards Izu Mito Sea Paradise 伊豆・三津シーパラダイス from the bus terminal. Alight at Izunokuni Yakusho 伊豆の国市役所 and walk about 5 minutes. At first I walked the wrong way, the friendly bus driver honked and showed me the correct direction. He also told me where to take the bus back to Izu-Nagaoka station (different bus stop).

I actually wasted quite a bit of time at the ticket counter. Found that JTB is selling discounted electronic coupons for various attractions in japan via PassMe! website during my research. And I was asking the staff if I could use that, but he thought I was about to make payment over the counter for this coupon (they only accept cash payment) and ding-dong for at least 15 minutes. So I proceeded to pay via credit card online. There's a little electronic device that looked like a stamp to acknowledge my ticket. And it showed the above, so cute!

Why I insisted on using this coupon - the discount is ¥600 off, from ¥1,600 > ¥1,000.

You get discounted coupons for dango and soft serve (wasabi) on top of the discounted ropeway ticket.

But what luck! In the midst of happily boarding the ropeway, I left my wallet (except my credit card and my Suica in my pockets) at the ticket counter. Only realized it after I wanted to buy wasabi soft serve from the ropeway station.

There's a few trails to walk around. Saw Izunokuni and Kawazu Sakura trees too (they labeled them). Free ashiyu while enjoying the views of Mt. Fuji and Suruga Bay plus other towns e.g. Mishima and Numazu. The ropeway station staff managed to contact her colleague at the ticket counter thus asking me if I would like to leave the park. With no loose change (actually I had another wallet with me but all big notes), I continued to walked all the paths in the park. Spent at least 2 hours here.

 

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Returning back to the base station of the ropeway. There were quite many Hina Tsurushi Kazari displays since Hina Matsuri is around the corner.

One of the areas where the Hina Tsurushi Kazari displays are.

Missed my bus again within a minute (the light was green and the bus turned) so ended up waiting another 40 minutes. No fun especially it's below 5°C. Took the train from Izu-Nagaoka back to Mishima, then changed to JR Tokaido Line to Numazu. From there I took a local bus to the port (every 20min interval).

Numazu Port area. Behind the big lantern is Numazu Deep Sea Museum.

Didn't go to the museum since it's lunch time.

Lunch. Only ¥1,600. Very cheap, 8 kinds of seafood including 1 fresh scallop.

Numazu is famous for Sakura ebi and Shirasu, thus ordered this donburi. The eatery is in a building where all the shops are selling local catch, seaweed and dried fishes. Got a counter seat facing Numazu port on my left and Mt. Fuji on my right. It was one of the best and cheap meals I had in this trip. Regretted not buying the dried sakura ebi (cheap and beautiful) but the shelf life is quite short. Was there about 1.5hrs.

It started to rain again on my way back to Mishima. Rested a little before traveling light to Kawazu Sakura Matsuri. Used Mt. Fuji-Shizuoka Area Mini Pass for Mishima > Atami and JR East Pass when I changed to Izu-Kyuko Line for Atami > Kawazu.

Surprised to see a Tonari no Totoro exhibition in Izu-Kogen's Izu Teddy Bear Museum.

"Odoriko and I" sculptures in front of Kawazu station. Reached here slightly after 1800. The sky was almost dark.

 

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Part of the light-up area in Kawazu town.

Stayed till almost 1930, very few street stalls were open and the main event area wasn't lit up.

Brochure on Matsuda Sakura Matsuri.

Didn't intend to visit this one as my intention was to visit Ume Matsuri in Odawara Castle 小田原城 and Soga Bairin Bessho 曽我梅林別所 on a weekday. 40,000 plum trees in Soga Bessho alone. Googled the status of the flowers in Matsuda Sakura Matsuri - full bloom plus I could always head to Soga Bessho with a shuttle bus from Matsuda station.

Had a simple dinner - canned corn soup from vending machine plus buns from DONQ bought from a mall in Numazu, plus strawberries. Headed to bed after watching some variety shows and news.

**Transportation expenses for today was fully covered by the two passes - Mt. Fuji-Shizuoka Area Mini Pass and JR East Pass (Niigata).

Day 5

Today was a sunny Sunday. My SO and friends told me perhaps I should skip going to Fuji Five Lakes and Fuji-Yoshida area on a weekend, too touristy. So I dropped my original itinerary: Fuji-Yoshida > Shiraito Falls > Lake Tanuki > Lake Yamanaka (for Diamond Fuji) > Lake Kawaguchiko.

Breakfast at Dormy Inn Mishima. Unagi rice plus kamaboko with sakura ebi.

Decided to visit Mishima town instead since I didn't manage to on the first day in Mishima due to bad weather. Thus my itinerary for the day became Mishima Skywalk 三島スカイウォーク > Yamanaka Castle Ruins 山中城跡 > Izu Fruits Park 伊豆フルーツパーク (strawberry picking) + lunch (local specialty dish) > Mishima Taisha 三嶋大社 > Shirataki Park 白滝公園 > Shuzenji Onsen 修善寺温泉.

Take the bus heading towards Moto-Hakone 元箱根港. Alight at Mishima Otsuribashi 三島大吊橋.

Mishima Skywalk. ¥1,000. No discount.

Come in the morning before 1000 for a good shot of Mt. Fuji. The local and overseas tour groups came after 1000. Was thankful for the good weather as those who came after 1015, Mt. Fuji was clouded. Alternatively you could visit during the sunset. Do take note of the opening hours (shorter hours in winter). Many hiking courses at the other end of the bridge.

 

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This probably looked as if it would lead to Hakone Cedar Avenue.

View from an observatory point.

Didn't stay too long, the crowds started to come. Quite crowded when crossing the suspension bridge to catch the bus to Yamanaka Castle Ruins. Had a soft serve (milk from Shizuoka farms) and went to take the bus around 1040. Traffic jams at the main entrance of the car park of Mishima Skywalk due to the reason that the car park was full.

10-15min bus ride from Mishima Skywalk. I took the blue course. Timed myself such that I could catch the 1240 bus back to Mishima. Got lost for a short while 'cos of the confusing directions labeled. Couldn't see Mt. Fuji since it was covered up by clouds.

People queueing up at Mishima Taisha to pray. Sacred deer park.

Skipped Izu Fruits Park on the way back as I saw the number of tour buses and local cars parked at the car park. Went straight to Mishima Taisha and spent at least an hour there. Big ponds with koi fishes and ducks at the entrance, deers in a caged area, a museum and a few temples. There was a wedding going on, a prayer pavilion for priests and priestess to chant scriptures to bless babies (many families came in groups). Many young ones were busy feeding the deers even though the deer park smelled of faeces. Including the fishes and ducks at the ponds.

 

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Mishima town. It's actually a lovely neighborhood to wander. Monuments and different fauna planted along the pavements. There's a small river where wild ducks are swimming and if I'm not wrong, it leads to Genbe River 源兵衛川.

Shirataki Park 白滝公園. Rakujuen 楽寿園 is located directly opposite the park. The ponds are dried and I suspect they would be filled up during summer since the water comes from Mt. Fuji.

Hakoyu 筥湯 and Gyokuro 仰空楼. The first was a historic location when the shogun was captured in 1204. The latter got its name from a poem penned by a famous Japanese poet who frequented Shuzenji. Free access to Gyokuro, though I didn't go up. A bunch of young PRC tourists were running up and down and giggling while taking selfies.

Shuzenji Onsen has many red bridges for romance. This is one of them Kokeibashi 虎渓橋.

Entrance to Shuzenji.

Shuzenji 修善寺. Do take note of the opening hours. I was lucky as there were quite many Chinese tourists who were still inside taking selfies despite after 4pm. Left at 5pm when a monk struck the big bell.

 

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Forgotten to mention that I took Izu-Hakone Railway from Mishima station to Shuzenji station, followed by a local bus to Shuzenji Onsen (about 10 min).

You could rent kimonos to take a stroll in this small town. There's many good photo spots too.

Ume trees next to Shuzenji Temple. Please do not mix this up with sakura. The Chinese tourists were all so excited and kept on saying these were sakura.

I didn't know that Shuzenji Temple was having Ume Matsuri with special programs all lined up for the day, within 5 min walk from the temple. Too bad.

Chikurin no Komichi 竹林の小径 - a small little bamboo forest in Shuzenji Onsen.

Another red bridge Kaede Bridge 楓橋. Could see another red bridge from here. Power spots for romance.

Tokko no Yu 独鈷の湯 - believed to be the oldest hotspring in Izu Peninsula, the hotspring was created by Kobo Daishi with his dokkosho in 807. It is no longer allowed for bathing, converted into a foot bath instead.

Too crowded to try the footbaths with the big groups of Chinese tourists, thus I headed back to Mishima. Would be lovely to return here during the autumn.

Wanted to try unagi-ju in one of the popular restaurants near Mishima Hirokoji station 三島広小路. But the unagi was sold out, before 6.30pm.

Walked all the way back to Mishima station and ate at the seafood restaurant (no smoking which was why I chose here) instead. Very affordable since they catch their own fishes in Numazu. The restaurant serves live fishes and hamayaki as well. Had a kaisen donburi (more sakura ebi and shirasu), Shizuoka sake and a grilled whole squid with crab roe dip (¥650). All these cost me less than ¥3,000.

Went back to the hotel and called it a day.

**Transportation for today was fully covered by Mt. Fuji-Shizuoka Area Mini Pass.

 

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Day 6

Today's itinerary was Matsuda Sakura Matsuri > Soga Bairin Bessho Ume Matsuri > Gotemba Premium Outlets > Toki no Sumika.

Breakfast place in Dormy Inn Mishima. Small but good enough for me.

Pickled wasabi leaves. New dish with local ingredients. As potent as wasabi paste.

Another dish with local ingredients. Shirasu and sakura ebi donburi.

The menu for the local dishes had changed for a new week.

Onsen for men & women on 13F.

Vending machines in a corner next to the onsen. Bottled cold fresh milk from Shizuoka farms and other yogurt drinks and tidbits.

Matsuda Sakura Matsuri.

In order to utilize the Pass, I took the longer journey: Mishima > Numazu > Matsuda. Due to the extreme winds, JR Gotemba Line was suspended for almost an hour. Apparently those trains passing Atami~Mishima were also affected.

Only managed to reach Matsuda close to noon. Took a shuttle bus (¥150 one-way) to the festival venue. Didn't manage to take Furusato train (not available when there's bad weather), since the rain came.

Decided to head to Gotemba Premium Outlets for late lunch and gloves shopping for Niigata. This turned out to be the worst day throughout the whole trip.