Shizuoka by Car (3 days, 2 nights)

December 11 – 13, 2020

Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka prefecture is one of the most popular vacation destinations for Tokyo residents. About 100 kilometers south of the metropolis, Izu Peninsula is easily reached from Tokyo by train or bus. Izu is loaded with beaches for swimming, fishing, and diving, as well as hot spring resorts and other attractions. Because of this, it is easy to understand why this area is so popular. Andrew and I took a weekend trip to the peninsula in December to see for ourselves what makes Izu so great.

Day 1: Utsunomiya –> Mishima

Per our weekend trip formula, we hopped on the Shinkansen from Utsunomiya to Mishima Friday night. Armed with a couple Premium Malts, the Shinkansen is really the superior method of transit. No, it is not budget-friendly. But, I am HAPPY to stimulate the economy by shelling out for Shinkansen tickets.

Once again, I booked an unremarkable business hotel near the station for the night. If you’re booking business hotels in Japan, expect that the room (and everything in it) will likely be much smaller than an American equivalent. Also, the bed is likely to be rock hard and the pillow might be stuffed with what seems to be cut up pieces of drinking straws?? Or like…beans?? I have some thoughts on pillow standards in Japan, anyone in the hotel industry here can feel free to give me a call.

Day 2: Mishima –> Osezaki –> Ito –> Atami

Mildly hungover from the drinks we had on the Shinkansen, we woke up bright and early in Mishima city. The only attraction I bookmarked in the Mishima area is the Numazu Deep Sea Aquarium. I don’t have strong logic behind this decision, but it is near a fish market and is home to the flapjack octopus. So, we picked up our rental car and drove out to the aquarium. It also happens to house two preserved coelacanths. Shout out to all my fellow Animal Crossing fans. I really enjoyed this aquarium AND we got to eat coelacanth-themed soft serve after.

From the aquarium, we drove about an hour along the coast to Osezaki Lighthouse. When I researched Izu Peninsula, I mostly wanted to find a scenic, not crowded spot to take photos of Mt. Fuji. Osezaki Lighthouse definitely fits this description. It also, fun fact, happens to be one of the most popular scuba training sights in Izu. As we walked out to the lighthouse, we stumbled upon a massive group of divers surrounded by all manner of dive paraphernalia. After our trip to Okinawa, this definitely reminded Andrew how much he wants to learn to dive when we return to the US.

Once I took enough misty, mysterious photos of Fuji-san, we continued onwards. Another hour directly west across the peninsula brought us to Mt. Omuro. This bizarre volcano pokes abruptly out of the earth like a giant pimple. With that delightful image in mind, we rode a ski lift up the mountain to see what could be seen. Surprise, more stunning views of Mt. Fuji!

I saved Maboroshi Hakurankai to my map after watching Abroad in Japan’s Journey Across Japan series. Chris did not adequately prepare me for how creepy this place is. I haven’t posted any of the photos I took here or talked about it with any of my friends… I was deeply weirded out by this, uh, museum? Amusement park? Anyway, Andrew loved it.

Thoroughly creeped out, I wanted to do something wholesome. So, we headed over to Izu Granpal Park for the winter illumination. Highly, highly recommend. Not only did I see at least a dozen small dogs in strollers, but the lights are also really great! They do three different light shows each hour, you can get food and drinks, and play carnival games. It was a delight.

I booked an onsen hotel in Atami for the night. The room décor was straight out of the 90s. Like, this hotel was probably really trendy ~30 years ago. However, the hotel’s private outdoor onsen more than made up for anything the room lacked. After a nice soak, we wandered out for some late-night yakitori in town.

Day 3: Atami –> Mishima –> Utsunomiya

The hotel provided breakfast in the morning. It was much simpler than some other hotel breakfasts we’ve had in Japan, but very satisfying. After breakfast, we decided to check out Atami’s adult museum. Much like the previous day’s Maboroshi Hakurankai, go ahead and file this attraction under things Andrew found funny and I found intensely creepy. Photos are prohibited inside the museum. Which is fine, because my strongest memory of this place is that they played a porn film of women having sex with an animated turtle’s head. Like, the animated turtle head penetration was blurred out because…Japan…but, I saw more than I wanted to. So, uh, enough about that.

Next, we drove to Mishima Sky Walk! This entire attraction is just a long suspension bridge. That’s the whole thing! To be fair, it is a very long bridge. On a nice day, you get great views of Mt. Fuji. After standing in line to cross the bridge and then, uh, cross back… We bought some (very cute) soft serve and roasted chestnuts and started to make our way back to Mishima city proper.