One of Japan's best-kept secrets

"This beach......only three hours from Tokyo"

When we were planning our 2-week family holiday to Japan, we definately wanted to include some quiet nature retreat days, preferably with beaches, to counterbalance the metropolitan dynamics of Tokyo and the cultural splendour of temple city, Kyoto.

When you look for tropical beaches in Japan, you will most likely be led to the tropical Okinawa islands, two and a half hours by plane from the country's capital, Tokyo. There you will find Japan’s picture-book beaches, so it says.

Izu-Kogen

We decided to look a bit closer to Tokyo and our eye fell on the peninsula of Izu, about 2-3 hours (depending on how far south you want to go on the peninsula) by train southwest of Tokyo. We did not expect to find white-sand beaches, but all we hoped for were quiet coastal towns with some sea views and an occasional seaside promenade. Some fresh air and a sub-tropical mild sea breeze to soften the summer heat would be just fine after having been in steamy crowded cities for over a week. 

When in Kyoto, I had picked up a free magazine from a tourist office, "Time Out Tokyo". In the July-September issue, it featured an article, named ”This beach….is only three hours from Tokyo”, which included a beautiful photo of a long stretch of pristine beach along a crystal-clear, green-blue ocean ! The article stated that the area surrounding Shimoda on the southeastern tip of the Izu Peninsula boasts several stunning beaches. 

The Izu Peninsula offers a comfortable train ride along its East Coast, taking around 45 minutes from the Northern part of the peninsula to the town of Shimoda in the far south. Northern towns, such as Usami and Ito, do have pretty nice (black sand) beaches too, but the most exotic ones you will find further South, so it was promised. 

From the train station in Shimoda, we hopped on a bus to Shiharama Beach, which took us through Shimoda’s picturesque historic harbour and steep hills with spectacular ocean views. After a 10-minute drive we descended upon the magnificent Shiharama Bay, where blue waves gently rolled in on a white-sand beach. The beach as well as the North Pacific Ocean were as pristine as elsewhere in the world’s tropical paradises ! 

Although Shiharama Beach was pretty busy with cheerful Japanese families and young surf dudes, it was not extremely crowded. Nor was it packed with tourists, foreign nor domestic, in other places on the peninsula. The towns of Ito and Izu-Kogen, for example, were quiet, almost deserted, with only elderly residents going about their daily routines. The seaside of Ito town, although peaceful, seemed a bit old and rundown as if its glory days were long gone, which gave it a certain kind of pleasant melancholic feel. 

Maybe, Izu Pensinsula does not have what it takes (anymore) to draw in the big trendy crowds from Tokyo and abroad, but its natural beauty and tranquility are definately making Izu a place worth visiting !

This article appeared earlier in e-magazine Business Trends Asia