It has been a hot minute since we have last posted. Yikes, this adventure was way back at the end of March…we went to the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka, Japan. We stayed in two areas in the peninsula Ito and Shimoda. It was our first trip of the year coming out of some covid restrictions so we were really excited.
The drive to Ito was a beautiful 2.5 hour coastal drive and also had some cool tunnels along the way.
Our first two nights we stayed in a house that was listed as “Breathtaking View House” and it sure did have a pretty view. Of course the boys were extra pumped because you could even see a train pass by. We got settled and had 7-Eleven dinner, the best combini food in Japan. We hung out at the house that evening to rest up for our next days adventures.
The next morning we headed out to the Jogasaki Coast for some scenic hiking. We saw a suspension bridge, a light house, and lots of cool rocky cliffs. The rocks were formed from cooling lava flows from an eruption 4000 years ago.
The hike wasn’t too long so we had all afternoon to find something to do. We randomly came across a dinosaur playground called Dinosaur Plaza. It was at the top of a huge hill so was quite the hike to get up to but the boys had a blast! At the bottom of the hill they had a huge azalea garden with cherry blossom trees. The azaleas were not in bloom but the cherry blossoms were, always so beautiful to see those. There was also a pond that the boys enjoyed seeing the turtles and a golden koi!
We went back to the hotel and enjoyed some ice cream and had some afternoon naps. Then we went out for dinner at Izu Kogen Beer, a delicious seafood and sashimi restaurant that was also a beer hall. It was fantastic!
The next day was rainy, so we took a slow morning to check out of our house and then drove down to the Kawazu area to find an indoor frog zoo called KawaZoo (…I see what they did there). A little boy’s dream, right?!
When we left the zoo, the weather was a little nicer so we decided to do a nearby hiking trail. This trail took us to see the Kawazu Seven Waterfalls. The boys are really becoming big fans of going on hikes. They also enjoyed all the puddles the rain left behind.
This bridge was spotted on our way to Kazawu, we found it on our drive back too. This was our drive on the Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge!
We had a beautiful drive to our next hotel.
Next stop: Shimoda.
More to come!
BRB, Out to Japan – Jackie
Your posts are always a joy to see! Thank you for sharing!! (That drive though!) Love you all!
Beautiful! But, the critical question… Did you get to pick some oranges??
Aw, no we didn’t. That’s a good idea though! I’m going to look into it for next year!
Very nice!! That lighthouse looked super futuristic
Fantastic views, trains, nature and hikes…what more could you ask for!!!
Love all the pictures and love the puddle stomping by Jonathan ✌️