Izu Peninsula: Atami, Shimoda & Cape Irozaki

What?
Izu Peninsula (伊豆半島) is a popular getawy from Tokyo, especially for its hotsprings. The area is also a trip in time, as Shimoda (下田) was the port where Commodore Perry landed and ended an era of isolation. The rough coastline - especially on the western side of the peninsula - is also appealing for nature lovers.
Where?
Atami (熱海) is easily reached from Tokyo by both express trains as the shinkansen. Atami in its turn can be used as a hub for the rest of the Izu Peninsula, although long train rides should be taken into account. People holding a railpass should be aware that this only covers a trip up to Ito (伊東), however beyond this point the trains are run locally so extra fees need to be paid.
URL
Japan Guide Outline (Cape Irozaki) Japan Guide Outline (Atami) Japan Guide Outline (Shimoda)

Most of the time I plan my trips after an exhausting event. The positive part of that is that I’m already in parts of the country I usually don’t get to, the negative part is that I don’t have a lot of time nor too much energy. However if a place is truly enchanting the adrenalin makes you go all the way and crash only the next day. With my visit to Atami unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.

It is a mystery to me how this place can be a popular hideout for people from Tokyo. This place has absolutely nothing: no attractions, no views, no atmosphere. For an onsen town the lack of the atmosphere will probably be the worst. Anyway, I would advise everyone to skip this town as you will gain nothing by getting off the train here.

Luckily Shimoda had more to offer the next day. Weather reports predicted rain for a whole day, but I was lucky and it only started raining when I already boarded the train back to Tokyo.
Shimoda is a small charmful town which seemed to be the inspiration of Pallet Town of the Pokemon games. Now I did not really see the resemblance, but just as the Pokemon games this place is easy to get around. The Perry Road is surprisingly short, but the walk towards the place commodore Perry first landed his ships has nice views over the harbor and mountains in the background. The walk towards the harbor is a pleasant one and while I didn’t board the Perry cruise, the bay seems interesting enough to pay for a ticket.
I also took the cable car up to Mount Nesugata. While it offered some nice views one can wonder if it is worth paying for 1030 yen, especially when the photography museum is closed.
One tip: when you want to use a coin locker, use the ones at the ropeway station and not those of the train station. They are only a stone’s throw away and can differ up to 400 yen per locker!

The place where Commodore Perry landed his ships.

Entrance of Zuihoden.

Shimoda seen from above.

View from Mount Nesugata.

From Shimoda I took the bus to Cape Irozaki (platform 4, 40 minutes to Irozakikoguchi). Due to the weather the cruise ship did not depart which made that the walk up to the lighthouse and little shrine on the southern tip of the peninsula was the only thing left to do. As I did not prepare properly for my trip I was surprised that this was only a 15 minute walk… If I’d known I had planned something additional. Not that the views from the cape weren’t rewarding: the cloudy and stormy weather made for a rough sea, a strong wind that I love so much and if you get off the path only a little you have a 360 degrees vista.