Beaches of Izu

My and the CB1000 be hitting up some rad places.

Like this happy tempura shop. Hooray for the devil! And shrimp!

Or the local turtlarium. They have a lot of turtles. I wouldn't know, the entrance fee was like $10. Welcome to Izu, where the natural beauty is offset by the sheer whackness of bubble economy money and government overspending. Not a complaint! Safari zoos, abandoned water parks, and tacky love hotels are fun to visit.

Or this viewpoint. That building just down the hill is the hotel where I lived for 2 weeks; and the surrounding hills are where I hiked, sang songs, and collected bugs with kids for their annual summer camp. In the Izu tradition, it's actually a tennis resort with about two dozen courts. Of which, during the high summer holiday season, at most three were in use.

Even though I was swamped with work, I woke up super early a couple times to check out the area surrounding Inatori, just west of Shimoda. All of this near the southern tip of the Izu peninsula.

These waterfalls are part of the nana-daru (7 waterfalls). It's crazy famous with Japanese people, but don't just mention the waterfalls, unless you want blank stares. As with most things, there is a related piece of literature, or TV drama, or haiku, that needs to be explained.

Explanation: This chick is, like, a kimono dancing girl, and the dude totally wants to touch her, but he isn't allowed to, cause you don't touch no strange ladies.

Response: Oh, yeah, that story... it's famous!

You can buy a cute little garden, planted in a charcoaled bamboo trunk. I managed to kill my potted aloe plant, which also grows wild in the gravel alongside my apartment building. I put this little guy back.

Food in the area is all kinds of tasty seafood. This shop is above a foot onsen.

So kick it here, submerging your feet in 48 degree water (it's hot), then eat some of this.

What my tasteful bokeh doesn't show is all kinds of local fare.

Down towards Shimoda are some of the best beaches this side of Japan.

Shirohama is strange. What are those... colors? I'm used to the Tokyo beaches, with grey sand, gray water, and a nice graey sky. Also, there is a distinct lack of fat white guys down here in Shimoda. Just sayin.

Yumegahama ain't bad either. You can't camp on the beach, officially, but no one will stop you if you try.

Moving on...

This whole pet cemetery was empty, except for 2 graves.

I paid my respects, said hi to Fuji, then drove home.

Stay safe out there.

I'm off to another camp in Hyogo, then one in Niigata. As usual, no photos of the kids, cause the internet is scary.