Road trip Izu Peninsula – 1

07 Jan, 2011

Lotus Exige Cup 260

Ok! Time for some non-car related posts on this blog! First by showing the car we had for our last roadtrip :P. After graduation we had about 1,5 weeks off until our return to Holland. So we planned another roadtrip, this time to Izu Peninsula. Izu Peninsula is a resort area about 100 km southwest from Tokyo. It’s famous for it’s coastlines, beautiful scenery and mountains.

At first we planned on renting a car again for the trip. But Remi’s friend was nice enough to lend us this car for the trip! The Lotus Exige. For the people who don’t know this, it’s Remi’s ultimate dream car. I’m not kidding, during the trip he had trouble thinking about other things besides the car…!! It was like talking to a baby. Remi will probably make another post about this car for the people who are interested.

In car shot of Lotus Exige Cup 260

We picked up the car around 11am and 2pm we hit the road! Remi couldn’t be more excited about this trip as you can imagine…

Entering Izu Peninsula

After about 2 hours the scenery changed from high buildings to nice coastlines and mountains everywhere. It was so nice to see such different surrounding. Every single time we go outside Tokyo it still amazes me how beautiful this country is.

Katsu Don

Time for a pit-stop! We stopped at one of the many restaurant places by the highway to enjoy some fine Japanese cuisine. Well it wasn’t that great, but good enough for the price! I had my favorite カツ丼 (katsudon)

Ton Katsu ramen

and Remi had とんかつラーメン (tonkatsu ramen).

Palm Trees in Izu Peninsula

The sun was already going under when we arrived in Ito. This is the place where we booked the hostel. Ito is another hot spring city along the peninsula’s eastern coast.

Our Hostel, Ks House Ito

We booked a night at the hostel K’s House. We’ve stayed with them before but in different cities. From our own experience they’re reliable for good, clean and cheap rooms. This hostel however is a special one, it’s an old fashioned Ryokan (旅館)! A Ryokan is a type of traditional Japanese inn. They typically feature tatami-matted rooms, communal baths, and other public areas where visitors may wear yukata. The hostel is located in a 100 year old building. It really is beautiful from both inside and outside. They also have a 100% natural hot spring bath. Pretty nice, eh!

Parking the Exige

After checking in, we had to find a garage for Remi’s (temporarily) wife to sleep in, so it would be protected from the big bad world. There was one near the station, which is at 8 minutes walking distance from the hostel.

After Remi said good night to the car, we headed back to the hostel to ask the staff if there was anything else to do in Ito at that time. The answer was clear, Ito is a small town with nothing to do after 6pm. So we asked for any good restaurants in the neighborhood. They told us about the small Izakaya just around the corner. Good food and special price for the K’s House guests. Let’s go! 行こう!

Izakaya Food - Fish

It was indeed a very small family Izakaya, the entrance wasn’t welcoming at all. There was just a door, no windows to look into the place. Though a bit hesitant, we entered and ordered the K’s house set meal. And I’m so glad we did, because it was one of the best meals we had in Japan so far! We each got a fish, don’t remember the name, and it was soooo delicious and fresh. But of course, that wasn’t all, after the fish we got soup,

Izakaya Food - Tempura

tempura and

Izakaya Food - Sushi

this delicious sushi. At the end we were stuffed! So we sat and talked (in Japanese!) to the owner and some other customers who were sitting beside us. It turned out to be a very nice laid back place to eat and hang out. After diner we went back to the hostel to relax in the onsen. After that it was getting late, so time to hit the sack!

Ks House Ito Rear side

The next day we got up early and headed to pick up the car. But just before that we took a snap of the outside of the hostel (on the leftside).

Totota Bread at the Bakery

At the local bakery we saw something we had never seen before… Totoro bread!!! How cute is that.

Exige Cup 260 with Navigation

Soon after at about 9.20 am we hit the road again. Next stop: Izu Kogen. Famous for the Jogasaki Coastline and the Kadowakizaki suspension bridge.

Izu Peninsula Coast

We were lucky, it was a beautiful day with the sun shining… it was just perfect. We parked the car and started to walk along the coastline of Izu Peninsula.

Izu Peninsula Coast

From the parking area it was about a 20 minute walk to the suspension bridge. As we crossed the paths between the trees we enjoyed the breath taking view.

Izu Peninsula Coast

This place is just amazingly beautiful and well worth the visit.

Izu Peninsula Coast

All this beauty has been created by the sea crashing against the coastline time after time. Continuously changing ooh so slowly.