exploring shimoda on the izu peninsula of japan
05:30On previous trips to Japan, I have been to Kamakura. Kamakura is a great beach location, but on this trip I went a bit further south on the coast to the Izu Peninsula. Shimoda is a quiet fishing village with some amazing rugged coastline. Shimoda is famous for being the location of where Japan opened their ports to trade with other countries in the 1850. Since then I don't think that much has changed.
If you have a JR rail pass you can use this to catch the train from Tokyo through Atami to Shimoda. You can catch any JR train to Shinagawa Station and then take the Odoriko Super View which you need to book a reserved seat all the way through to Shimoda. The rail line from Atami is a privately owned line called the Izu Kyuko Line. This means that you will have to pay additional amount when you arrive in Shimoda of about 1500 YEN per person as your JR pass will not cover this. If you arrive early to Shimoda there are luggage lockers where you can leave your bags and use the Izu Kyuko day pass you have just paid for and catch a train back to Kawazu to explore another little town for a few hours.
At Shimoda Station all of the hotels have staff members there to greet you and take you in their shuttle bus to the hotel. I stayed at Shimoda Tokyu Hotel which run shuttle buses twice an hour from the hotel to the station. You can also ask the driver to drop you off on Perry Road which is worth an explore and wander back to town using the walking trail.
Shirahama Beach is worth a visit and is a 10 minute bus ride from Shimoda
Beach shops of Shirahama Beach
If
I went back I would hire a car to explore the Izu Peninsula. The
driving would be easy and allow you to explore more as the public
transport is fairly limiting.
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