Shimoda

[written by Ryan]

Grandpa, Roo and myself enjoyed a “boys” weekend at Shimoda, Japan. Shimoda is located on the Izu peninsula, which was formed by ancient lava flows from the famous Mount Fuji further to the north. Shimoda is approximately 3 hours away from Tokyo by train. The route is well known for its beauty (ocean on one side, low rugged mountains on the other) and we were not disappointed. Shimoda is best known as the place that Commodore Perry (an American Naval officer) brought his “black ships” in the 1850’s to establish trade and end Japan’s long isolationist policy. Shimoda was actually the first city in Japan that allowed foreigners to roam and interact freely with local Japanese. I visited the Ryosen-ji Museum, which had on display both Japanese and Western descriptions and drawings from the time--very interesting. A walk down Perry Road near the museum provides a view of the “old town” architecture, with some picturesque walking bridges crossing over the trickling waterway.

Nesugata-yama overlooks the city so we took the ropeway up to the top and were surprised to find colorful Spring flowers, rugged walking trails and a vicious wind. Roo led us on many “secret” paths that criss-crossed the summit. We also discovered a hedge maze, which added to the fun, and a steep slope to facilitate his log-roll attempts.

Our hotel room provided a direct view of the bay. I also took the opportunity to enjoy the outdoor garden hot bath as well as the bayview hot bath, the best that I’ve visited in Japan thus far.

Heading back to Tokyo, we took the “Super View Odoriko”, which has extra wide/high windows to allow better viewing of the scenery. Ryder watched his Lego movie while Grandpa and Dad chatted over a cold beer.