Izu Peninsula Trip: Day Two...

This was the view we woke up to on the second day of our trip.  I should say, that the birds woke us up to, as I said in the day one post...  That is Oshima Island, and after that you don't hit land until Hawaii out that direction.  It really was a very nice place to stay.  In almost all the Japanese hotels we've stayed in, we have to reserve two rooms, since they are almost never big enough for a family of five.  Miss R is usually happy to sleep on the floor rather than share a bed with her sisters.

Today was our big Seven Waterfalls day.  Everyone says seeing these is the must do activity on Izu. So we did.  To make time though, I had to sacrifice a drive through the wasabi fields of Ikadaba, which I had looked forward to.  Izu is famous for it's wasabi, which must be grown in clear mountain streams.  But that's ok.  I have watched videos about it, and in this case, that's close enough.  Almost all "wasabi" that you normally get is actually horseradish dyed green.  (If you're curious, the Japanese kind is Eutrema japonicum or Wasabia japonica, and the horseradish kind usually available is Armoracia rusticana.  Both are brassicas, so related to cabbage, kale, etc.)    Since it, you know, grows in little crystal streams in Japanese mountains, it is rather hard to come by and expensive, thus the switch.  I love horseradish- thanks to our friend Dr. Wolf, who introduced it to me at a Passover dinner, and wasabi is even better.  I love how it burns the nose, while still leaving the tongue able to taste.  Good stuff!  (Even in ice cream, but more on that later...)  

One thing I really loved about the whole Izu Peninsula was the signs!  It is a geologic wonderland, and all the explanatory signs have English.  And, more importantly, English written by someone not named google, so it makes perfect sense.

I had no idea this was a thing.  I had assumed Japan was all on the Eurasian Plate, but it's totally not!  Isn't that awesome?

In fact B had the idea to text his boss that he had actually left Asia and gone to the Philippines.  It was pretty funny.

B:  Thought I would let you know this little fact about my trip on this leave period.  Left the plate that Japan sits on and went to the Philippine last night.

Boss:  Was this you?  The number is coming in strange.

B:  Yep.

Boss:  If you really did, I think you would have been smart enough to not tell me.

B:  (Sent above picture of the plates.) Oh, I did.

B:  The Izu Peninsula is actually part of the Philippine plate.  So geologically speaking, I have left the continent.

Boss:  Tread lightly Lieutenant Commander.  You may set off more tectonics than you hope for should such messaging get accidentally leaked.  Enjoy your time.

For the next few hours, we wandered beside the Kawazu River, visiting lots of waterfalls.  It was so lovely.

At one of the waterfalls the path was closed off because the area around the river is an onsen resort.  It was closed when we were there, but it would be so fun to go back.  It looked like the type of onsen I would be willing to enter, because I think everyone wears bathing suits.  It would be pretty amazing to sit in hot water next to a cold rushing waterfall.  We decided if we get stationed here again, that will be on our list of things to do.  

The whole area is made of these igneous rocks, which cooled from lava in a way that formed these columnar joints.  So pretty!  

I liked this "snippet" about the precious ethnic word.  

Just as at the Jogasaki Coast on the first day, I was blown away by the clear turquoise water.  

There was a stamp rally!  Japan is big on stamp rallies, where you go to different locations and collect stamps.  You can't put everyday stamps like this in a goshuin book, it would be disrespectful; so I have a special leather journal from Italy my sister sent me that we keep these stamps in.  Becasue there are seven waterfalls (actually, we don't know how they specify, because there seemed to be more than that), and there are seven lucky gods in Japanese tradition, each waterfall had a god and stamp.  Here are the first two we came across.

Standing on some gorgeous columnar joints.

Aren't these roots amazing?  They were supporting two trees leaning out over the river, and indeed, supporting a lot of rocks on the bank.  

Here's our completed stamp set.  

We can't quite figure out this bird.  We're pretty sure it's a wagtail, since it was acting just like our wagtails on base, but it was definitely bigger and yellow.

One thing I must mention is the STAIRS.  So. Many. Stairs.  We did the stairs and the hike the day before at the shrine, and then today, we started at the bottom waterfall and walked upriver; because I had this brilliant idea that the waterfalls would look prettiest coming up from below.  Which is probably true, but wow, we had to climb a mountain of stairs.  My calves are still sore.  

Luckily, these girls are super observant.  Our stairs were broken up by many things, including this battle to the death between a tiny spider and a small caterpillar.  It was very dramatic, and ended up with the caterpillar escaping after many near misses being wrapped up in spider silk, and the poor spider laying stunned on the ground below.  We hope he made it!  When we came back after making it to the "top," he was no longer there.  Either he recovered and scuttled off to catch something else, or something else ate him.  Sometimes I'm happy to be human.

They saw lizards.

They saw baby stick bugs.  There must have been a hatch?  We saw a couple, and let them crawl on us.  They have the funniest swaying dance!  They are zumba naturals.

They saw skinks.  And of course lots of birds, and even a salamander in a pool.  It is a pleasure seeing nature through their eyes.

It was such a gorgeous walk.  We made it to the Saruta Depth, which as far as we could see was a continuation of the gorgeous river and little canyon, and turned around and went back.  

When we got back to the shops close to the parking area, it was time to try some wasabi.

We of course got some wasabi kit kats.  They were good!  Even Miss R said they were ok.  The rest of us really liked them.  

Now for the ice cream.  We only got one cone, although three would have been better.  

Miss R did NOT like it.  At all.  I thought it was good, but I was fine just having a taste.

The other three rabidly loved it.  And fought over what was left, although of course B took the Daddy privilege and ate most of the rest.

We stopped at a quick thrift store or two (I found a jewelry box!), and then went to the Ryugu Sea Cave.

It was beautiful!  It was just thinking about starting to rain.

When heart shaped rocks (something else I collect- sheesh, I collect lots of things...) are too big to fit in my jar, we take a photo. 

I don't know what this shrub is, but it smelled incredible.  Sort of gardenia-esque.

B and I walked around the top of the sea cave, while the girls went to walk on the beach.

This area, near Shimoda, is where Admiral Perry landed his second time in Japan in 1854.  Right as the rain started coming down, we found a drain cover with his black ships.

We drove around the bottom of the peninsula and started up the VERY isolated west side.  No train lines come here, and it is very mountainous.  I had picked a random shrine to visit.  It seemed online like the kind of shrine that has, you know, people, and possibly a goshuin stamp.  But in reality we ended up on some exceptionally windy tiny roads perched on mountain sides, dodging monkeys, to a miniscule little town.  B found a wide spot to perch the car, and I got out to climb up to the shrine.  Two different people went past, and they looked at me like I was the first non-Japanese person they had ever seen.  Maybe I was?  It was a teeny little town.  

The shrine was not inhabited, and there was definitely no one to stamp my book.  

The view was incredible though!  We left, wondering what these people do for a living, and why they have so many tiny greenhouses full of margarite daisies...  And how it would be to live there.

We drove to the town of Matsuzaki, where we had rooms in another small hotel booked.  This one was called Seaside Resort Pension Surfrider.  (Seriously, you have to love the names.)  It was also really nice!  We lucked out with our lodging this trip.  This one was just a two minute walk from a nice grocery store, so B and I left the girls watching a movie, and got their supper.  After we delivered it to them, and found them suitably zombied out enough they wouldn't notice we were even gone, we walked back out and checked out several restaurants.  We settled on a ramen restaurant.  The ramen was good, but their fried rice was incredible!  And of course gyoza.  We all had a good night's sleep.  The waves on the beach kept it from being too quiet.  

Izu Peninsula Trip: Day One...

When we arrived in Japan, the very first Japanese person I spoke to, when I asked her what her favorite place was, told me that we MUST visit the Izu Peninsula.  Finally, last week we were able to go.  It was fantastic, and I agree with her!  

Before we set out, I took some photos of things that were blooming in our garden.

Miss A's Daiso cactus that she got at a long ago young women's activity is just about to bloom for the first time.  It spent the first two plus years flopped over the side of its pot, looking limp and scraggly.  But in the last few months it has perked, stood up straight, and gotten fat.

My little apple tree has blossoms on the end of every twig.

And, as usual, the hellebore I plant looks just fantastic right before I move.  Someday I will live somewhere long enough for perennials to mature, and then be able to enjoy them for a while...

We set off, with the usual amusing road sights.

This guy was super serious about keeping his camping gear safe.  The town of Atami, our first stop, is about 80 kilometers, or 50ish miles from our home.  In the western US, that would take maybe half an hour.  Here, it's two.  But this was a pleasant drive, right along the Sagami Bay.  

Our first stop was Izusen Shrine.  It is famous for having 837 steps, but the girls only counted about 180.  We figure there must be a way to start at the ocean and climb up.  LUCKILY we have a car.  

It was still so many stairs.  And then we hiked up the mountain behind the shrine to see what we could see.  It was a nice forest, and we saw a cuckoo bird.

Shrines and temples are interesting places.  People pay for little fortune slips of paper, and then tie them on displays, in hopes that the bad luck will stay there to be purified.  I think they are pretty and colorful.

Two spitting dragons on the hand washing/ purification fountain.

Here is the view from the top of the mountain.

The shrine through the momiji, or Japanese maples.

This shrine has a carving I haven't seen before on a shrine, a carp.  Koi are a symbol of perseverance in the face of adversity, and I thought this was very beautiful.

There was also a pond with the real thing.  The girls happily fed them from the fish food vending machine, and then a nice lady gave them some more food.

I am a rabid goshuin collector, so I was very happy to get a stamp at Izusan-jinja.  If you haven't heard of goshuin before, they are stamps with calligraphy placed in a special book.  At many shrines and temples, you can pay 300 yen (500 if it's a big famous place), and the monk or shrine maiden will write and stamp in your book.  Since covid, most places have pre-written papers that you take and tape in your book.  I think they are super fun, and I'm filling up my fourth book.  

Our next stop was also a shrine.  I was excited for this one, because it is famous for having a 2000 year old camphor tree.  Do you know the difference between shrines and temples in Japan?  Shrines belong to the native Japanese Shinto religion.  They will usually have the unique torii (pronounced tor-ee-ee) gates like Miss R is standing in below, and guardian lion dogs, called komainu.  Temples are Buddhist.  But in reality, sacred places often are kind of mixed up between the two religions, due to the thousands of years of changing politics and amounts of influence by China in Japan.  

This is not the 2000 year old tree, although, seriously, it is an amazing tree.  Nobody does old like Japan, I always say...

A friendly komainu.

This is The Tree.  Isn't it gorgeous?  Miss R asked if Jesus ever visited  this tree.  I told her that although I personally believe He visited this country after His resurrection, we don't know for sure.  And this tree would have been a normal everyday sort of tree back then.  Although just thinking that we touched something alive when Jesus walked the earth is kind of staggering.

Here is the goshuin from this shrine, Kinomiya-jinja.  

Our next stop was the Akao Herb and Rose Garden.  I was pretty floored by this place.  I mean, I have fairly high garden standards...  This place was pretty cool.  And we were at just the perfect time of year.  We missed the sakura blossoms, except the late kwanzans, but the tulips were at their height.  It was perfect!  And, the tickets included a bus ride to the top of the mountain, so we only had to wander down.  And they wouldn't let us pay for Miss R for some reason.

The garden has a little shrine right at the top.  No goshuin, but they sold a little ema, which is another thing I collect.  They are little plaques people write prayers on, to tie up at the shrine or temple so the kami, the spirit or divinity, can read them.  We sign the back with the date and place, keep them, and use them for Christmas tree ornaments.

There were lots of places to pose for photos at this garden.  Luckily it was not very crowded.  These hammocks were a big hit with the girls, as well as the swing.

Now be prepared for billions of flower photos.  Your typical Japanese garden isn't famous for flowers, per se.  Maybe some peonies or chrysanthemums in very prominent positions.  But my kind of stuffed, crazy flower bed isn't something you generally see here.  So I was super happy at this garden!

This is a Banks rose!  One of the very early varieties.  It's a sprawly climber, and it was everywhere.  So pretty.

Poppies.

This garden was so gorgeous, it was begging for wedding portraits.  But the only professional type photographer I noticed this day was doing something rather... different.  It was an older man with a huge wagon of photo props, trailing around the garden taking portraits of... a poodle.  I'm talking lace parasols, an assortment of hats, the whole deal, all for this little white and dyed fur poodle.  It was so funny.  I made the girls pose for me.

Just a garden on a hill, with a castle in the distance.

Masks have not been a cause of contention here in Japan.  We wear them when we're close-ish to people, and pull them down when we're not.  Yes, it's warm with them on, but we think it's the polite thing to do, and honestly, we often forget we have them on.  For a while our base made us wear them alone outside, and that made me mad, because it's so pointless.  But to keep the peace and be polite, we wear them near people.

The garden had a forest games section that was really fun.  They had a plinko type game with marbles, a golf putting thing, chess, a labyrinth swinging platform thing, bowling, and this- put the English letters in alphabetical order.  

Whoever did it before us didn't quite get it, but hey, English is tough.

Our last stop for the day was at Jogasaki ocean cliffs and suspension bridge.

It was incredible.  The color of the water was unbelievable.  And we were getting some nice huge waves.

The Izu peninsula is fascinating from a geologic standpoint.  Lots of volcanic activity!  We are studying geology in home school right now, so it was fun to talk about it all.

B found this rock.  We aren't super experienced geologists, but we figure this looks to us like a lava bomb flew through the air and landed splat in some cooling lava.  Isn't that cool!  You can see the splash marks.

The girls are such good observers.  One of them, can't remember which, spotted this gorgeous blue headed bird.  He flew off before I could switch to my long lens.  Very pretty!

We had such a great time rock hopping and watching the waves.  They were huge!

Big enough to make the deep thrumming sound you feel in your chest.

Back from the waves just a bit honestly felt like a garden.  It was lush and green, with species that were valued garden plants when I started working with plants.

This euphorbia was everywhere.

Chrysanthemum pacificum.  Just growing everywhere.

And an actual corydalis.  This thing was like gold when I was first working at the nursery.

We went back across the bridge, and I did some more gazing at the clear cold turquoise water.

Then we headed to our hotel, which was very close.  We stayed at We Home Villa Jyougasaki, which was deep in a tangled residential area.  Very quiet.  Too quiet for some people in my family to sleep well.  Quiet, that is, until about four am the next morning, when the uguisu, Japanese bush warblers, started their deafening morning chorus.  I thought it was a lovely way to wake up.  Others, Miss A, were not so appreciative...  Our travel eating strategy is usually to check in to a hotel, or large house/hotel like this one, go find the nearest grocery store, and pick from the extensive pre-made food selection for supper, then get yogurt, fruit, and pastries for the next morning's breakfast.  Our hotel had an industrial kitchen free for us to use to heat everything up.  Thank Heaven B reads Japanese.  Japanese microwaves are super complex, and are really a microwave, and oven, a toaster, an air fryer, and will practically solve world problems.  But... you have to know which buttons to push.  B found the magic "heat up konbini (convenience store) food to the exact perfect temperature" button, so we could all enjoy our noodles, rice, fried chicken, tempura, etc.  And of course the three fish eaters in the family had their onigiri and sushi.

It was a great day!