Hamamatsu was also by the Sea but it wasn’t very beautiful. At least the areas I visited for Yuru Camp. Shimoda however, was just amazing. Brilliant blue skies with lush beaches and rolling green hills. Kath and I both thought it reminded us of home – Jersey, a small island in the English channel – partly known for it’s great beaches.
To Shimoda
We hopped on the Shinkansen at Hamamatsu and it took us easterly along the coast back towards Tokyo. On the way we passed by Mt Fuji again.
While waiting for a transfer to a local train at Kinomya station (I think) to take us down to Shimoda, we had a little look around for something to eat and stumbled across a rare treasure worth a fortune in these parts. A box of PG Tips, my English breakfast tea of choice (Tetley lovers can fight me).
We took the Ito line that follows the eastern coast of Ito, a rather large peninsula jutting out from under Fuji.
The journey was super picturesque. The railway cut right through the rolling hills that lined the coast, giving us amazing views of the nature we were passing through, as well as the various towns by the seaside. One section of track was right next to the water, and it felt like we were riding a ferry.
We stayed at a hostel that was a little further from the station than another option, but we were glad we picked it. After getting off a bus and having a short trek up and down a hill, we reached it. And the view from the place was great.
Inside the communal area there were these large chalkboards with maps of the local area.
And also, there were free bikes to borrow! The place is called “GuestHouse All you need surf&chill”. Definitely recommend staying here, the owner was super nice and regularly chatted with the guests! After dumping our stuff, we grabbed a couple of bikes and headed west along the coast to the first Yuru Camp spot of the area.
Ryugu Sea Cave
This is one of the Geospots that Rin visits solo on her bike near the end of season 2 before meeting with the others. It’s a cool rock formation created from the erosion of the sea.
The journey there on the bikes was roughly 30 mins and several kilometres. So not far but not near either. But on the way we got to see the lovely sights of the seaside. It was beautiful.
Eventually we reached our destination, a little knackered. Of course there was a vending machine there, so we used it to refuel before checking the place out. Right in front of that vending machine are the first couple of shots.
Heading through that mini Torii gate in the picture above, leads you to a steep staircase down into the rock.
And looking down the other way:
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the passageway leads into a spacious opening.
A shot peering out towards the ocean:
And with that, we began our cycle back. Just up the road from the cave was this nice looking beach, but I didn’t have the time or effort to go down and check it out.
About halfway there, we realised we were getting hungry. We took a detour to a nearby beach with the promise of freshly made pizza. On the way there we encountered a mass of teeny tiny crabs, almost like some sort of migration. Along the road there were splatters of flattened crabs, and they just kept coming. Unfortunately the footage of that is lost to snapchat.
When we got there, we were told we’d have to wait an hour for a table. So we took the time to wander up the beach and I had a chat with a friend from home.
When we ordered our food, we met a really rare person – a fully white person that was raised in Japan, and they couldn’t speak English. Her first language was Japanese. Ironically, she had to get her Japanese colleague to take our order. But damn it was good. I had a good old margherita, and my sister had a truffle. Take a look for yourself.
The place is called “FermenCo.” on Irita beach if you want to taste it yourself 🙂
It was pitch black outside by the time we finished our food. After a spooky scary cycle ride back to the hostel, we got some rest to prepare us for the following day.
Next up – we upgrade our bikes and go electric! We whizz along the coast to a scenic lighthouse, and eat delicious fish burgers. Probably my favourite part of the whole trip. Stay tuned for more Yuru Camping!
Tom's Blog 
Yorkshire tea > any other breakfast tea
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