Ito, Japan June 2015
Onsen! The Izu peninsula in Japan is famed for having plenty of onsens and we decided to take a short trip there.Ito, a small town, is only about 2 hours by train from Tokyo, a very quick and rather scenic ride.
There are several ways by train to get there and we opted for the direct route from super busy Tokyo station.
This train has a lack of luggage space so we had to store our luggage behind the last row of seats.
A friendly Japanese man over in the next row saw our luggage issue and pointed to the back rows.
So nice of him!
I kept checking during each stop to make sure our luggage were still there.
Fortunately, this is Japan and not Europe!
We got some bento boxes at Tokyo station.
There was so much variety available!
Really spoilt for choice.
Be sure to pick a tasty bento box for two on your train ride!
Arrival at Ito station after about 2 hours.
Ito station is a rather small and old fashioned type train station.
We took a taxi to the Yokikan ryokan, about 10 minutes walk away.
Taxi ride cost 700 yen which was reimbursed by the ryokan.
Very nice gesture on their part.
They also provided transport back to the train station when we left.
Their website is http://www.yokikan.co.jp/english_top.html
It is only about a 10 minute walk straight down a road from the train station.
Very good location.
On check-in, the manager explained everything about the ryokan and meal times to us.
His English was really good.
He also explained the use of the three onsens on the property, which rotate amongst the men and women.
We also met the wife whose family owns the ryokan.
She was very friendly, spoke great English
Had a very nice view of the surrounding areas.
It was a very big room which had a separate bathroom as well as a living and sleeping area.
The staff would make the futons on the floor at night, after dinner.
View from the upper floor onsen which I highly recommend going!
The water was warm, very clean and felt fantastic!
Really nice to soak in the onsen after a day of sightseeing.
If you stay at Yokikan, please opt for the dinner package.
The meals are fantastic! I love the food here.
A staff would come and set the table with various dishes, mostly seafood as Ito is next to the ocean.
The food was very well prepared and very delicious.
We had lobster one night and abalone on another.
Ingredients were very high quality and would easily cost at least $100 per meal if eaten in the USA.
Dinner on another night
The braised fish and soup were excellent !
Breakfast was just as good, with grilled fish, eggs, variety of vegetables, all very tasty.
The town of Ito is very small and nothing really in particular stands out.
There are some statues which give luck, love etc when you pour water over the, scattered throughout the town.
So if you see such a statue, pour some water over it! :)
A small fee gets you inside and there are several levels to view the various rooms and artifacts.
Some products that are local include "Guri cha" which is a slight variation of Sencha.
There are several tea shops in town which sell it.
Lots of local delicacies available as well but we didnt try those.
The sunrise was definitely very early!
By 4.30am, the eastern sky was already quite bright.
It took about 30 minutes to get there.
Mount Omuro is an extinct volcanic crater which can be ascended by a ski lift type system.
Definitely worth checking out!
There is a circular path which leads around the crater and supposedly, on a clear day, Mt Fuji is visible. There is also an archery range at the bottom of the crater as well as a small shrine.
We then took a bus to Izu-kogen train station which was about another 30 mins ride.
We took a lunch break at the station with some yummy Japanese fried chicken sandwich!
It was good!
We then walked about 10 minutes from the train station to the Izu Teddy Bear museum.
This year, 2015, happens to the the 20th anniversary of the Izu Teddy Bear museum!
Such a nice coincidence!
There was also a special Totoro exhibit in the museum.
The Izu Teddy Bear museum is actually quite small and is located in a 2 storey type house.
First floor had all the Teddy Bear exhibits and the 2nd floor was the Totoro exhibit.
Here are some pics!
Very cool!
However, I really like their store and cafe!
The cafe had big teddy bears seated on the seats outside! Very cute!
The bears and plush animals in the store were very high quality and well made.
Some of them were really expensive though.
The store here has more variety than the one in Korea.
You can also buy some of the items online but they only ship within Japan.
Next up, we went back to the train station and took a bus to Jogasaki Kaigan.
It is a cliffside walk with a suspension bridge and lighthouse, very cool.
The bus signs were all well posted and easily understood even though I dont speak Japanese.
It was just a short walk of about 1km from the bus stop to the lighthouse and bridge.
Only stairs going up! No elevators.
At the parking lot, we asked a taxi to take us to the nearby Jogasaki Kaigan train station but he refused, probably because it was too close by.
He wanted to take us to.. Tokyo!
So we walked!
We got lost on the way but asked a very nice couple (with their dog) who led us on a shortcut and pointed us to the station.
So nice of the Japanese couple!
He realized we were foreigners and gave us some souvenirs!
Mint pacca is pleased with his new pin!
During our stay in Ito, there were apparently two rather large earthquakes within a week that hit Tokyo and one of them was even centered close to the Izu islands just offshore from Ito.
We didnt even feel the earthquakes, although it was felt strongly in Tokyo.
This was a fantastic trip and definitely worth going.
Next time, we'll have to go later in the summer and check out the beaches.
Bye Ito!
