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Ito (Hiking on the Jogasaki Coast and Tour of Tokaikan)

(When the hand mark appears when you put your cursor over the photograph, you can see an enlarged version of the photo in a different screen.)

We went to  Ito on the Izu peninsula at the beginning of March in 2015.

We went from Atami to Ito using “Odoriko-go” (which is a railroad train linking Tokyo Station and Shimoda Station in Izu peninsula).

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We found cherry blossoms were in full-bloom when we got off at Futo Station. “Kawazu-zakura” is the name of this type of cherry blossom. Ordinary cherry blossoms start flowering in the beginning of April or the middle, but this type of cherry blossom starts flowering at end of February.

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This is Futo Mishima shrine, a very old shrine. Nobody knows when this shrine was built.

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The shrine has excellent carving works (openwork).

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We were walking toward the sea under the cherry blossoms.

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This is the Jogasaki coast.

About 4,000 years ago, a large-scale volcanic eruption occurred in this area, flowing lava and volcanic stones reached the sea, and the stones at the coastline were eroded by ocean waves, whereby the Jogasaki coast was created. This coast has a promenade well-repaired, stretching the full length of about 9 km. We went 5 km from Futo to Monwaki Lighthouse.

On the day we visited, the sun did not shine and a strong wind blew. It was terribly cold.

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The boulders on the seashore were black, because they were made from ejected volcanic rock and lava.

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The color of the sea was emerald green.

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Please have a look at these black rocks.

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This is “Bora-naya.” The hut was used as a place where “Ama” (woman divers) took a rest. Now, it has become a tearoom for tourists. How tasty the miso soup with red bream we ate there was!!

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After finishing our rest, aiming at reaching the goal, we began the final leg of our walk.

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We walked up and down this type of road.

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We enjoyed the views as shown below.

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Sometimes, we walked to a place extending into the sea. (The wind almost blew us away, so we couldn’t maintain an upright position.)

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We finally reached the goal, a suspension bridge near Monwaki Lighthouse.

This bridge is located above the sea at 23 m height from sea level. The length is 48 m. I thought that the bridge would shake, but actually it has a solid structure and is stable.

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The white building in the distance is the Monwaki Lighthouse.

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This is the Monwaki Lighthouse.

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You can look over a 360-degree view from an observation deck of this lighthouse.

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The hiking course we walked, from the Futo Station to the Monwaki Lighthouse, took about 2 hours including time for rest. We couldn’t lose our interest on this course, because the view was changing continuously as every time we turned the corner. The sheer cliffs, black rocks, and emerald green sea made us feel quite fortunate to come there, even if it was cold.

We went back to Ito, and visited “Tokaikan,” which is a one-time Japanese style inn at a hot spring of a three-story wooden building. This inn was preferred by many celebrities and important persons in politics and business circles. It was opened in 1928 and closed its doors in 1997. However, in 2001, this building re-opened as an Ito Onsen sightseeing and cultural facility. Now, you can see the interior of this building.

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This is a Japanese-style room. Guests stayed in this room. (There are some different types of Japanese-style rooms.)

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Inner court.

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Exhibition halls of modern art.

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This is a large hall on the third story. On one side of this hall, “Hina” dolls were decorated.

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Tokaikan, the place is certainly worth seeing.

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