Shimoda

Shimoda

下田

After Kyoto, I had one last stop to cover with my family before travelling solo. We headed to a small town on the East coast, known for its beaches and its historical significance as being the place where Japan first opened its borders to trade with other countries. Worn out from the endless hours of walking we had done in our past few cities, we were looking forward to having a relaxing few days and escaping from the heat and humidity of Kyoto and Tokyo.

After managing to get thoroughly sunburned on our first day at the beach (despite having applied sun tan lotion three times in the three hours when I was there), we decided to retreat in the shade of the forest and try the Kawazu Seven Waterfalls hike. The drive there was a little nerve-wracking, with narrow cliff-side roads which were definitely more built for one car than two, but it was worth it! The hike itself was relatively short, but the forest views were beautiful and the trail was peppered with seven waterfalls of varying sizes.

There were also numerous statues along the way, which allegedly a story about 'The Izu Dancer' although the intricacies of the plot were lost on me.

After heading off the trail, we passed this little store which sold fresh wasabi. The man gave us some free samples which were very interesting!

We then stopped at a little wild boar hotpot (Botan Nabe) restaurant. With the help of a ten year girl who was the most bilingual person at the restaurant, we were able to navigate the menu and order. The hot pot was really delicious and unlike any other food we'd had in Japan! It was loaded with hearty vegetables and slices of wild boar as well as the best mushroom I've ever eaten. We didn't leave the restaurant unhappy.

We ended our day at an onsen next to the restaurant which also was home to the seventh and largest waterfall. The onsen had a very relaxed, family friendly vibe (helped by the bathing suit requirement)  and was a nice way to end the day, although in retrospect, the waters of the hot spring were probably not good for my sunburn.

On our final day, we explored the town of Shimoda a little more.

The harbour.

Unfortunately the weather was not on our side, so we very quickly headed back home.

That night, we went down to the nearest beach to our house to use the sparklers and small fireworks we had bought in Kyoto.

The path to beach was covered in crabs who were darting in and out of holes and we walked past.

Feeling like Harry Potter.

With our fireworks supply exhausted, we headed back home for our last dinner in Japan together.