Japan March 2025

February 23, 2020

Tokyo, Shizuoka, Izu Peninsula, Kyoto
Another great experience, lots of time to sketch.

From Tokyo we took the train directly to Shizuoka for the first four days. It was rainy with periodic winds and heavy overcast skies. We got a rental car and drove to Hattasan Temple, a large newer forest complex an hour from Shizuoka. 
We visited Takumi Traditional Hand Craft Arts Center. They offer classes in died fabrics using indigo and teas, woodworking and pottery.
Then up the narrow road that once connected Kyoto to Tokyo, visiting a small shrine and taking their short tour. A beautiful, shady, quiet place. We also visited an old inn named Kashibaya, saw the old accommodations and walked around the grounds.
On our way back we stopped at a museum of worldwide musical instruments.

Dinner at Izakaya Kashima in Shizuoka - sukiyaki and a lemon sour. Next day we had an eel lunch at Aoiya. A cool little place of dark wood, with the smoky smells from cooking. They use charcoal to grill the skin to make it crispy. So good!

On March 7th I got up at 6am, opened the blinds to see sunshine on the mountains and a clear view of Mt. Fuji.
We left Shizuoka, driving east and then south into the Izu Peninsula, stopping in the mountains to walk down to see Joren Falls. Had udon noodles there and drove along the Kawazu River with all the cherry blossoms lining both sides until it flowed into the ocean at the end of town. 

A little further down the coast we arrived at Hotel Izukyu, on a hill across the road from from a nice beach where a few surfers were waiting for a good wave. A nice sweeping view from our room. Wooded mountains along the coast, falling abruptly into the ocean. Our view also looked down onto an enormous hotel pool and kids pool with slide, but no visitors.
This grand hotel has its best days behind it. The enormous hotel entry/reception area was empty of everyone except for four check-in workers and three baggage assistants. I love the feeling of being forgotten, lost in time. The benefits of traveling off-season.

Next day we drove back to Kawazu to walk along the river under the early blossoming cherry trees. I got a cup of Amazake from a local vendor - hot non-alcoholic filtered rice drink from the process of sake making. Hot and sweet on this chilly, windy day.
We drove the small coast highway north along many small picturesque harbors with their islands and rock outcroppings. The steep mountains fall into the sea as the curving road follows through tunnels and past viewpoints, with one-lane roads in places. 
Leaving the coast highway, we continued into the mountains to the thermal/spa town of Shuzenji, where we spent two nights at the Kikuya Ryokan Inn. The old style Japanese resort straddles both sides of the river. They offer a room with twenty-four hour coffee, complimentry drink machines, amazing food. Our room was new but traditional with sliding doors and windows, facing the river. A nice experience hearing the river, seeing the falls, and taking hot baths. The slippers even fit me.

We drove back to the coastal village of Dogashima where we took a boat ride out through the cluster of islands, going through tight passages and into a long cave.
Then it was across the peninsula to see the Jogasaki area where we took a seaside hike to the very rugged rocky point and suspension bridge with nearby lighthouse. Finally enjoying some sunny weather.

Back in Shizuoka we took the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto where we checked into the Gate Hotel overlooking the river. The little river passes in front of the hotel, and the narrow alleyway of old restaurants is one block away. From the 8th floor room we could see the mountains and the temples scattered in them.

I like following the small rivers wandering through neighborhoods, where I see so many interesting houses. At one point a heron landed on a nearby roof as I strolled along.

After a french toast breakfast at the hotel, we took a train south to the world Heritage site of Byodin Shrine. We saw the big buddha and all the wood carved flying buddhas in the museum. The Byo-do-in Temple is a thousand years old and has never burned down. You are not allowed to touch anything, as I was reminded when I held a pillar for balance while taking off my shoes upon entering. The building design is wide and expansive, meant to suggest a phoenix with wings spread out. All built with Japanese cypress, it is called Phoenix Hall. A sign warns: no shoes, photos, touching or sketching.

With my wife off visiting friends for a day, I took a walking tour of Kyoto, first up to the temples I could see from our hotel room - Yasaka Shrine, Chion in Wajun Kaikan, Shorenin Temple, Chionin Kohoji. Then to the giant torii and the National Museum of Modern Art for a Monet exhibit. Afterwards I just wandered neighborhoods, stopping for coffee and to work on sketches.

I did a sketch of a tea house on the grounds of Kōinzan Saihō-ji (moss temple) outside of Kyoto. This World Heritage site has an estimated 120 kinds of moss.

 At Kōinzan Saihō-ji (moss temple) I got my sketchbook signed. 