Hmmm, recently, I lost interest in my blog, I rather dive into other interests of mine. Sounds like blogging fatigue if there is such a term. But nonetheless, am back. One post before I attempt to roast a chicken. I saw Nigella's roast bacon brandy chicken on cable. Delicious. That's what we are eating for dinner later.
 |
| At Ito Orange Beach, a volcanic black sand beach |
Tokyo! Since it's the NATAS fair week, lots of travel bargains, Not that I am travelling, but let's talk about Tokyo.
Tokyo had steadily became our favourite city after Melbourne. I shall attempt a summary of what I experienced, observed in the city, its countryside, what we ate and where we went. Yes, always expecting an intense walking marathon, I brought my trusty deep heat rub to ease my achy leg muscles and a very healthy appetite.
 |
| Ito Marine Town |
First things first, instead of writing about busy Tokyo, I shall talk about Tokyo's countryside, Izu peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture. It's can be quite boring to talk about shopping, food and the various tourist attractions in Tokyo. I am definitely not a shopaholic, I am the person who sigh whenever I see a huge crowd even when there are massive discounts available.
Having previously visited Atami, an onsen town on the Izu peninsula and was enchanted by the beauty of the coastline, R and I were determined to visit this coastal region again. Moreover, there were scant information about Ito in English available on the net. Good things have to be shared.
Just a short two plus hours by train via Odakyu Romance Car and JR local trains from Shinjuku lies Ito, our seaside pick for this trip. We bought the Izu-Kanko free pass by Odakyu trains. No free pass promotion by JR Superview Odoriko, the direct train to Ito. The 2-day Izu Kanko pass included round-trip reserved seats (we upgraded our seats) to Odawara, then via the JR local train to Ito. Discounts to some museums and unlimited Tokai bus rides in the ito area are also included with the pass. You can also travel directly to Ito by JR east's Superview Odoriko train from Shinjuku, a much better choice. No squeezing with the crowd in the local trains.
 |
| Ito-Kanko free-pass by Odakyu trains. |
 |
| We paid a bit more for reserved seats to Odawara by the Romance Car on top of the 4,300 yen. 4,300 yen is the standard charge if you travel by local trains from Shinjuku. |
This time round, eager to experience another stay in a seaside ryokan but alas, all the ryokans we wanted to stay at were fully booked due to the New Year holidays in Japan. Ha, one must always book in advance and not at the last minute. Anyway, it was a blessing in disguise. Instead, I found a gem in Ito, K's House Ito Onsen, a historical ryokan hostel. Recently opened in August 2010, K's House is a 100 year-old wooden building listed as a cultural property in Ito next to Tokaikan. The building used to be a ryokan till K's house, a popular budget hostel chain in Japan took over the premises.
 |
| K's House Ito Onsen is located along the banks of Matsukawa River next to the historic Tokaikan |
 |
| The hostel's riverside veranda is richly planted with camelias, maples and pine trees and other plants. |
 |
| Wildlife like birds and koi can be seen from the hostel's beautifully planted veranda. |
 |
| Quack, quack! |
 |
| Me |
 |
| Geta, Japanese slippers to walk around in while enjoying the sunshine on the veranda. |
 |
| Decorative porcelain koi on the table |
 |
| One of the shared rest area facing the river, our breakfast nook. |
 |
| Their onsen, separate hot spring baths for males and females in the basement. |
 |
| Their reception hall and the shared guest area facing the river |
 |
| Our room |
 |
| View from our window |
 |
| Our 10-tatami-mat room with private toilet. It has two pillars made from cherry trees in the alcove (left of picture) of the room |
 |
| Breakfast: Donuts, strawberries and coffee. Meals are not provided at the hostel but you can cooked in their kitchen. No over-indulgent kaseiki meals here. |
The pictures on the hostel's website do not do justice to the beauty of the building and its surroundings. It was much more beautiful and tranquil. I wished we had stayed for 2 nights instead of one night. That would have given us more time to visit the neighbouring attractions. BTW, the hostel staff were very helpful and jovial and they spoke english. A big plus point. My room cost us 4,900 yen per person per night. Very affordable.
Due to the short daylight hours during winter, we managed to visit Ito town's shopping street, Nagisa Park, Ito Orange Beach, Ito Marine Town and a short stroll along the Matsukawa River. We didn't have time to visit the Jogasaki Coastline, Izu Kogen, Mt Omuroya, pick fruits at the fruit farms, view the camelias at Kurunoyama Camelia Park and cherry trees at Kanzakana and many other natural sights. Sigh...
 |
| Nagisa Park facing the ocean and by the mouth of Matsukawa River. There are numerous sculptures by local sculptor, Kenji Shigeoka. |
 |
| Seagulls bobbing in the tidal pool |
 |
| Sailing ship monument San Buena Ventura, the first western sailing ship built at Ito. |
 |
| Folks fishing at the jetty |
 |
| It gets lonely walking in the cold |
 |
| I wonder how far we have to run to be in the safety zone? |
 |
| Pretty sale staff! |
 |
 |
| Shopping street next to JR Ito station. Gloomy skies. |
 |
| The playmobil lookalike Ito Marine Town. |
 |
| Some of the local produce sold at Ito Marine Town, prawn, wasabi and lobster flavoured crackers |
 |
| Mikan, mandarin oranges were in season. You can pick the fruits at nearby farms for a fee. |
 | |||||||
| Preserved sea produce. All sorts of shiokara. |
 |
| My free sightseeing pass on Tokai Bus. Hop on and hop off at various tourist locations. |
Apologies for the long post. I will blog about the food on another day. Food in Ito is excellent by the way. My stomach is telling me to start cooking now. My roast chicken awaits me.
K's House Ito Onsen:
http://kshouse.jp/ito-e/index.html
Train route via JR East:
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/routemaps/superviewodoriko.html#category01
No comments:
Post a Comment