Paradise in Japan

We took a long time to decide what was next on the program. Our original plan was to go hiking in Kamikochi, the Japanese Alps. We longed for more nature and camping, hoping to find it there!

However, Kamikochi is relatively hard to reach, and with the season ending on the 15th of November, it was getting quite cold. Now you all know that we don't mind a bit of snow, but we've been told that it might not be such a good idea (safetywise). By coincidence, we read something about the Izu islands, when looking for an Onsen (Japanese hot spring) that we could soak in together (not separated!!). Nakedness in Japan is OK, as long as the sexes are not mixed. Being a "sticky" couple we were not looking forward to spend a day separated :) On the islands, the onsens are mixed! A free! camping ground exists, so it didn't take long to decide what to do!! Our mind was soon set on Shikine-jima, a little paradise 150 km south of Tokyo.  Kamikochi will be waiting for us a bit longer, in Nepal we will have our share of mountains anyway, we hope and reckon :)!!!

Aki and Aska helped us to find the right train and boat. We were really, really lucky as we only had one shot: The day we travelled by train, the boat didn't go because of strong winds and the day after was a holiday! So lucky you have to be from time to time :)

Our first leg was Nagoya to Shimoda (local train of course), with changes in Hamamatsu (or Kakegawa), Shimoda/Shizuoka (or Otuski) and Atami. A maze of traintracks, and impossible for us to understand why it's not just simply one direct line! (all in the same direction!) Ok, we could have taken the Shinkansen, but 60 euro for a local train was expensive enough and already put dynamite in the budget :s) Unfortunately we missed one connection by a minute due to a delay!!!!! (uuuhhhh)... Annoying, as the sun goes down around 5 already and we wanted to have a little bit of sightseeing in Shimoda :S From the train, you can see Mount Fuji (near mount Fuji station). On the Shinkansen we would have had a 20 second photo-shot; we had a 7 minute stop :) We felt priviledged to see it's magnificent cloud-free top so long. Very beautiful as we think...

Shimoda is a cute little village; out of the season quite a sleepy town with it's main attraction being Perry Road. It looks exactly like Shirakawa-minami-dori in Kyoto, that they use for authentic Japanese movie settings. (Perry was the US commmander that stimulated (forced?) Japan to open up for trade with Western countries after centuries of isolation in the 1850s and landed there). We found a place to stay quite close (although anything in Shimoda is in walking distance), a little pearl called Oizu Ryokan. The charming elderly lady who runs the place welcomed us warmly. It's traditional Japanese style, meaning with an Onsen, no shower and only shared restrooms. Exactly what we were looking for. In our own 2 room 8-floor tatami mat "apartment", hot tea with cookies awaited us, next to our kimono's and futons. For us a dreamy retreat at a Japanese budget price, not as flashy as modern ones next to the Ocean and stuff, but we wanted authenticity and we felt like getting it :). We were the only guests, and the Onsen was wonderful: a bit like the Finnish and Russian ways of showering in/after the sauna, this time with a hot tub!
We spent the rest of the evening wondering around town, hijacking the internet in front of the Mc Donalds and watching tv in our kimono :) A fun experience, as there was not much too watch :) apart from gameshows you don't understand and tons of cartoon-like commercials!

The ferry to Shikine-jima (the island) left a little late, with the warning we might still turn around if the weather outside of the harbour would be too bad. With around 30-35 knots (15-17 m/s) the trip was a bit of a rough ride, but we got there in the end. We met a cool Japanese guy going to Nijima, that sailed around the world and invited us to Shizuoka in a couple of days (wrong direction :S). We had to decline for this time, but who knows what happens in the future!

And then our island appeared out of the mists: Shikine-jima, a natural marvel, with the best onsens we've seen and wonderful sandy beaches. Only 3,8 square km, everything in walking-distance.

Once we arrived, we walked in the tourist info, and got our "camping permit", which means you have to register get a number and thats it :). No one knows why this is necessary, but it doesn't harm :) camping on the island is free, during summertime on the northwest side (Ōura beach). The rest of the year at Kamanoshita, near two Onsens on the south side. Just when we arrived, it started raining. While preparing our gear, a guy suddenly comes up to us and tells us to 'wait, wait... vroom, vroom'. In sign language he makes us understand he will drive us. No word of English, but kindness doesn't need verbs! So he did, dropped us right in front of the Camping Ground and took off!! We were speechless, but very happy and grateful!

Less happy were we about our tent: three small holes appeared on the roof since last time. NOT amused. We cleaned it, dried it, checked it AND packed it properly everytime. With less than 6 months old, we've got to reclaim it, we just haven't figured out how yet. Will be a task for in Tokyo. But we managed to provisionary repair it, so at least it keeps us dry :S

The camping spot is beautiful: flat grassland with view on and vicinity to the beach, what do you need more? No showers, but who cares when there are 2 hot pools in 5 minutes walking distance!!! We were almost alone here, only 1 Japanese fisher joined us on the spot. Not to forget about the 5 cats you have to defend your food against :)

We hiked along the hilly coastline through the little trees. It made us think a bit about the dunes in Holland, combined with the cliffs of Faro in South Portugal. The wind was at least the same as a November in Portugal! The word breathtaking view got another meaning: it was blowing so much you simply couldn't breathe!! :). The hiking and peace around us made us fall asleep at 1600 and wake up at around 2200!! so tired and sooo nice!! We dont know where the tiredness came from but we loved the sleep and even better the hot spring afterwards!! We relaxed under the stars in the hot pools at night, enjoying the peacefulness and simply being alone in the middle of nature, and being cooked in the meanwhile :D. I do think I need new a bathing suit (Thailand?) :S After the hour of (now apparently useless) scrubbing it back to white in Yangshuo (remember the mudbath?) it is yellow and orange from the sulphuric pools.

Matsugashita-miyabiyu springs were most convenient, right next door and being held on a constant temperature. Jinata springs were the most exciting! After our long hike, these dramatically located springs (between two cliffs!) these tide-pools were the best soothing method to relax our sore muscles, urban capability and simply enjoy nature, which we simply did not expect before coming to Japan or even close to Tokyo. Paradise in Japan.