Travel to Shimoda, Shizuoka

During winter break this year I was able to sneak in a refreshing and fun little trip to Shimoda, Shizouka. The small city is a popular tourist destination known for it's history of early foreign trade and political relations with the outside world, as well as it's beautiful natural environment and gorgeous beaches. My friend was living there for a few months during a temporary work assignment, so it was the perfect chance to go for a couple days and see what it had to offer.

Shimoda City, seen from the Shimoda Ropeway going up Mt. Nesugata.

Ryugukutsu Cave (Ryugu Cave) & Toji Beach
Shimoda lies right on the Izu Peninsula coastline, and plenty of cool geographical features can be seen such as Ryugu Cave, located right next to Toji Beach. Although it's called a cave, it's probably better to describe it as a large cavity naturally carved by the crashing waves. A short walk down some steps leads into a the large open cave, where the celling has long collapsed, exposing it to the sky above. Waves enter through a large hole in the outside wall as well, so it's just awesome to be there to experience it with your own eyes and ears.

Cape Tsumeki
A popular area is Cape Tsumeki, which is nicely developed with walking paths along grassy hills and a lovely white lighthouse overlooking the coast. During my visit, white and gold daffodils were blooming on the hills (also called narcissus flowers), which give off a very pleasant sweet smell making the atmosphere even nicer.

Tsumagi Lighthouse

Shirahama Beach
In addition to seeing the beautiful ocean views and playing in the sand, many people enjoy surfing in Shimoda. One of the most famous beaches for this is Shirahama Beach. People can surf year-round here, and local surf shops are nearby for everyone's convenience. Also right next to the beach is a Shirahama Shrine, which is neat to check out while in the area.

Tatadohama Beach
Another fantastic beach is Tatadohama. During my visit this felt much more secluded than the others I had visited, but perhaps that was due to the time of year. As the daylight faded we watched an amazing sunset while surfers got in a few last rides on the waves and a couple small families walked along the beach.

I had a super good trip to Shimoda! I showed some of my favorite places in this post, but it's only half of the places I actually went to. For anyone who loves the beach, the ocean, and the outdoors, this region is really spectacular and I highly recommend it! It's a pretty small town so there isn't necessarily a lot of shopping of nightlife, but it's perfect for a short visit. 

* There's a couple more things I would like to include in this post, so I might update it later with a bit more about the interesting history of Shimoda.

Hiking & Adventures: Mt. Kawanori

Mt. Kawanori (川苔山 / 川乗山) is a mountain in the Okutama Range, located in westernmost area of Tokyo Prefecture. It's one of three famous mountains in the range, the other two being Mt. Gozen and Mt. Mito. In early January, I joined a small meetup group and together had a fun winter hike up the mountain.

The mountain's name comes from the words kawa (川, river) and nori (苔, moss), I assume due to all of the mountain streams, ponds, and waterfalls that can be seen throughout the climb. Although we did the hike in winter, I could easily imagine how green and mossy the trails must be in the spring and summer months. With an elevation of 1,363.3 meters, there was light snowfall on the ground at certain parts of the hike but this didn't affect our climb in any way. Much of the trail didn't have any snow.

The total ascent time took us 3-4 hours with a couple quick stops and a lunch break at the summit. The descent took us 2-3 hours. The hike was awesome, I really enjoyed it. Once on the actual trail, it's a really nice atmosphere. You can hear the mountain streams and see a few waterfalls throughout. On of the most impressive features is Hyakuhiro Falls, a 40-meter-tall waterfall, which was partially frozen during out hike.

The trails were very quiet and there were very few people hiking the day we went. When climbing Kawanori-san, it's all about the natural environment. There are no benches or obstructive signs on the trails, there are no shrines or temples to stop at, there is no restaurant or food stalls at the top.

A bit too cloudy to see Mt. Fuji, but the views were still great

To get there, we first took a train from Shinjuku to Okutama Station. We then planned to take a bus to Kawanoribashi bus stop, but due to some unforeseen delays had to take a taxi instead. On the day we went, you couldn't take bus or taxi directly to the trail head as the road ascending up was blocked by a gate. I don't know if this gate is closed year-round or only in winter. Also worth noting, is that the very first part of the trail was closed due a damaged bridge. These factors meant we had to walked farther up a paved road for awhile before finally reaching the hiking trail. I mention the gate and closed trail because this may change how you reach the trail if you are reading this and plan to go yourself. Coming back, we trail down the other side of the mountain and ended up at Hatonosu Station, from where we returned to Tokyo. 

Christmas & New Year's Eve Parties: End of 2014

I enjoyed a nice, generally laid-back holiday season this year, celebrating Christmas and New Year’s at parties with friends new and old.

Christmas Eve

Since all my usual friends had plans with their families or significant others, I turned to the Internet to find people with whom I could celebrate Christmas Eve. I used the website meetup.com, an awesome place to find people and groups with similar interests to you and to join various events to hangout with together. With a bit of luck I found a Christmas Eve home party and decided to join.

The party was hosted by an organizer of the Tokyo Spontaneous Hangout group, and was a fun little event with a variety of both Japanese and foreigners living in Tokyo. Food included home baked turkey with cranberry sauce, rotisserie chicken, pizza, beef cake, mashed potatoes, and salads. There were desserts such as Christmas cake (a staple in Japan), and various other sweets. And we also had some drinks including glühwein and cinnamon & apple hot wine. It was a good little event and I was happy to join. Below are some pictures:

Christmas Day

Whereas the Christmas Eve party was small but filled with lots of chatting and socializing with new friends, Christmas Day was very quiet but still quite enjoyable. I met up with a friend of mine and we simply walked around Tokyo Station a bit and then had a light dinner.

New Year's Eve

For New Year's Eve, my friend hosted a small party at her home (but totally unrelated to the meetup website). The plan was to chill out for awhile, cook and eat some food, have some drinks together, and then head out to Tokyo Tower for the countdown. Friends popped in and out throughout the very casual, fun party. I'm so lucky to have South American friends because (not only their awesome personalities but also) their food is super delicious :-)

When the clock started getting closer to midnight, we started gathering everyone to leave for the countdown but by departed a bit later than expected, missed our train, and thus changed our original plans. Instead of Tokyo Tower, we ended up near Shinjuku Station for the countdown but it was still a good time.

After the quick celebration we headed over to Roppongi for our first salsa dancing of 2015, and ended the night there before we all returned to our homes. There's no pictures of the salsa club (I didn't have my camera and way too dark for and smart phone photos), but it was packed as usual!

Tokyo Winter Illumination - Highlights 2014

My first winter living in Tokyo was fantastic. I couldn't afford to really travel anywhere during the holidays, but there was so much to see in Tokyo so I really enjoyed it! Although very few Japanese people actually celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, they absolutely love the themes, decorations, and illuminations associated with it.

Beautiful Illuminations at Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Tower in the distance

Most everywhere in Tokyo you can see some pretty impressive lighting displays and decorations, often referred to as "light-up" (ライトアップ) and "illumination" (イルミネーション) events. Many stores and shopping areas play full into the Christmas spirit as well, with jolly seasonal tunes and cute santa banners advertising their special holiday deals to entice shoppers to their shops. And where you find shopping and illumination displays, you often find food, beer, and hot wine as well.

At one of several German markets in Tokyo

It’s not common for Japanese family members, couples, and friends to buy loads of presents for each other, but shopping during the holidays is still a major part of the experience.

While doing some Christmas shopping near Shinjuku Station

Tokyo Station winter illumination

Fall Colors 2014 & Mt. Takao

One of the most popular outdoor hiking opportunities near Tokyo is climbing Mount Takao (高尾山) in Hachiōji, Tokyo. For most people who want to enjoy some fresh air away from the city but want an easy, family-friendly activity, it's the perfect place. Recently, I decided to make a second excursion to the mountain to see the beautiful fall colors.

Located just an hour outside of downtown Tokyo and easy to find, it's very convenient to make a casual day trip there. The mountain is not very tall, standing just under 600 meters (about 2000 ft) tall, and features a number of clearly marked, easy-to-navigate trails. One of the main trails is also paved, making it great for older folks, really young families, and so on. But as a result of all the conveniences, the mountain can get extremely busy at times.

Personally, I've never taken the paved route up because it's not nearly as interesting as the other trails--which are also much less crowded. Either way, you can be sure to enjoy nature there.

The many opportunities to see Fall colors is definitely one of my favorite aspects of Japan;  and Japanese people have a pretty special appreciation for nature's process.

Mt. Takao is protected as part of the Meiji no Mori Takao Quasi-National Park. It's worth mentioning that at the base of the mountain is the Tama Forest Science Garden, towards the summit is a Buddhist Temple, called Takaosan Yakuōin Yūkiji. At the top, there are a variety of small food stalls to get something to eat, as well as decent bathroom facilities. It can get very busy at the top, so you can't necessarily expect to relax with some peace and quiet up there. But there are some decent views, including one of Mt. Fuji is the sky is very clear. Although it's never been clear enough to see Mt. Fuji on the days I've gone, I've still been able to get in some nice views.

If you're looking for an easy hike near Tokyo and you don't want to worry about preparing anything, this is one of the best options. But it's definitely not the only place to go. There are tons of hiking opportunities near Tokyo which are sometimes more for experience hikers but offer substantially much better views and more solitude with nature. I've been doing a lot of hiking lately, so soon in the next couple months I'll be publishing a few entries about other less popular, but awesome mountain hikes I've done. Get out and enjoy the great outdoors!

Smart Illumination Yokohama 2014

In early November, I went to a really neat event called Smart Illumination Yokohama (スマートイルミネーション横浜) located in the Minato Mirai area of Yokohama City. Starting in 2011, the yearly art event showcases energy-efficient lighting technology in creative and artistic ways as a way to promote green technology for the future. It makes for a some very interesting and beautiful night scenery and is pretty cool to check out. Artists from Japan and overseas participate and feature a wide variety of art and lighting displays. This year international artists from Korea and China were featured. 

I think my favorite aspect of this event was the cool-blue, mellow atmosphere throughout. The illuminations were not like the intense, super-bright and vivid lights as you see in Shinjuku, but rather soft, pale, and quite relaxing. The crowds of people even seemed to stroll with an gentle pace that I often do not see here.

The event is held in various locations that include: Zou-no-Hana Park, Yamashita Park, Minato Mirai, and the surrounding areas. Here is the official website (Japanese) for the latest information about the event.

October Highlights (Part 3): Halloween 2015

This year's Halloween was great fun; I had work during the day at one of my high schools and afterwards went out around the city with some friends. At this particular school, students were allowed to dress up and given the chance most of them loved to do so. The students also got a kick out of the fact that I kind of dressed up too; I was a cowboy/western sheriff, which has essentially been my go-to costume for the past couple years. This kind of freedom is highly unusual in Japanese schools, so I really enjoyed it!

Scary mask but he was working diligently!

I let them enjoy their costumes as long as they were doing their work

They insisted we do a group photo after class :-)

Later after my work finished, I met up with some friends downtown to celebrate. We went out for some drinks and also go to see a lot of the sights and sounds of Halloween in Tokyo. In Roppongi, it was absolutely crazy; I don't even know how to describe it! Unfortunately I didn't have my camera, but here are a few pictures from my phone of the evening there:

Halloween in Roppongi is pretty wild

Doesn't look like much here, but very creepy in person 

Cosplay is very popular here, Halloween is just another excuse to do it!