Japan: 18 months in 18 pictures – June 07

Part 1 and explanation of the series here. Read entire series via tags, here.

June was a weird month, work was getting more “intense” and I was starting to seriously lose it with some of the BS that is involved with being an English ‘conversation’ teacher in Japan. At the same time life in Japan was getting easier and it was also all starting to make more sense. I’d now realised just how cheap, convenient and easy it was to ‘eat out’ in Japan. Tokyo can be ridiculously cheap when it comes to eating out, and combined with the wealth of choices and the small size of kitchens you soon find yourself eating out for the majority of the week, which can easily be cheaper than buying food and cooking it yourself (and also a lot less painstaking considering the aforementioned kitchen sizes). Between ramen, yakitori, soba and curry, to name a few, I was well and truly sold on the pleasures of eating in Japan, not that it took 6 months to convince me either, but it was starting to really sink in by then.

The other main thing June brought was a serious heat, as Japanese summer was dawning on us and I realised just how hot the place got. I’d been warned that Tokyo reached ridiculous temperatures in summer, combined with humidity levels that made Thailand appealing. Add to this the fact that air con units are the primary means of cooling down (and heating up in winter) and you’ve got a good combination to turn summer into a really uncomfortable season, and one that drags on too. I was also awaiting the rainy season in June, as promised by most of my students and Japanese friends but it never did materialise when it was supposed to and instead started right towards the end of the month, during a holiday I’d decided to spend on the coast.

This was my first trip outside of Tokyo since Golden Week and I was really looking forward to being by the seaside once more and discovering what is supposed to be one of the nicer areas of Japan’s Pacific coast, the Izu Peninsula. Izu is one of the most popular destinations for Tokyoites as it’s easily reached (2h or so by local train for the measly price of about 3000 Yen) and combines many Japanese relaxation favourites: seaside, fresh food, nature and onsen. And I can see why it’s a favourite, as the 5 days I spent on the coast were probably among the most relaxing I’ve had in a long time. I swam in the Pacific Ocean, ate all sorts of fish and sea related animals and products at breakfast, lunch and dinner and relaxed in traditional and modern onsen, with the latter one having an incredible view of the sea from inside the onsen. The picture above was taken on the way from the village we were staying in, Usami, to Ito, the main city on the East Coast of the peninsula. The fish being dried are called Himono, and are eaten at breakfast which at first left me sceptical to say the least. Once I’d got over my suspicions (what can I say I’m part French, fish for breakfast is like an insult or something) I was totally sold on the pleasures of a real Japanese breakfast consisting of Himono, white rice, cold vegetables and miso soup. The place we stayed in even treated us to tuna sashimi for breakfast and fugu (aka the poisonous blow fish) for dinner on the last day which were both incredible and a lot tastier in the flesh than they sound on paper.

The pace of life and atmosphere on the coast were refreshing after nearly 6 months surrounded by the freneticism of Tokyo and the ups and downs of moving to live on the other side of the world. As with my trip to Nikko, it was an insight into a different Japan, one that’s a lot closer in ways to the images of Japan we are accustomed to in the West but which is still full of surprises. From the food to the people, who were a lot warmer and welcoming than in Tokyo, the trip to Izu continued to unveil new and surprising elements of Japanese culture and society that only made me fall in love with the country even more.

Runner up pics:
Schoolgirls on the train back from Izu to Tokyo, stickers on the suspension bridge, and breakfast Japanese style.

Flickr Set(s):
Izu Peninsula