Izu Peninsula

Matt and I have become pioneers in the pursuit of perfection. After Okinawa shafted us, we figured we would have but one more chance at summer sun and surf before the autumn chill set in.

Our choice of destination? Shimoda. At the tip of the Izu Peninsula about 2.5 hours south of Tokyo on the coast.

The day we left Tokyo it was overcast, but ever willing to let naivety blind us, we decided it would be clear by the time we got there. It wasn?ft. The really annoying thing about Japan is that everything runs like clockwork and that includes the weather forecast. If they say its gonna rain a month down the track, then it will rain.

We stayed at a minshuku, which is like a Japanese guest-house run by a family. Our room was a small tatami room in the Minshuku Haji, overlooking a village of neighbouring minshuku near one of the popular beaches. The family who ran Minshuku Haji were a bunch of kooks. The father, in particular, had a penchant for taking over front-of-desk early in the evening after a few pints of the strong stuff. He was extremely helpful but unfortunately, we couldn?ft understand a word he was saying.

For lunch we headed to a local izakaya where we sat on cushions around a low table and dined on curry and fried chicken gristle (don't ask). The party next to us, what looked like two het couples, seemed friendly enough, smiling and laughing in between sucking cigarettes into their lungs and downing their shochu and ciders. One of the guys took rather a liking to Matthew. On leaving the izakaya, Matt was rewarded with what he swears was a 'pat on the leg' but I know was dangerously close to a 'pinch on the bum'.

We took dinner at an Italian restaurant in Perry Street (strangely monikered "Page One Coffee"), a street running along a canal that reminded me of Venice, even though I've never been there. The couple that ran it were a fount of information, informing us that a local 'aji' (barbequed fish) vendor near Minshuku Haji used to teach Osama Bin Laden at University in England. You know, before he got into terrorising large countries...

Where Day One was not much to write home about, Day Two was, on the other hand, amazing...

We took the bus out to O-hama Beach where hundreds of die-hard Japanese surfers were out in storm. We found a bit of seclusion and dodged surfers for the next two hours. It was a relief to have the "Okinawa Shaft-Curse" broken. The sun even popped out its little solar head for about half an hour.

The coastline of the Izu Peninsula is not unlike the Great Ocean Road and O-hama Beach like the Lorne of Japan. After a well-earned frolic in the ocean, we took the bus down to Irozaki, home of a supposedly famous lighthouse, which was, well, rather ordinary. As you walked further down to the edge of the cliff, however, there was a small shrine perched high on the rock and some stunning views of the coastline.

And in keeping with the Japanese penchant of touristising everything in sight, there was a little shop selling lucky charms and Izu kitsch just behind the rock. Ah, civilization.

On Day Three we left Shimoda, rainy and overcast. As forecast.