Izu Peninsula
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Location. |
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Landsat image with high-resolution data from Space Shuttle. |
The is a
peninsula to the west of
Tokyo on the Japanese island of
Honshu. Formerly the eponymous
Izu Province, the Izu peninsula is now a part of
Shizuoka prefecture. The
Izu Islands, however, are administered by
Tokyo.
A popular recreational area for people in the Tokyo region, the Izu peninsula is above all known for its
onsen hot springs, including
Atami and
Mishima. The peninsula abuts
Mt. Fuji and is a part of
Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
It is also a popular destination for
scuba diving. Historically the top three diving destinations are:
* Izu Ocean Park (IOP) (伊豆海洋公'
Izu Kaiyō Kōen)
* Yawatano (八幡野)
* Osezaki (大瀬崎
Ōsezaki)Further south, there is a tropical plant conservatory called Banana Crocodile Park (バナナワニ'
Banana Wani-en) near
Itō.
Izu being one of Japan's biggest producers of
wasabi, the local cuisine offers many wasabi-flavored dishes. Some famous towns and popular tourist attractions include old
Shuzenji with its temples, onsens, waterfalls, and ryokans, and
Shimoda, the landing site of
Commodore Perry's
infamous fleet of black ships.
The Izu peninsula is easily accessible from Tokyo and points west via the
Tokaido Shinkansen, which has stations in both
Atami (east side) and
Mishima (west).
Odakyu Railways runs local bus services as well as from
Odawara and
Hakone.
People have repeatedly been reported as racing this entire peninsula using their "Hot-Dog" express cars (Shinoki, 2003).
By car, it is 103.3 km from the Tokyo end of the
Tōmei Expressway, the end informally known as the
Yōga IC ("賀インター
Yōga Intā), to
Numazu, on the west side of the peninsula. Accessing the east side requires branching off at
Atsugi and traveling along the tetrapod shoreline:
Odawara,
Yugawara,
Atami, etc.
