Christmas Break in Shimoda

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During the Christmas break, I went to a small city about 4 hours south of Tokyo, called Shimoda. It's right on the water, and surrounded by mountains.

Shimoda is famous for being the port where US Navy Commodore Matthew Perry docked in 1854, to commence negotations that led to the Treaty of Kanagawa, which opened trade between Japan and the US. I think.

There's not a whole lot in Shimoda. The main draws are a nice aquarium, good scenery, a bunch of small shrines, and some onsens (hot spring baths). There's also a boatride on a big black piratey looking ship, that is a replica of the one Matthew Perry came in.

All the restaurants and food stores close very early, around 8:00pm or so, which is a huge change from Tokyo. It's very quiet, and the streets are almost empty. It was pleasant.

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Photos

Ryokan's Onsen
This is the onsen room at the Ryokan (Japanese style inn) where I stayed. It's a mix of natural spring water, and plain old hot water. Very relaxing and warm. Saps you of all energy, I couldn't even move my arms enough to dry off afterwards.

Room
The room at the Ryokan. Small, but nice. The wall at the far side opens to a little enclosed balcony thingy. There was a TV and a mini fridge to the left. The other bed belonged to a guy named Jon, from Ottawa.

Ryokan
The Ryokan.

Mountain and Trees
Nice.

UFO Castle
I dont remember much about this place, other than reading that it's a shrine for UFO's. I have no idea what that means.

Water
Nice.

Pizza Buns
These were delicious. Little breads stuffed with tomato sauce, cheese, and maybe some bits of meat and onion. They were 50% off, which made them taste even better.

Harbour
Many boats. They catch fishies.

Perry Monument
The little box on the left has a flame that never expires.

Little Island
Nice little island.

Little Island with bridge.
Nice little island with bridge. On it, there is a shrine and a gravestone for a German fellow.

Trees
I thought these looked neat. Just below them, there were some discarded clothes that reeked of excrement.

Mikan Drink
Fantastic mikan (mandarine orange) drink. There were many chunks of orange floating within. Delicious. There's also a grapefruit drink that contains grapefruit chunks.

Bridge
Bridge to Island.

Statues and Flowers
Nice flowers. I can't remember if they were real or not.

Gravestone
Aforementioned German fellow.

Turtle 1
There were a bunch of turtles in a tank outside the entrance to the Aquarium.

Turtle 2
I thought it looked almost alien.

Aquarium
View after entering. You can rent the little boats and paddle around a small enclosed area.

Comments

[eddie]

It's about time you sent something out. Thought you got jumped by some thugs in japan and sold to the black market or something...haha... on a serious note...good to see you are enjoying yourself.