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Izu Peninsula
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Izu Peninsula (伊豆半島 Izu-hantō?) is a peninsula to the west of Tokyo on the Japanese island of Honshū. 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) (伊豆海洋公園 Izu Kaiyō Kōen)
- Yawatano (八幡野)
- Osezaki (大瀬崎 Ōsezaki)
Further south, there is a tropical plant conservatory called Banana Crocodile Park (バナナワニ園 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 Tōkaidō 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 (用賀インター 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.
Access to most of the coast of the Izu peninsula is free. However, there are restricted areas, for example, the Tenno beach; the only selected visitors can enter there.