Tokyo is a megacity, the biggest on Earth. If you need a getaway from your regular-size city from time to time, imagine how strong this need feels in here. So, despite all the are-you-crazy reactions to moving around by car (remember our first post about Tokyo?), for our first city weekend escape we decided to do what we do best - a road trip!
Izu is a peninsula to the South-East of Tokyo. The more popular part is the east. Most of the seaside resorts are located there as there's a train connection. We chose to stay in the calmer, western part in a charming fishing village of Heda (it seems we have a bit of a weakness for those in Asia, just like in case of our Lombok paradise destination).

There's plenty to see in Izu and our 4-days trip didn't get us everywhere. Most attractions are related to sacred places. In Japan it's always a good idea to go torii hunting. Torii are emblematic Japanese gates marking the Shinto shrines, often placed in very picturesque surroundings. The Moroguchi Shrine in the bay next to Heda is a good example.

Other attractions are mostly natural landscapes. You can try your luck at Tombolo Land Bridge where, if the tide is low enough, you'll be able to reach the island lying few hundred meters from the coast by foot. Another nice spot lies inland, the Jōren Falls lure with a fresh breeze during a hot day and feature a wasabi plantation right next to it. Needless to say, you can stock on this Japanese speciality at the local shops.
Another usual touristic spot is a horse-head-shaped rock formation at the seaside, called the Koganezaki Park. It's a nice half an hour walk to reach the peak and enjoy the view of the surrounding cliffs. There's a torii and a mini shrine on the way as well. When on the eastern seaside, you can pay a visit to an inactive volcano - Mount Omuro. You can either use a lift to get to the top or try your luck with a drone to get a nice shot :)

The most touristic spot on our way back was Hakone. The lake is truly charming, but the touristic points around it - not so much. There was no Fuji view due to the fog, but still plenty of visitors. The calmest place turned out to be the Hakone Shrine but the torii down by the lake repelled with a line of tourists waiting to get their picture.

We went to Izu at the beginning of September. We were in the middle of home-search, busy with all the paperwork and we didn't do much research. Neither did we care that the weather apps were showing a two day straight 100% chances for storm and heavy rain. We just wanted to relax and if it meant reading books at the hostel, so be it. It was solely thanks to the TV news we saw during a lunch break that we realised these two days of rain meant a typhoon going right through the Izu peninsula and Tokyo. Panicking only a bit, we looked around the calm customers and hosts and despite dangerously looking news, we calmly went on about our business.
The rain came in the afternoon, continuing throughout the whole night. The staff merely mentioned not to freak out as there will be a "storm" during the night. That was a big understatement. We found ourselves in the most unfortunate room type for a typhoon - first line by the sea and with one whole wall made of glass, waiting to be shattered with whatever flying objects there might be. The wind was howling for hours, shaking the building and throwing angry waves of rain at the windows. In the morning we woke up to a beautiful weather and few centimetres of water on the ground floor of the building. The locals started sweeping the streets at dawn and by the afternoon there was barely any indication of the recent tropical storm. Japan was prepared.

It's Japan, it can't be bad! All the good stuff you can find, in a less crowded setup. Beautiful ramen in a small place in Numazu, exquisite sushi in Shuzenji, pricey yet delicious unagi in Itō or simply a charming izakaya run by an old Japanese couple in Heda. Let's not forget the Japanese love for drip coffee. You can have a taste at a unique place in Numazu where the owner brews it in front of you and you get to choose the cup you want to drink it from. Check out all these spots in the map below!

The east side is more touristic and there are towns resembling a lot bad-taste European seaside resorts with plenty of restaurants and souvenir shops by the sea and are rather unappealing (to us). We stayed at Tagore Harbor Hostel. Even though it's a hostel and the bathrooms are shared, the facilities are spotless clean and the room makes up for this lack - you wake up with a first class view of the sea right at your feet.
They also participate in an interesting project for digital nomads - HalfH so if there's anyone lucky enough to be able to work from wherever reading us, it might be an interesting option.

We couldn't help ourselves and for our first trip out of town we had to rent a car. The prices are higher than in Europe but quite reasonable. The gasoline is also fairly priced so you're just left with the parking problem, but if you're leaving Tokyo it gets much less problematic.
The general reaction to owning a car is not coherent with what you encounter on the road. There's a lot of traffic. When leaving Tokyo, we decided to give local roads a try. This resulted in over an hour ride on a detour to IKEA in Yokohama (23km) and then 4 hours more to reach Heda, 130km away. Long story short, it was a drag. Note to self: next time use a train to get out of the city and rent a car somewhere out!
Once you leave the agglomeration behind (that takes about two hours driving through a densely populated area, with no visible borders between the cities) the roads are narrow and very local, with still plenty of traffic lights and traffic. It's only once you reach the peninsula that it gets less busy and you can start enjoying your trip through small, pretty towns with picturesque nature around. Not to mention the great travel truth we live by - the best places are only reachable by car. Generally speaking, driving through Izu is very enjoyable and there are virtually no downsides to it.
That being said, if you prefer to travel by train, there's a Shinkansen connection to Mishima, from where you can continue your travel to the heart of the peninsula by local train stopping in Shuzenji or hop off one station before in Atami to explore the Eastern, more touristic seaside, local train making it all the way to Izukyū-Shimoda.