A Letter from Blue Sky and Sea - Izu Shimoda Photo Diary

2013/05/31 An interval of good weather - - Hydrangea native to Japan

Even though we are in the rainy season now it was sunny all day long.

When I walked on the seaside I found out the wild hydrangea on the cliff down the road.

This is a native one to Japan and we can see this kind of hydrangea on the coast of Izu peninsula, Boso peninsula, Miura peninsula, Izu seven islands and so on.

This hydrangea exported to China from Japan long time ago, and exported to Europe in 18 centuries.

Nowadays the most of hydrangea which are seen at the many places in Japan are the breed improved in Europe and they were imported to Japan again.

It means this is the original species of the hydrangea which you usually see.

201305/30 Rain in Shimoda

My daughter usually goes to school by bicycle, but I take her when it's rainy.

I took this picture on the way home, at Sotoura beach between Shimoda and Shirahama.

The weather forecast says it will be sunny tomorrow.

 

2013/05/29 Rain drops on hydrangea leaf

Shimoda had gotten into the rainy season yesterday, but the rain came on Shimoda today at last.

It's still small rain but the hydrangea leaves look like glad to get water in our garden.

2013/05/26 Aquarium in Shimoda

I went to the Shimoda floating aquarium with my family today after a long time.

Click here to see a lot of pictures which I took today.

2013/05/25 Shirahama Beach & Sotoura Beach today

It was sunny today, but a north east wind made us feel a little cold.

Some wind surfers came to Shirahama to get good wind and there were a lot of surfers on the water.

When I went to the beach it was low tide and I saw a different scenery from usual.

Click here to see the other photos which I took today.

2013/05/24 Izukyu Shimoda station

When I took my daughter to the school by my car I took some pictures on the way home.

This is the train station called "Izukyu Shimoda", which is the last station on Izukyuko line.

This is the entrance of Shimoda and southern part of Izu peninsula for the travellers who come by train.

Have you never been there?

Click here to see the pictures taken at this station.

2013/05/22 Thank you for staying.

They came from Canada and stayed at Sakuraya for 1 night.

Before coming to Shimoda they went to Kyoto and Osaka, and will stay in Hakone for 2 nights after Shimoda.

Thank you for staying with us.

2013/05/20 Walking to Sotoura beach this morning

I don't remember how many days I didn't walk, but I walked on the seaside this morning after a long time.

The weather forecase says it would be sunny and very hot today, but actually it's still cloudy and cool here in Shimoda.

This is Sotoura Beach between Shirahama beach and Shimoda.

This is a natural cove and they don't have big waves even though we have big ones in Shirahama.

Click here to see the other photo which I took on Shirahama beach this morning.

2013/05/20 Shirahama Beach this morning

My daughter usually goes to school by bike, but I took her to the shool by my car this morning.

A week ago the weather forecast said it would be cloudy and rainy on the last weekend, but it was changed and a rainy day came to Shimoda later than the Black Ship Festival actually.

It's rainy today, but we had been lucky during the Black Ship Festival.

2013/05/19 Thank you for staying with us.

They live in Kanagawa Pref. and came to Shimoda to see the Black Ship Festival for the 1st time.

We are very happy to hear that one of them is a school teacher and her student's family has stayed at Sakuraya in last May and they recommended our Pension to her.

Thank you very much for staying with us.

2013/05/19 Thank you for staying with us.

They live in Kanagawa Pref. and came to Shimoda for the 1st time.

They departed from Kanagawa at 6:00 AM and arrived in Shimoda at around 10:00 AM.
They saw the Black Ship Festival Official Parade in Shimoda and came to Sakuraya after that.

Thank you very much for your stay at Pension Sakuraya.

2013/05/19 Breakfast this morning

I took this picture this morning.

Last night all rooms were occupied with only foreigners, and English, German and French were spoken at breakfast this morning.

I was not able to go to Black Ship Festival because of my job after all, but I had a great time with a lot of foreign customers at Pension Sakuraya this weekend.

If I spoke not only English but also German and French it would be much more excited to have good comunication with them.

2013/05/18 Black Ship Festival 2013 in Shimoda

It was a second day of Black Ship Festival in Shimoda.

The official parade took place from 11:30 AM in the town and a lot of people came to see it.

They also had a lot of shops and performances today.

As I had a  lot of customers yesterday and today I was not able to go, but my wife took pictures instead of me.

Click here to see the other photos.

2013/05/17 Welcome ceremony and Exchange meeting with the visitors from New Port city

The mayor and the visitors from New Port city come to the primary school in Shirahama every year since 13 years ago, and the school children have a welcome ceremony and an exchange meeting with them.

I participated in this meeting as an interpreter today.

The school children showed them some good performances, but the chidren were really welcoming the visitors from their heart when they were singing and dancing.

After that they had an exchange meeting at each class.

I think it was a very good and excited experience for the children.

2013/05/17 Thank you for staying with us.

They are from France and stayed at Sakuraya for 2 nights for the 1st time.

They rented bikes for 3 days and went to many places in Shimoda by bike.

On 2nd day, as it was a beautiful day he rented a surf board and played surfing at Shirahama beach.

Thank you very much for staying with us.

2013/05/16 Shirahama Beach today

I wento the beach this afternoon after 3 days.

It was sunny and very hot here in Shimoda today.

Our customers from France were going to go to the other beach by bike, but they changed their mind and went surfing to the nearest beach because of the good weather.

Click here to see the other photos.

2013/05/15 Snorkeling at Tago Sehama Beach

The 6th web page of Snorkeling point information has just completed now.

I am very tired to make it.

Click here to see the web page.

Pension Sakuraya in Shimoda, Japan

2013/05/14 Snorkeling Information of Izu Peninsula

This website is in production and in only Japanese, but 5 pages were completed today.

You can click the small images on the left side of main page to see a lot of pictures for snorkeling on each web page.

Click here to get a lot of information for snorkeling in Izu peninsula.

Pension Sakuraya in Shimoda, Japan

2013/05/12 Cycling at Yumigahama Beach in Minami Izu town

As it became sunny and was a little warmer than morning.

My son and I went cycling to Minami Izu town which is located on the south side of Shimoda city this afternoon.

We parked our car at the parking lot on the river side and went to the beach by bicycle.

My son was very excited and we had a good time today.

Click here to see the pictures which I took today.

2013/05/12 Rice Ball Lesson!

They came from New York to Japan for the 1st time and stayed at Sakuraya for 2 nights.

After 2 nights stay in Tokyo they came to Shimoda because she wanted to surf in Shimoda.

We are very sorry, but it had been rainy on the 1st and the 2nd day, so she was able to surf in only the last morning.

They are ineterested in Japanese cooking, and she sometimes make a rice in her home.

When they had breakfast in the last morning she asked me to make a rice ball, because it is hard for her to make it, and she always too big  rice ball.

So I showed them how to make a rice ball after breakfast, because we didn't have any other customers this morning.

They tried to make some rice balls and made very good ones.

They went to Kyoto and Osaka after check out.

Have a nice trip in Japan!

Thank you very much for staying with us.

2013/05/11 Shirahama Beach this morning

I went to the beach this early morning.

In last autumn we set up some fences to protect sands from the strong north east wind on the beach.

And we had an operation to remove them in the rain this morning.

2013/05/08 A Small Red Princess in Shirahama

We had a little wind but it was very warm today.

When I was walking on the beach I found out a small red bug.

Yes, she is a ladybug.

Click here to see the pictures which I took today.

 

2013/05/06 Shirahama Beach today

We had very strong west wind but it was sunny and very warm in Shirahama today.

It was the last day of Golden week, so there were not many people on the beach.

But the sea water was really clear. I wanted to dive and snorkel!

I went to Shimoda to ride a bike with my son after I finished cleaning guest rooms this late afternoon.

Click here to see the pictures.

2013/05/06 Thank you for staying.

They are from India and live in Tokyo.

It was a first time for them to come to Shimoda and Izu peninsula.

On the 1st day they went to Mt. Omuro and Jogasaki suspention bridge.

On the 2nd day they went to Shirahama beach and had good time there under the sun.

Thank you very much for staying with us.

We look forward to meeting you again.

2013/05/04 Thank you for staying.

They live in Tokyo and have come to Shimoda for several times.

But it was a first time to stay at Pension Sakuraya and they stayed for 5 nights.

Thank you very much for staying with us.

 

2013/05/03 Shirahama Beach today

After I finished cleaning guest rooms I went to the nearest beach "Shirahama" to take pictures with my son.

It was very beautiful today and there were a lot of people playing, walking and sleeping on the beach.

It was sunny but the wind still was a little cold in Shirahama today.

2013/05/01 Shirahama beach this morning.

My daughter has now a small trouble on her knee by bike accident several days ago.

Of course she can walk as usual, but it is a little hard for her to ride a bike.

So I took her to the school by my car again this morning.

I took this picture on the way home and I was able to see the Oshima island clearly, but it's still very cold today.

Why not?

I have been thinking about the weather, it was changed before noon.

The blue sky goes well with Shirahama beach.