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

2013/02/24 Thank you for staying with us.

They came from England to Japan for the 1st time.

Actually they stayed for several weeks in New Zealand before coming to Japan.

In Izu peninsula they  went to Kawazu town to see the cherry blossoms and took the cabel car to climb Mt. Nesugata in Shimoda.

They are going to Hakone and Tokyo after Shimoda, and they will leave Japan next week after a week travel in Japan.

They stayed at Sakuraya for only one night, but we could have a very good time with them.

Thank you very much for coming to Japan and staying with us in Shimoda.

2013/02/19 Kawazu Sakura in the rain

Today we had cold rain here in Shimoda.

I saw the pictures on the live camera of Izu peninsula this afternoon, and they had a lot of snow on the mountains.

Sakura blossoms were freezing today, I think.

2013/02/18 Cold rain in Shirahama

As the weather forecast said it has been rainy here in Shirahama since this morning.

And also we have strong wind.

But Sakura tree is fully blooming in our garden.

2013/02/17 Sakura tree in our garden

There are some kinds of Sakura tree in our garden.

One of them is now fully blooming and we can see it through the window in the dining room.

2013/02/13 Shirahama this morning

When it rains we usually take children by car to the school.

We had rain before 6:00 AM, but it became sunny after 6:30.

I took this picture after taking my daughter to the shool.

The sun was shining above the ocean and it was very warm after that.

2013/02/12 Sakura is blooming.

I took this picture in our garden this afternoon.

This winter, aloe, narcissus, rape and sakura are blooming at the same time in our garden.

These are Sakura blossoms raised from seed of Kawazu Sakura, and bloom earlier than Kawazu Sakura.

They are deep in pink color, and are blooming 40% now.

2013/02/11 Shirahama Beach Today

I took this picture on the way to the nearest beach from our Pension.

Today it was sunny but we had strong west wind.

In this case we sometimes see the ships which come to this beach to protect themselves from the strong wind.

We can see such a scenery in winter.

2013/02/10 Walking in Shirahama and Shimoda

Today I walked around again under the sunshine, and I took some pictures of Shirahama beach and Shimoda town from the top of mountain.

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

2013/02/09 A small port in Shirahama

This is a small fisherman's port called Itami in Shirahama.

There are some small boats and the fishermen use them to fish and to get Iseebi (Japanese spiny lobster) in this season.

And there is a small beach as well.

We can swim there in summer.

2013/02/08 Shirahama Beach Today

When I was walking I found out a lot of live savers on the beach this afternoon.

I think it is very hard to get into the water in this season, but the water temperature is about 14 degrees and the air temperature is about 8 degrees.

So it is warmer in the water than in the air actually.

 

2013/01/30 Narcissus Festival at Tsumekizaki cape in Shimoda

Today I walked to Tsumekizaki cape in Shimoda to see the flowers of narcissus.

This festival has been held since last December 20th, and now it is good timing to see the fully blooming there.

It was sunny and we didn't have cold wind, so it was very warm here in Shimoda.

I took some pictures on the way to Tsumekizaki.

Click here to see the pictures.

2013/01/25 Present from Germany!

Today we got a great present from Germany.

Our customers who live in German and have stayed at Sakuraya three times sent us these two bottles of wine.

They are made in German and one of them is an icewine.

I have never drunk icewine and have not tried them yet.

So we are looking forward to drinking them.

Thank you very much.

2013/01/24 Sakura tree in our garden

I took this picture today.

This tree is Sakura called 'Kawazu Sakura', which blooms earlier than the other kind of Sakura in Japan.

Kawazu Sakura Festival will be held after February 5th.

Here is the information of Sakura festival.

 

2013/01/22 Thank you for staying!

They came from Hong Kong and stayed at Sakuraya for 1 night.

They traveled in Hokkaido for 8 days last year and came to Japan this year again with the same period.

She is holding a postcard which we gave her as a present of 25th anniversary of Pension Sakuraya.

We could have a great time with you.

Thank you for staying with us!

2013/01/20 Shirahama Beach today

I walked around for an hour after 2 days.

There was nobody on the beach when I went there this afternoon.

They didn't have good waves for surfing, so the surfers went to the other beaches, I guess.

 

2013/01/18 Snow on Amagi mountain

Today it was sunny after 5 days here in Shimoda, but they still have a lot of snow on the top of Amagi mountain.

I hope we have a lot of snow in Shirahama, but it rarely snows in this place.

2013/01/14 Snow in Izu peninsula

Amagi mountain in Izu peninsula is covered with a lot of snow now.

But we didn't have any snow here in Shimoda.

Be careful, everybody!

2013/01/12 New Year Card from France

Yesterday we got a new year card from France.

They stayed at Sakuraya for 2 nights in last June.

We remember them very well because they gave us a present, La petit tour Eiffel When they checked out.

Thank you very much.

We really appreciate it!

2013/01/11 Walking around in Shirahama

I walked around in Shirahama today again.

We had a little cold north wind, but the sea was shining under the blue sky.

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

2013/01/10 Sightseeing boat in Shimoda harbor

I went to the Shimoda harbor by walking for an hour this afternoon.

There is a sightseeing boat called 'Susquehannna' which we can ride to see the harbor for 20 minutes.

Here is a web page which I posted a lot of photos when I rode it with my children.

2013/01/08 White Beach 'Shirahama'

When I was walking this morning I found out the beautiful white field on the beach.

First of all I thought it was snow, but the beach was covered with snow frost actually.

We don't have many times a year to see such a beautiful scenery here in Shimoda.

 

2013/01/04 Thank you for staying.

They are from Germany and some of them have lived in Tokyo since last July.

It was the 2nd time for them to come to Shimoda, and they stayed at Sakuraya for the 1st time as their friends who stayed at Sakuraya 2 years ago recommended them our Pension.

When they checked out they said, "We will come back here with my sister in law this summer."

We were very glad to hear that!

Thank you for staying with us and we are looking forward to meeting you in summer.

2013/01/03 Shirahama Shrine

We went to the nearest shrine called 'Shirahama Jinja' this afternoon for the 1st time this year.

Most of Japanese go to the shrine at the beginning of the new year to pray the health and the good luck for this year.

It was very cold there but there were a lot of people at the shrine.

.

 

My second daughter works as 'Miko' , a shrine maiden for the 1st time of her life.

It had been very hard for her to work outside because of the cold wind, but it will be a good experience for her.

2013/01/01 Happy New Year, 2013!

I took this picture this morning.

This is the 1st breakfast this year.

We had a lot of customers in this new year holiday.

Thank you very much for staying with us.

We wish you, everybody, a happy new year!

2012/12/31 Thank you for staying.

They are from England and Thailand, and have lived in Tokyo.

They have come to Izu and Shimoda some times, but it was a first time to stay at Sakuraya.

Thank you very much for staying with us.

We wish you a happy new year!

 

2012/12/30 Thank you for everything!

We have only one day this year at last.

Thank you very much, everybody.

We wish you a Happy New Year!

2012/12/26 White egret in Shirahama

A couple of egret, white and black, have lived for a long time here in Shirahama.

They sometimes come to the beach to get lunch.

This white one is very nervous, so she flies away every time when I approach her to take a photo.

2012/12/19 Shirahama Beach this morning

After I took my daughter to the school this morning, I went to the beach to take photos.

I took this photo on the beach behind Shirahama shrine.

I love this shot very much!!

 

2012/12/13 Japanese room in Sakuraya

This morning it is a little warmer than yesterday here in Shimoda.

This room is the Japanese style with 10 tatami mats.

We basically accept 5 or 6 people for this room.

2012/12/09 Thank you for staying.

They are from India and live in Kawasaki city.

One of them has come to Shimoda on last September, and came to Shimoda with his family again.

It was windy but sunny and we could see the beautiful sea after they checked out.

We look forward to meeting you again.

Thank you for staying with us.