South and West Izu. June 2023. Part 2. Yumigahama to Nakagi. Ride to Minami Izu.

Kindness of the strangers

Part 1 is here. Part 4 is here. Part 6 is here.

Part 3 is here. Part 5 is here.

Sunday morning. Yumigahama village is mostly sleeping. It is raining, but I need to check out. Umbrella in hand, backpack snug on shoulders, - I am off towards Aono river.

After about 50 minutes I am passing little port Teishi where I turn right to main road 16.

It is nearly empty, guess because of Sunday, and there are some great views along.

I remember Nagai told me that compared to East Izu the traffic on the western side is much scarcer even on a normal day. I can imagine…

Two plus hours walk and I am approaching Cape Iro (Irozaki). Irozaki is actually located between the two large bays: Suruga and Sagami. Moved towards lighthouse: the feeling is that you are standing on the edge of the Earth.

As I could not find any food on the way, I had my late breakfast at the Cape information center (Ocean Park).

“Even the simplest food tastes great when you are hungry”, - was my prayer and reached for the chopsticks.

My original plan was to walk to Koura Bay today.

“How long from here?”, - I have asked the lady hosting the information desk. Takahashi-san, 74, has been working as a guide in Izu for around 10 years.

She pulled out a few local maps. “If you try to avoid main roads, around 5-6 hours, shorter on main roads, but in this area, there are many tunnels, and it can be not a very pleasant walk. And there is no bus in your direction”, - she was glancing through the pages.

My heart sank. It is already nearly 1 pm, and I feel tired today for some reason. I never tried to hitch hike in Japan. “Taxi?” - “Most likely they will reject or charge you a lot since they will have to drive from Shimoda”. I guess I did not look very optimistic, as I she gave a suggestion.

“How about you continue along your route, and I meet you near Nakagi bus stop at around 3 pm and give you a lift?”. - “Thank you, thank you!”.

Happened to me a few times before: in Japan, in Taiwan, in Korea. I am in the middle of nowhere and somehow people come to rescue in one form or another. I felt a wide warm grin inside me and walked towards Usuge Park. I skipped Nagatsuro Trail which starts here, as Takahashi-san said there were much nicer views from the park.

I proceed along the coast towards Aiai Misaki (Cape Aiai).

There is a parking lot and observation deck here. I had my tea break on the bench. Could stay forever…

Next continued towards Nakagi port. From here little boats take snorkelers and divers to Hirizo Beach. Well, it is not your standard sand beach, it is a rocky formation, but water here offers visibility to the seabed at around 7 m. Besides, warm Kuroshio current attracts many colorful migratory fish here making snorkeling in the area an unforgettable experience. Reading this, I have realized that it is probably busy during Japanese official summer (yes, government announces here the start of the summer season, rainy season, etc. - revelation of widespread group thinking) from July 15, but not at all during the rainy period.

You can see divers arriving by boat to Hirozo on the picture below.

Boats depart from port Nakagi where I am walking. Many things to do…

Nakagi village is a very small and has a cozy feeling about it.

Fishery and water tourism seems to be feeding the small community here.

Takahashi-san car arrives. She takes me towards Iruma area then dropping at accommodation in Minami Izu settlement. On the way I have realized that the distance between Irozaki Cape and Koura Bay is not really walkable. May be during spring or autumn I can try when there is no rain, but hiking trails have to be combined a lot with tunnels crossing which I don’t like much.

Thank you Takahashi-san!

Now to the accommodation. I booked a cabin in the middle of nowhere. There were three cabins on site, property keeper living in a different building few minutes away.

I bought take away food on the way (there was only one place to buy food, and Takahashi-san knew it), but I did not need to worry much. Inside the keeper’s building there was a huge variety of food in vending machines. I was staring at them like I was in some sort of museum.

Even I could buy craft beer which I promptly installed on the table outside cabin to enjoy while listening to the birds’ concert. Of course, I raised a silent toast to the Kind Strangers! Not so long walk today, only17 km, but many good impressions…

Spartan inside but restable enough.

That night I had one of the best sleeps in my life!