Travelogue: Shimoda

 We're hardly taking any trips right now (thank you, COVID).  Others are more adventurous, but the thought of a kiddo getting a normal cold while we're somewhere else, in this hyper sensitive environment, causes me some second thoughts, especially about flying with the necessary airplane temperature checks.  Luckily, we found another family with two boys similar ages to ours, so we went skiing with them in February and to Shimoda in July.  

Shimoda is a well-known beach area on the Izu Peninsula - first gaining popularity in the 1970s for a domestic honeymoon spot (search in Japanese for "Shimoda romantic hotel" seems it may still be!).  Little coves all along the way make for different beach experiences.  

We rented an AirBnB near Kisami beach, well known for beginner surfing waves.  No, we didn't try.  But we did buy two body boards and had loads of fun jumping waves.  Every now and then was a pretty big one -- the boys and I each at various points didn't time a jump properly and got a little pummeled, but the undertoe wasn't too bad and we popped right back up.  The little kids, though, stuck to the waters edge and an area where a stream emptied into the ocean.  Our AirBnB host commented Sotoura beach was probably better for younger kids as it only has very gentle waves.

Since our children are creatures of habit, the lunch/dinners I didn't cook at home we ate at the White Beach Cafe, steps off of the beach, with pizzas, pastas and few other items.  Quite tasty - and even better they would let a family open a tab, so the kids could go over and order by themselves, with us settling up at the end of the day.  I'm sure other delicious eats exist, but why leave the 500 meter beeline from the house to the beach when there's something great along the way?  

What we didn't do in Shimoda was visit the museum where Commodore Perry negotiated the first US-Japan treaty.  (He landed in Yokohama in 1853, but then had a second visit in 1854 to ink the deal.  Wikipedia crash course here.)  A monk at the temple where the negotiation took place gave my language class a fantastic presentation - but the boys were having so much fun on the beach, messing around with the other kids, I didn't want to be "that mom" who spoiled the fun.  Especially since it was about a 4 hour drive and easy to return to.  So, I guess that means we have to go back!