A hot spring resort near Kawazu cherry blossom town

February 15, 2017

I stopped by this station before checking in at an inn I made a reservation.

伊豆熱川/Izu-Utagawa is one of the famous hot spring resorts in Shizuoka prefecture.

In the picture above, at this place, you can view the ocean at some distance from the station.

Just a few minutes walk from the station, you'll see this hot spring steam in the site of a national youth hostel.

The steam spewing out of the source looked so great(^o^)

And just going down the road from the youth hostel, you'll arrive at a hot spring icon where it looks like some kind of a shrine.

If you have an egg, It's possible to make a boiled egg using this hot spring's hot water with a metal net hanging here.

My regret here was I should have made a boiled egg using this hot spring source.

If I did, I could enjoy the boiled egg with beer(^o^)

After that, I headed to the coastline of this region. 

The ocean of Sagami bay was calm and peaceful.

I could enjoy the gentle sound of ocean surf on this coastline(^o^)

the last day of Kawazu cherry blossom viewing trip

Finally, my trip to see Kawazu-sakura cherry blossom in Kawazu town, Shizuoka prefecture is about to end. please enjoy the pictures of them as well as the local foods. 

During the sakura festival here, a lot of food stalls serving many kinds of local specialties are lined up.

いちご大福(Ichigo daifuku)/Strawberry confection which is Japanese style sweets using mochi wrapped up with sweet red bean paste and strawberry. of course, strawberry is one of the local specialties in Shizuoka prefecture.

While I was walking in the site, I noticed a banner written "Deer hamburger(鹿バーガー)".

The hamburger was using venison meat patty. but actually, I couldn't distinguish whether it was venison or other meat(^_^;)

Then I enjoyed Sakura beer and locally sourced mushroom grilled.

Cheers for beautiful natures in here！

My reports of Kawazu sakura cherry blossom are over. but remember, Kawazu sakura is the "Early bloomer of sakura".
The most popular species of sakura in Japan called "Somei Yoshino" is going to be blooming around April. So next time, I'll report on it. please look forward to seeing it. Thanks(^o^)

Natural bounty of breakfast

February 16, 2017. 

Breakfast time was at 8 am. At this time, I got up at 7 am and took a hot spring bath before breakfast.  

The breakfast meal had just been brought to my room at 8 am. So let me explain everything about these breakfast dishes.

納豆/"Nattou" is a necessary item for a typical Japanese breakfast.

5 items of dish: Omelette, simmered Hijiki seaweed, Sasakawa fish cake, pickled wasabi, and nori seaweed jam.

Umeboshi and pickled vegetables.

Boiled spinach with whitebait and dried bonito flakes.

Roasted dried horse mackerel.

ご飯(Gohan)/Rice.

味噌汁(Misoshiru)/vegetable miso soup.

Japanese tea(Local sourced).

Needless to say, breakfast here was delicious. thanks to here, I could enjoy all kinds of bounties from the sea and mountains in this region. I'd like to visit here again(^o^)

After checking out, I moved to Kawazu cherry blossom site again to enjoy sakura viewing and local foods.

To be continued to the last episode(^o^)

Authentic Japanese inn's dinner

February 15 in 2017.

After enjoying sakura viewing, I checked in at a Japanese inn. Let me show you a typical and flavorful Japanese inn meal.

When I arrived here, it was around 5 PM.

In the picture above, it was able to see a distant island called "Izu Oshima(伊豆大島)", an inhabited volcanic small island that belongs to the Izu archipelago. Anyway, I love this calm town for relaxing.

After I took a bath in the hot spring, the dinner meal was brought to my room at 6 PM(^o^)

So, let me explain about everything of this lucullan Japanese meal.

漬け物(Tsukemono)/Pickled Daikon radish, cucumber, and Nappa cabbage.

酢の物(Sunomono)/Vinegared seafood dish(Shrimp, octopus, gizzard shed, squid, seaweed, and cucumber are included)

煮物(Nimono)/Boiled dish(Carrot, sweet potato, shimeji mushroom, shrimp cake, fried tofu are included)

天ぷら/Tempura(Blowfish, green paper, mushroom, lotus root) served with green tea salt.

前菜盛り合わせ(Zensai moriawase)/hours d' oeuvres assortment.

Roasted duck and omelet on a skewer.

Pickled shrimp.

Grilled Sazae turban shell.

Jellied crab meat and tofu.

Yellowtail Teriyaki served with deep-fried Japanese mikan orange.

Sashimi assortment(Medium fatty tuna, Onaga snapper, horse mackerel, flounder, and salmon)

Stewed vegetables with seafood.

Rice and Japanese mikan orange for dessert.

The dinner was delicious! however, I'd never thought that I could eat everything before I started to eat them. But I did!. And the only thing I had to do was just sleep at 7 PM(^_^;)

To be continued to next morning's breakfast.