11 Best Sights in Izu Peninsula, Side Trips from Tokyo

South of Ito the coastal scenery is lovely—each sweep around a headland reveals another picturesque sight of a rocky, indented shoreline. There are several spa towns en route to Shimoda. Higashi-Izu (East Izu) has numerous hot-springs resorts, of which Atagawa is the most fashionable. South of Atagawa is Kawazu, a place of relative quiet and solitude, with pools in the forested mountainside and waterfalls plunging through lush greenery.

The best time to visit the garden is in late January or early February, when its 850 trees bloom. If you do visit, also stop by the small shrine that's in the shadow of an enormous old camphor tree. The shrine is more than 1,000 years old and is popular with people who are asking the gods for help with alcoholism. The tree is more than 2,000 years old and has been designated a National Monument. It's believed that if you walk around the tree once, another year will be added to your life. Atami Bai-en is always open to the public and is 15 minutes by bus from Atami or an eight-minute walk from Kinomiya Station, the next stop south of Atami served by local trains.

If you have the time and the inclination for a beach picnic, it's worth taking the 25-minute high-speed ferry (¥2,500 round-trip) from the pier. There are five departures daily between 7:30 and 5:20 from both Atami and Ito, though the times vary by season. You can easily walk around the island, which is only 4 km (2½ miles) in circumference, in less than two hours. There is also an obstacle course adventure park, great for travelers with kids. Use of the Picnic Garden (daily 10–3) is free.

The first American consul to Japan was New York businessman Townsend Harris. Soon after his arrival in Shimoda, Harris asked the Japanese authorities to provide him with a female servant; they sent him a young girl named Okichi Saito, who was engaged to be married. The arrangement brought her a new name, Tojin (the Foreigner's) Okichi, much disgrace, and a tragic end. When Harris sent her away, she tried, but failed, to rejoin her former lover. The shame brought upon her for working and living with a Westerner and the pain of losing the love of her life drove Okichi to drown herself in 1892. Her tale is recounted in Rei Kimura's biographical novel Butterfly in the Wind and inspired Puccini's Madame Butterfly, although some skeptics say the story is more gossip than fact. Hofuku-ji was Okichi's family temple. The museum annex displays a life-size image of her, and just behind the temple is her grave—where incense is still kept burning in her memory. The grave of her lover, Tsurumatsu, is at Toden-ji, a temple about midway between Hofuku-ji and Shimoda Station.

The museum, which overlooks Lake Ippeki, houses works by Picasso, Dalí, Chagall, and Matisse, plus a number of woodblock prints. The museum is a 15-minute walk northwest from Izu Shaboten Zoo.

A semi–free-range petting zoo and cactus park may not seem like the best combination, but Izu Shaboten Zoo makes it work. Visitors can feed, pet, or get up close and personal with more than 130 different kinds of animals and 1,500 varieties of cacti. Highlights include the capybara onsen (animals like hot springs too) and "Exciting Monkey House." It's a silly place, but a hit with animal-loving kids.

Some 3,000 cherry trees of 35 varieties bloom at various times throughout the year. You can take a ski-lift style cable to the top of the mountain, which has a lovely view of the sea below. The park is about 20 minutes south of Ito Station by bus.

This museum houses the private collection of the messianic religious leader Mokichi Okada (1882–1955), who founded a movement called the Sekai Kyusei Kyo (Religion for the Salvation of the World). He also acquired more than 3,000 works of art; some are from the Asuka period (sixth and seventh centuries). Among these works are several particularly fine ukiyo-e (Edo-era woodblock prints) and ceramics. On a hill above the station and set in a garden full of old plum trees and azaleas, the museum also affords a sweeping view over Atami and the bay.

Located just a 15-minute walk southeast from Atami Station, the geyser used to gush on schedule once every 24 hours but stopped after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Not happy with this, the local chamber of commerce rigged a pump to raise the geyser every five minutes.

This is the temple in which the negotiations took place that led to the United States–Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce of 1858. The Treasure Hall (Homotsu-den) contains more than 300 original artifacts relating to Commodore Perry and the "black ships" that opened Japan to the West.

If you love the sun, make sure you stop at Yumigahama. It's one of the nicest sandy beaches on the whole Izu Peninsula. Although the water is usually warm enough to swim from June, the crowds come out during Japan's beach season in July and August. The bus from Shimoda Station stops here before continuing to Iro-zaki, the last stop on the route. Amenities: food and drink (July and August); lifeguards (July and August); toilets; parking (fee). Best for: swimming (June–August); solitude (September–June).