Izu Drive

I just spent 2 days cruising around the Izu penninsula. Its 2 hours south of Tokyo.

Starting at the Ashinoko Lake and Hakkone Skyline the views are awesome and the roads are just as good.

I was happy to see lots of fresh laid tarmac. So it's smooth again.

Some great spots to stop and enjoy the views.

The weather was fantastic so all the pictures came out very well.

Even in the TC-F mirror the view is crystal clear.

A sample of IZU Skyline here led me towards Izu Kogen on the east coast of the peninsula.

The coast in this area was rugged without sand but the rocky face is awesome.

Jogasaki Park attracts visitors to this Suspension Bridge. Nice view but like a lot of Japanese attractions they are sometimes over-rated by local regions.

The Sakura (cherry blossoms) in the area however are not. They were simply everywhere. The petals dropped on the road left a trail behind the car everywhere I went.

This is just part of a 3klm tunnel of flower. Perfect for open top.

Close by is this dormant crater. (not a main feture in the guide books) but very spectacular as the face is void of trees. grass is burned each year. Ohmuro-mountain has a crater at the top. I walked around.

The Hotel I stayed in was awesome. an old english castle themed hotel with antique furniture. Sometimes you find some gems.

At night a quick trip into the town for some picstures of the lit streets of flower.

A very nice atmosphere.

Next day, I started into the mountains. The roads became tiny on R59. max speed around 40km/h

Pine forest gave a taste of tarmac rally style.

My car had it's 10,000klm birthday in a nice spot.

The 10000 event happened right here in a small town in the middle of Izu.

Speed up a bit to R414.

Just before the 3 ring loop road. An engineering marvel with no real use other than to make a hard climb more gradual. At the bottom though there are some nice waterfalls. The 7 Falls.

Head east for beach. Head west and you will hit the rugged coast again. This boat is coming out of a sea cave.

It's an amazing little cruize. not much room for error.

This old guy was the being the stereo-typical Japanese tourist. Huge lens.

Heading north again on R17, the roads were tight and either covered by Sakura or with views of the ocean tracking up and down the coastal hills for 100klms. The afternoons bring haze so Fuji is difficult to see. Believe it or not. It's there.

Check My Slide Show for more pics from Fuji, around Izu & return.

Russ