Atami

Although it was the rainy season, the weather held out just long enough, with no rain and even some sunshine, allowing my family to enjoy a stroll from the upper shrine down to the lower one. We also enjoyed shopping at the souvenir shops. The stroll was so enjoyable that it took longer than expected, so we informed the Italian restaurant we had booked in advance that we would be arriving late, but they kindly accommodated us, and we made it to Coda Rossa, located near the parking lot. For lunch, we ordered several pasta and pizza dishes, and everything was delicious, with my family saying "delicious, delicious!" as we ate! If we go to the Atami area again, we would like to visit Akao Forest.

Although we encountered drizzle and dense fog early in the morning, it didn't dampen our spirits at all. Instead, we were lucky enough to experience two completely different views of Mt. Omuro! Initially, the cable car ride up was met with thick fog and strong winds, like a typhoon, making it impossible to see anything. We circled around and then got off to browse for souvenirs. Unexpectedly, the fog cleared up, and we immediately decided to take the cable car back up. Finally, we managed to capture the legendary, incredibly beautiful "Matcha Mountain" view after the fog lifted! The cable car here is really cool; you sit directly on the chairs and pull down the safety bars, truly giving you the feeling of walking on air to the summit. Looking up and down offers different perspectives, highly recommended! Because we spent a relatively long time at Mt. Omuro and were worried about running out of time, we didn't visit the nearby Izu Chaboten Zoo. Next, we took the ocean-view train. Although it was only a short section, the experience of seeing the sea along the way was still very enjoyable. Our next stop was Kinosaki Coast, which can only be described as "absolutely stunning"! Luckily, the weather cleared up when we arrived in the afternoon, making every photo beautiful. A huge thank you to our driver! He not only acted as our tour guide the whole way, providing excellent information, but also thoughtfully took photos for everyone at the last stop. He was truly dedicated. Overall, today's itinerary was very relaxed, with minimal walking, so we weren't tired at all. The return trip was a three-hour drive, and we really appreciated the driver's hard work! We highly recommend this day trip; it was full of memorable moments!

I rented an audio guide at the entrance and followed the designated route. The guide's explanations were very easy to understand, and rereading the written explanations made them even more interesting. It was even better than I expected.