IZU PENINSULA

Long before it became a peaceful escape for hot springs and ocean air, the Izu Peninsula was a wild, isolated coastline. This stretch of shore witnessed the dawn of Japan’s connection to the West, back when the Shogun tasked the English pilot William Adams with building modern sailing ships right in the waters of Itō.

That sense of history still drifts through the quiet fishing villages and forested cliffs today. It’s a place made for slow exploration—where every winding coastal road seems to reveal a new view, an old story, or just a quiet spot to stop and pause.