Chapter 03 · Experiences
No. 12
Coast, caves and geology
West Izu: the Dougashima coast
西伊豆・堂ヶ島
White tuff cliffs the locals keep for themselves, a low-tide walk to Sanshiro-jima, a boat into a sea cave open to the sky, and sunset behind the islands.
時刻表Timetable
- 所要Duration
- About 9 hours
- 季節Season
- All year; sunsets are best in autumn and winter, and the boats run only in calm seas.
- 人数Group
- 1–12 guests
- 移動Getting there
- Transportation by car and a bilingual guide will be arrangedCome in your own carThe hire company bills you directly; our fee is for the guiding.Travel by train or in your own car. If you'd rather be driven, we book a private car with a licensed driver, and the hire company bills you directly.
- 集合Meeting point
- Atami Station or the house, mid-morning, so we reach the coast for the afternoon light.
- 料金Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
Add a paid tour and the stay is 10% less; discounts don't combine
Reserve
Choose a day, and book it
Finding the open days…
The story
This is the Izu that people who live here keep for themselves: white cliffs of volcanic tuff, water turning from jade to ink, and pines leaning out over the edge. We time the day to the tide, so you can walk across to Sanshiro-jima on the sandbar that appears at low water. When the sea is calm, a small boat slips into Tensodo, a sea cave whose roof has fallen open to the sky. Then we wait on the cliffs as the sun goes down behind the islands, one of the great sunsets of the Japanese coast.
Dougashima is the west coast at its most dramatic: cliffs of white pumice and volcanic ash laid over the debris of undersea eruptions, islets offshore and, at Tensodo, a sea cave whose roof has fallen in, so a shaft of light reaches the water. Walk the clifftop path, take the boat into the cave, cross to the nearest islet if the tide is low enough, and stay for the sun going down behind the islands.
We time the day for the low tide to Sanshiro-jima and stay for sunset; the boat goes into Tensodo when the sea allows (the operator charges you).
路線図
The route
Times are a guide; the day bends to the weather.
Start
The clifftop path above Tensodo
天窓洞を見下ろす遊歩道
45 min
The Dougashima path runs right over the cave: look down through its skylight to the sea.
+0:45
Into Tensodo by boat
遊覧船で天窓洞へ
30 min
In calm seas the sightseeing boats run into the cave, about 147 m long, and stop under the skylight. The fare is paid on the day.
+1:15
The Sanshiro-jima tombolo
三四郎島のトンボロ
45 min
At low tide a shoal can rise between the shore and Denbei-jima, the nearest islet, and you can walk across without wet feet. It doesn't happen every day, so we plan around the tide table.
+2:00Finish
Sunset over the islets
島々に沈む夕日
45 min
The west coast faces the sunset; on clear evenings the sun drops behind the islands.
Photographs 3
We never photograph other visitors' faces.
Good to know
Included
- Your host as guide, in English or Japanese
- A route planned around your group and the weather
- Help booking tickets and restaurant tables
Not included
- Travel: train fares, fuel and tolls for your own car, or the hire car
- Admissions, boats and workshops, paid on the day
- Meals and drinks
- Price
- Guide fee per person, tax included. With your stay: ¥10,000 for one guest, ¥7,500 each for two, ¥5,000 each for three to twelve. Tour only: ¥10,000 each, for two guests or more. Admissions, partner fees, meals and travel are paid on the day. Book a paid tour with your stay and the stay itself is 10% less (you always get the single best discount). Groups of seven or more, please book 10 days ahead.
- Meeting point
- Atami Station or the house, mid-morning, so we reach the coast for the afternoon light.
- Ages
- The tombolo crossing needs sure feet on wet rock.
- Weather
- Fuji, the stars and the fireworks depend on the sky; we tell you the evening before if it's worth going.
- Cancellation
- Guide fees follow the stay's cancellation tiers. Partners' own terms apply to theirs.
On the mapD6
Dougashima, West Izu · About 44 km from the house
Sources
- 01
Dougashima's cliffs show debris flows from undersea volcanic eruptions, topped by layers of pumice and volcanic ash.
Source: izugeopark.org (opens in a new tab) - 02
Tensodo is a sea cave carved by the waves and a national natural monument, seen from the walking path or by sightseeing boat.
Source: izugeopark.org (opens in a new tab) - 03
Tensodo is about 147 m long; through the opening in its roof, a band of light reaches the sea.
Source: nishiizu-kankou.com (opens in a new tab) - 04
At low tide a path appears to Denbei-jima, the nearest of the Sanshiro-jima islets; the tombolo has been a prefectural natural monument since 1983.
Source: town.nishiizu.shizuoka.jp (opens in a new tab) - 05
The Izu Peninsula became a UNESCO Global Geopark on 17 April 2018.
Source: izugeopark.org (opens in a new tab)
Ask us about a date.
Tell us the day, who's coming and what you'd like to see. Your host replies within a few hours, in English or Japanese.
More like this
All 41 experiences
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- Duration
- About 2.5 hours on site; a half day from Atami
- Season
- Getting there
- Transportation by car and a bilingual guide will be arranged · Come in your own car
- Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
- Map
- E4
The hire company bills you directly; our fee is for the guiding.
No. 23About 9 hours
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No. 23A West Izu food day
- Duration
- About 9 hours
- Season
- Getting there
- Transportation by car and a bilingual guide will be arranged · Come in your own car
- Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
- Map
- D5
The hire company bills you directly; our fee is for the guiding.
No. 016–10 hours
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No. 01Your own Izu day
- Duration
- 6–10 hours
- Season
- Getting there
- By train · Come in your own car
- Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
- Map
- G3
