Shimoda Coast and Aquarium

Me and Daisy at a scenic lookout just before the town of Shimoda. You can see the white sandy beaches at Shimoda in the background.
It's a lovely place!

The last stop of fun in the sun this weekend, after a drive along the coast near the town of Shimoda (where there is a gorgeous white sand beach and water blue like Hawaii), was the Shimoda Floating Aquarium. Click HERE for a link. The website is in Japanese but they do have a PDF file you can take a look at in English. You can also just click around on the Japanese site to see pictures etc.

The aquarium is located at an inlet right on the ocean and makes use of the natural landscape and fresh seawater. Daisy was allowed to come in too but had to ride in her little trolley. It was way too hot for her to wait in the car!

There was a little shallow sea turtle pool as you approach the entrance. They are Japanese sea turtles but look very much like the Honu in Hawaii. It was really interesting as this pool has a low edge and you can get very very close to the turtles and get an amazing look at their faces as they come up for air.

First we saw a dolphin show. It was very minimal which I thought was nice as mostly the dolphins were not over trained to do a bunch of silly things that are not in their nature to do like many other dolphin shows you might see other places. Here, the dolphins just jumped and flapped around their tails and fins and swam close to where we could all see them as they were fed by the trainers. Daisy was totally fascinated having a look right at the edge. She really got excited when they would jump. I took a video of her watching them for a bit, it's pretty cute (IMO).

Daisy also got excited at the sea lion pool. When they would swim by close to the glass she was so shocked at first. I think it made her want to play and chase. But she stayed in her trolley like a very good girl and did not even bark. The sea lions also were not overly trained to do crazy things but one thing that was so cute was they were taught to pose at the glass for photos, either just holding still for a bit vertically and two were taught to put their noses together as if they were kissing. Adorable!

Two Sea Lions posing for a kiss! Enlarge to see their faces
(all photos on this blog can be enlarged twice).

We enjoyed sitting and watching various fishes and sea life in a large aquarium where it was air conditioned. They had some California Sea Lions, King Penguins and other smaller black Penguins as well. There is an area you can pay to feed and touch the dolphins as well as a program you can sign up to join the dolphins in the water a few times a day. That is my dream someday, to swim with dolphins!

Even though it was SO HOT that I wondered at times if we might get heat stroke, it was a fun day! It's a nice little aquarium if you get the chance to go there sometime.

Here is some video and pictures... Aloha

Poser!

There was even the cutest toilet paper in the restrooms!
Ken says they were selling this paper in the gift shop too... ha ha ha!

Daisy riding in her trolley, on the way back to the car.
This trolley is also helpful for when the street is too
blazing hot for doggie feet!

And here is a video of the dolphin show and Daisy having a good time watching. The crazy music they were playing and the annoucer's voice is alittle loud, you might want to turn down your volume before starting the video.

Orange Beach at Ito-City, Izu Peninsula

A wet Daisy at Orange Beach in Ito-City, Izu Peninsula.

Here is one of our adventures on our outing this past weekend. When first arrived that afternoon (to the area we would be staying overnight, in Ito), we stopped for lunch at a famous seafood restaurant chain in the area which also boasts a brewery. They had nice outdoor seating overlooking the harbor and it is dog friendly. Along the boardwalk there is very nice bench seating running the length of a running stream of water from the Onsen/hot springs (man made channeling of the hot springs water, sort of like an irrigation ditch type thing). People can stop there and for no charge, sit on the benches and rest their feet in the onsen water and take in the view.

A couple soaking their feet in the onsen water while a tour boat pulls out of the harbor.

Ken ordered an amazingly gorgeous sashimi rice bowl and I had a crab meat pizza (on thin whole wheat crust) with a glass of their own brewed light beer. It was really nice there except it was such a hot day, even though there were umbrellas over our tables, we were pretty hot...there was just no breeze at all that day.

Ken's photogenic lunch, Maguro (Ahi Tuna), Uni (Sea Urchin) and Ikura (Salmon Eggs) on top of steamed rice.

Next, being so incredibly HOT, we headed a few minutes back down the road to a nice beach we had seen. It is called Orange Beach. We could park easily and change into our suits in the restrooms there. The water is nice here as there are some jettys blocking wave action, which makes it seem like a big swimming pool. Easy to get in and wade or float around and there weren't any rocks on the bottom so easy on the feet too! The water was really clear and clean. We didn't care for the volcanic black sand, however it wasn't dirty or coarse, just not pleasing aesthetically.

We were all totally overheated, Daisy got straight in the water and was starting to sit down in it. We then took her out to about waist high depth (for us). That is as deep of water she has ever been in and she immediately starting dog paddling in the air as we held her. We then made her swim around a bit. She seemed alittle worried about it all at first but then relaxed as we held her and stood in the water cooling ourselves off. Maybe next time she gets to the beach she will want to swim on her own.

Daisy also had a blast zooming back and forth along the shoreline. She started feverishly digging a hole at one point and she got it deep enough to stick most of her head in and then bark down into the hole! It was so cute...she is such the entertainer.

Here are some pics and videos to share with you!

Daisy in the sea

Drying off in the sun and sand

Totally wiped out, she moved to the shade of our beach tent and crashed :)

Here are 2 short videos of Daisy swimming (and splashing).

Resort Pension BEAGLE, Ito-City, Izu Pennisula

Cute sign in front of the hotel

This past weekend we took a drive on the east side of the Izu Peninsula. It's about a 2 hour drive from Tokyo, if the traffic is light. Once you get to the peninsula, the road travels right along the coastline, near the shores and up on some amazing cliffs! There is so much greenery, at some locations we could have sworn we were in Hawaii!

We stayed in the city of Ito at a cute little dog friendly bed & breakfast hotel called "Resort Pension BEAGLE". The owners have their own beagle, a one year old girl named Nana. She wanted to play with Daisy soooo bad, but Daisy recently thinks she is too sophisticated for puppy games. Of course, any dogs, not just Beagle's are welcome!

The accommodations are comfortable and clean. There are gorgeous wood floors throughout. The location is atop the highest peak there and has an amazing view of the surrounding hills and the ocean far below. There are lots of pathways behind the building for hiking around in the forested area. They have a lovely deck in back with a large jacuzzi. It is such a peaceful place, we slept so well!

Dinner and breakfast are included in each night's stay. They served us a '5 star' meal for dinner, truly it was fantastic. Included was a small fillet of a local fresh fish called Kinmedai with some cooked vegetables in part of the menu. Also notable was the sashimi of Kinmedai and Shima Aji (translated in English as "Striped Jack Fish", normally found swimming in schools and are abundant in the southern part of Japan).

A photo of Kinmedai (Golden Eye Snapper), for reference, not from our meal! It has a very distinctive look because of its large eyes and its bright red skin, kind of reminds me of the Garibaldi in Catalina when my Dad would reel them in from the deep water so fast their eyes would bulge out!

Breakfast was also delicious and well planned out. It included of note, homemade hot just baked and super yummie rolls, plain, raisin and 'Yomogi' (Japanese Mugwort).

The husband and wife proprietors are very warm and gracious. We really enjoyed our stay.

Here are some pictures.

View of the building and parking area from the road.
Wow who's super nice Audi is that???

Daisy found the beds to be very comfortable.

Daisy and Nana, morning greeting in the lobby.

Our farewell photo in front of the building with Nana and our gracious 'hostess' (she really is a fantastic cook!)