STEPPING GINGERLY ONTO THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE, I’m swaying over an aquamarine ocean inlet. The bridge is bookended by fragrant pine forest, and a waterfall plunges from a cliff to the sea. As eye catching as the water features are, it’s the geology that has me transfixed. Striking columnar joints, great octagonally-shaped pillars of basalt, stand sentinel as if guarding Japan’s Izu Peninsula. It’s one of many unforgettable sights along this walking tour of Izu.
I’m here with Walk Japan, a small-group tour company that offers guided (and some unguided) multi-day itineraries. Many small towns in Japan are declining as the country rapidly urbanizes, and Walk Japan seeks to combat this by spreading tourism dollars to communities in less-visited regions.
An overwater suspension bridge.
Basalt formations along Japan’s Izu Peninsula.
The Izu Geo Trail is a six-night, fully guided walking tour itinerary. Our luggage is transported between hotels, meaning we’re only carrying day packs as Japan’s countryside unfolds beneath our feet. Each night we’re treated to gracious hospitality at small inns or hotels, sleeping on traditional futons rolled out on tatami-mat floors.
This tour begins in bustling Tokyo Station, where we’d met our guide, Mr Masaki Iwami, and the six other walkers from Singapore, the US and Australia. Our train whips past an almost cloud-obscured Mount Fuji, before we track the coastline southwest. Two hours later, we’re alighting in the sleepy coastal town of Izu-Kogen.
Guide Masaki Iwami
More than simply a hike, this walking tour immerses us in culture as well as nature, starting in the small geology museum inside Izu-Kogen Station. So remarkable is the geology here that in 2018, UNESCO designated the Izu Peninsula a Global Geopark, a landscape of international geological significance. Masaki explains that the Izu Peninsula sits on a distinct tectonic plate, which continues to drive mountains upwards, and historically, caused violent volcanic eruptions.
This tectonic volcanism affects not only the nature of the land we’re walking through, but the culture, too. All this heat underground leads to an abundance of natural hot springs, and the region is known for its unassuming onsen towns, where domestic Japanese tourists come to bathe in mineral-rich waters.
On our first night, having toured this dramatic coastline on foot, we check in to a guesthouse perched on a spectacular sea cliff. Masaki explains the important onsen bathing etiquette, which is to wash before immersing in the onsen in the single-sex bathhouse facilities.
We’re invited to select a yukata for the duration of our stay here, a pretty and less formal version of a kimono, before being shown the right way to tie it.
A local inn with traditional futons rolled out on tatami-mat floors.
Breakfast mochi (Japanese rice cake) cooked indoors on an open fire.
“Please wear these to the onsen and also to dinner tonight,” Masaki says, and to my delight, we continue this fun tradition every night, choosing a new robe at each establishment.
In the women’s onsen area, I’m initially self-conscious as I strip off, but the nakedness soon becomes normal. This bathing area features an inside and outside onsen, and on the terrace overlooking the ocean, I recline in toasty, shallow water as the daylight slips away.
The onsens are a highlight of this itinerary, and each night after hours on the trails, we look forward to soaking. Some onsens are indoors, others are in gardens, and there’s even one on a beachfront rooftop.
A beachfront rooftop onsen. Courtesy of Walk Japan
Onsen views. Photo by Carolyn Beasley
On our second day, our mini-bus climbs into the mountains to begin our walk at Amagi Tunnel, part of an old trading route. Through the misty forest, we trace the steps of Japan’s first Nobel-prize winning author, Yasunari Kawabata, who featured this tunnel in his 1926 classic, The Izu Dancer. All day we’re on the Dancer’s trail, descending for 12 kilometers past the spectacular Seven Waterfalls, where the water cascades through lava-formed gorges where curved columnar joints reach like fingers into turquoise pools.
Along the way, Masaki points out the wasabi (or Japanese horseradish) farms. This region produces more than half of Japan’s favorite tastebud-tingling condiment and along the watercourses, cool mountain water is partially diverted to trickle through concrete terraces growing the vegetable.
Fresh wasabi is served with almost everything, the underground rhizome presented with a grater for self-serve freshness. Wasabi is found in snack foods, local beer, and most surprisingly, atop soft-serve ice cream. In the name of research, I brave the dessert. Turns out, I’m a fan.
Walking through Amagi Tunnel
Statue of the Izu Dancer at the Seven Waterfalls
Following a trail to a giant cedar tree above Joren Falls.
Wasabi farms can be found across Izu (left); wasabi soft-serve ice cream (right)
Beyond wasabi, we’re treated to a plethora of culinary delights. Each guesthouse offers its own take on kaiseki cuisine, a set meal of many tiny dishes and courses featuring seasonal produce. Thanks to the area’s tectonic movements, the peninsula is flanked by some of the deepest, seafood rich waters in Japan. Each night, we’re devouring all manner of artistically presented dishes including sashimi, lobster and abalone, cooked on our table.
We see first-hand how Walk Japan supports small businesses as we hike into the village of Tago, a town with a declining fishing industry. At Yamasu, a 12-seater tempura and soba noodle café, the third-generation owner, Mr Tadasu Isoyu (81) and his wife Mrs Chikako Isoyu (73) prepare lightly battered prawn-and-squid patties, served with the noodles their family has been making in their basement for over 100 years. With our guide translating, Mrs Isoyu tells us she is proud to serve traditional food to foreigners.
“We might meet this person only once in our lives, so we want to feed them the best,” she says.
The walking itself varies from around five kilometers to more than 12 kilometers per day. The trails are of differing intensity, but Masaki is never in a hurry.
Third-generation cafe owners, Tadasu Isoyu (81) and his wife Chikako Isoyu.
“Welcome to the Masaki café!” He says, beaming as we take a rest by a gurgling river. Out of Masaki’s backpack emerges hot coffee and more Japanese snack foods than should reasonably fit in that bag.
With his ever-present smile, Masaki leads us through seaside villages with tsunami-guarding walls, and through giant cedar forests. We hike to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples clinging to impossibly rocky headlands, and over extinct volcanoes, where wind-stunted bamboo ripples in the gusts like waves on the sea. From clifftop trails, we stare into collapsed sea caves, skirting beaches of seashells and crushed white pumice.
On our final day, we’re boarding our bullet train back to Tokyo and Masaki waves to us until we’re out of sight. As a clouded Mount Fuji rushes past, I’m reflecting on this tour. More than just walking, this trip was built on slow travel, traditional culture, and the opportunity to see tourism helping the sustainability of small towns. It’s the opposite of over-tourism, a concept that’s very welcome, and rewarding on both sides of the equation.
Getting there:
For a walking tour of Izu, first fly to Tokyo from major cities with a variety of airlines including ANA (ana.co.jp) and Singapore Airlines (Singaporeair.com).
Shirahama Jinja on Shirahama Beach
Hiking through wind-rippled bamboo on Mt Daruma.
Idyllic forest trails. Courtesy of Walk Japan
Tour:
Walk Japan’s Izu Geo Trail has 13 scheduled departures in 2025, with prices starting from JPY 480,000 (approximately US$3,217) per person, twin share. Includes guide, accommodation, most meals, support vehicle, luggage transfers, travel from tour start point to tour finish point.
Walkjapan.com
The writer traveled as a guest of Walk Japan.
Photos by Carolyn Beasley, unless otherwise noted.
Note:
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
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Written By
Carolyn Beasley
Carolyn Beasley is an Australian based in Perth, and she has previously spent nine years between Malaysia, ..Read MoreThailand and Singapore.
Carolyn has an honours degree in marine science and masters in environmental management. Her science background and passion for exploration combine to offer unique insights for nature-based travel and environment writing. Read Less
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