We started on Wednesday morning at Atami, from where we got the ferry across to the island of Oshima - the first big island of the Seven Islands of Izu, which head off south, away from Tokyo..
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Oshima is an active volcano, that last erupted 20 years ago. There are 3 small towns on the island, and a total population of 10,000 or so.
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The landscape is somewhat lunar, and reminded me a bit of the desert in Libya, where one comes across piles of 40 million year old fossils. On Oshima much of the land we walked across is only 20 years old - but it takes you back to the beginning of time.
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.At the top is a crater, which reminds one of the force available to mother nature should she wish to use it - to blow the top of a mountain straight up into the air.
From the top, we got a great view of the other six islands of Izu running off to the south, with Toshima to the right - our destination in the morning.
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.We were up at 5.30 and greeted the rising sun halfway between Oshima and Toshima.
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Toshima has only 300 inhabitants, but several tens of thousands of camellia trees - grown, we think, for the nuts.
Looking back to Oshima from Toshima, through the camellia trees.
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.From Toshima we caught the ferry back to Shimoda on the mainland - the extreme south of Izu peninsula - where Townshend Harris landed 150 years ago, and Admiral Perry in his black ships.
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.We walked round to the bay nearest the house that M would like to buy.
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.Fishing net near Shimoda.
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.The Green Manalishi
The Ship Song
