Izu Oshima

After a 6 hour overnight boat ride aboard the SS Salvia, I landed upon the largest of the Izu islands, Oshima. Being that the ferry landed at 5 in the morning, and the seats didn't allow for the best comfort, I found myself a little dazed, stumbling out of the ship with a hundred or so other passengers in a zombie-like fashion. 

There were rumors a typhoon was going to hit this side of the country, and looking at the horizon it appeared I'd be in for a bit of that. I took a bus to the main settlement in the northern part of the island, dumped my bag at the hotel, and, unable to actually check-in into my room, strolled into a town which had to wake up itself. Palm trees line the streets of an aging town with few of the conveniences of the city, and I was actually impressed there were no McDonalds' in sight.

 And man, I thought, Oshima is pretty damn awesome already.

The island itself has little in terms of local population. Most of the people walking around are tourists from Tokyo or Kanagawa. I guess the large cat population (and the incredibly large spider population) kind of make up for that. It's a hell of an escape, and despite there being quite a few tourists, I was a little amazed that there weren't more. Oshima also happens to be the closest island to the main landmass. Fun fact: all the Izu islands have a volcano in their middle! That's how they came to exist.
As it turned out, that typhoon didn't come after all. I was treated to a great big sun that was overly enthusiastic about scorching the shit out of my skin (which it did.) There's actually quite a bit to be seen in Oshima, and had I had the time, I'd have been glad to spend an extra day on the island.

That was fun, if quite dangerous!

 It's easy to find a whole damn beach to yourself and just jump into the ocean without having to share a single grain of sand - a pleasure you won't find in Tokyo. The one I stumbled upon actually had enormous waves the likes of which I hadn't seen, which kind of goes on par with the island's popularity with surfers.

Quite happy no one came behind me and ran over my tripod.

 Actually, the waves were so viciously strong that they literally sucked me in and flipped me over, and I kind of gave up on going deeper than my waist for fear I'd get smashed on a rock. Adventure ahoy!

 If I have to recommend one thing to anyone interested in traveling to Oshima, it's renting a bicycle. Pay that 20$ and get one for the day. It's definitely worth it even if only for the Sunset Palm Tree Line, which takes you around the northern shoreline and offers a wonderful view over the course of a few kilometers. If it hadn't occurred to you before then that you were on a tropical island in the middle of the ocean, it will once you do. You'll end up in the port town once you're done and you can treat yourself to a slushie in that one shop. You'll know which one. There's only one.

They don't do it like this in the city!

On the note of food, don't expect to find anything other than more or less traditional Japanese meals here. Actually, during lunch and dinner each restaurant I stumbled into was about to close or stop offering meals, but opted to give me the choice of a limited menu instead. Island restaurant tactics? Maybe. I was told for lunch there was only ramen available, and wasn't expecting much, but this awesome seafood feast came up and took me aback.


Had I had the extra day, I would've probably tried to visit the south side of the island, which is apparently quite scenic, as well as the volcano itself, which is rumored to have a really cool crater on top, but there's only so much your own body will let you do after you've been thrown out of a ship at 5 in the morning. As an afterthought, there's lots to see in the other Izu islands as well, and Oshima was just such an amazing opener to a side of Japan I had yet to experience.