The Olympics has made the national holidays in Japan change a little in July this year. Consequently, we had a four day holiday. So two of those days off we decided to spend at the beach, and luckily the weather was perfect. The first day, we went to Toi beach, in Izu, Shizuoka, Japan, where we had reserved a minshiku (Japanese bed and breakfast) for the night, with dinner and breakfast. The minshiku was not far from Toi beach, so after delays forgetting swim wear and searching for new swim wear, which we eventually found in Toi Seven Eleven, forgetting wallets, meaning we had to go back to the mishiku, and then buying way too much alcohol etc. resulting in us only got to the beach at about 2.30pm. It was pretty crowded. Toi beach seems to be a family beach, so don't expect any relaxation and peace and quiet, but the sea was pretty clear, and it was convenient, being about an hours drive from Mishima, or you could take the bus from Shuzenji station, or the ferry from Shimizu. If we hadn't booked a bead and breakfast (minshiku) we would have ended up paying 1,500 yen to park and the car park closed at 5pm, so as we didn't use the car park, after that it was very quiet. We had bought body boards, because we really enjoyed that activity last year, but there were no substantial waves on this beach, so its a pretty good place for kids. This beach was nice, sandy and cleaner than Ito beach, but more crowded. However the food in the place where we stayed was fantastic! Here are a few pictures.
Also, here's the mishiku where we stayed and the dinner and the view from our room ( if your looking for a pretty cheap place to stay in the area).
