I probably watched too many anime shows that when I think of a beach, it's always that summer feeling that you go with your friends, enjoy swimming in the day time and do fireworks at night. Ever since, it's added to my bucket list: to do fireworks in the beach. Don't you think it's a summer memory you won't ever forget?
If you're in my circle of friends here in Tokyo, you'll often hear me uttering nonsense about Atami because it's a place close to my heart. My friends are probably fed up by me talking about Atami by now. đ Since it's a place I treasure and brag about, I wanted to celebrate my special day in this special place. There's actually nothing in Atami except its beach, its seafood, its countryside vibe, its cold breeze, its summer feeling, its fireworks held often, its proximity to the train station - wait wait, that's already everything..? đ
Unlike the busy Tokyo which is ice cold, Atami is laid-back and warm. It's one of my goto places when I feel sad and missing home. I talked as if I've been here many times but the truth is, this is my 2nd time. đ
Since my birthday is on a weekend, I wanted to stay in Atami and be away from all the stress in Tokyo. There's this one particular hotel that stood out for me - I didn't know its appearance but I heard it has great views of the beach so when the dates for May had popped out on their reservation website, I immediately booked the junior suite room for me and my partner. Let's not even talk about how I convinced my partner to join me in this adventure and the expenses I had this quarter.
I wonder what adventure awaits us..
We initially had plans to ride the sophisticated train to Atami which costs around 8k yen (around 58 USD) one way but because we're not yet sure of this, I set it aside til I'd be back in Japan - that's one week before this trip. And oof, there were few seats left on that train so we decided to just take the normal one.
We're supposed to leave at 12 noon, but because I was so sleepy and tired, I woke up 30 minutes before noon. My partner woke up even further so we left the house at around 2:30 PM. LOL What a delay! It was further delayed because I had to get the IC card because they won't accept mobile cards in the green car seat of the train. You can read the story here.
The beach was calling but first, we should clear this deathly stairs stage. đ
Where's the hotel?
We passed by a lot of the same designs and I couldn't help but take a photo of Atami's unique manhole cover. Just look at that. This design is pretty popular here and tonight, we'll go see the statue.
The Hotel We Stayed At
After all those delays, stopovers and carrying the luggage in the deathly stairs, we finally reached the hotel at 5:30 PM. There's still time before sunset so ăźăȘăźăȘă»ăŒăïŒ (Just barely safe).
When we were in the queue for checking in, I learned that you can use their onsen even when you're not a guest. Probably for a few hours only, and of course, there's a fee. The group in front of us was only here for their onsen.
Let me tell you my baka gaijin, BG in short, moment.
If you recall I told you the meaning of BG, but if you don't know, let me share it again. BG is what our term when we do something out of the ordinary, or something stupid, or anything different from the rest of the people.
I wanted to go check out the veranda but I couldn't open the sliding door. The door looked like it's similar to what we have in our house so I did the same steps. I kept pushing and pushing but the door won't budge. I was already a bit sweating from pushing (or wait, was it pulling?) and decided to wait for my partner to open it for me. He arrived, after a quick shower, and I told him what happened. He miraculously opened the sliding door with ease. I was so surprised! Turns out, I was opening it from the wrong direction. đ Okay, now I learned my lesson. If the door won't open in one direction, try using the other. đ
The private bath on the veranda was the reason I booked this room. It costs me a lot, but I'm always telling myself my birthday only comes once a year. (And then I always say the same excuse whenever I let out a huge amount when traveling đ )
So many amenities in the junior suite room and it was so spacious, I could definitely dance here. I didn't, if you're curious. đ
The yukata was in the closet but I'm a fat blessed woman so it's so sexy on me. Can't go around with that so I called the front desk and they were kind enough to bring us a bigger size. I saw a coffee machine and it was my first time to try it. The instructions were all in Japanese and I didn't ask my partner for translation so I tried my best. I got the coffee in the end but it was too bitter for me. đ
While the hotel is just across the beach, we didn't go there just yet. My partner was sweating from the trip so he wanted to take a shower. I enjoyed the room and the massage chair that came with it. Yes, there's a massage chair!
As I was enjoying the view from the room, we decided to just stay in the room til dinner. Our dinner was at 7 PM so if we go out, we wouldn't really enjoy that much. That's the time I decided to try the private bath that's situated on the veranda.
It's still a few hours away from my birthday, but I truly enjoyed the bath. It was so relaxing. I forgot if this water is the same water as you can find in onsen, but even if it's not, it's still refreshing. I had fun in the hot bath that I forgot about the time. Who wouldn't enjoy this private bath anyways?! My partner fell asleep in the massage chair while I took a bath.
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Stuffing Ourselves For Dinner
I wore the yukata provided by the hotel to the dining area. It's buffet style and because we're near the beach, the menu was like a seafood heaven! I love everything!
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There's a grilling station for the seafood but I was too shy to use them when we arrived. So when the crowd got thinner, I grabbed the opportunity to grill some seafood.
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Since this is Japan, let's not forget the sashimi and the rolls!
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There were non-seafoods too but I enjoyed the seafood more. In Tokyo, seafoods are pricey so this is such a treat. We got almost everything on the menu. I particularly loved the shrimp and the snow crab.
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We stuffed ourselves too much that we couldn't walk after. Okay, that's an exaggeration but it was really hard to walk. The dining area closed at 9 PM but we still had a few left on our plate. In the end, my partner couldn't finish his. Don't worry, it's only a little amount.
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Night Stroll Nearby
We rested a little bit in our room before we went out. I had to change, I don't want to wear my yukata on the sandy beach. We walked along the road, and saw the statue 
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It was nighttime and only a little light but we still read the notes on the statue. This scene was from the masterpiece Konjiki Yasha (The Golden Demon) by Ozaki Koyo dating back to the Meiji era. Although one may think that this statue is somewhat violent, it's not what this is.
The statue, which represents the most symbolic scene full of love and sorrow of the two who have grown apart, faithfully reflects the original story.
source: note from the statue
Just beside the statue of Omiya and Kanichi is the Omiya No Matsu (ăćźźăźæŸ), a small park. We just passed by. I think many people enjoy just sitting here on the few benches in the daytime.
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So many artistic designs on the street! They even illuminated them.
We finally reached the convenience store which was our destination for the night before heading to the beach. We planned to get fireworks, not the big kind, just some sparkles because that's what I've been seeing in the anime films I've watched. đ
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The convenience store had so much stuff - from beach props to fireworks to souvenirs to toiletries to stationery - you'll be able to get what you want from here.
Fireworks By The Beach Just Like In Anime
Walking from here to the beach was so nostalgic. I walked this path last year in August when I attended the fireworks festival in summer on my own, but now it's different because my partner was with me. My partner was so surprised I told him about being alone coming here last year. I already told him before but it seems he didn't mind it before that he was so surprised now.
It's late already so the lights were already off so we had to rely on our phone's flashlights or my very big eyes.
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It's low tide but we still enjoyed walking along the beach. We almost bought the mat from the store earlier but we didn't so we had no choice but to just stand. I didn't want to sit on the sand with my dress. đ
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We started unpacking the fireworks we bought. There are a lot of them and lots of different kinds! I enjoyed it every bit. This experience is one tick off my bucket list.
What was I thinking during that time? Nothing I guess. I just enjoyed it and felt blessed. My mind these days has been so chaotic for some reason, and just watching these small fireworks made me think that life is fleeting. If I keep on thinking about even the small things, nothing will happen but will give me pain and unnecessary crazy thoughts. I won't be able to enjoy life. So at that time, I'm just enjoying my fireworks, my time with my partner, the cold breeze from the beach, and the dark night.
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My partner bought himself a flying one that would blast in the air but I thought it was kinda dangerous so I kept on stopping him from lighting it. Later on, I just let him be as long as he's okay. đ
I learned about senkou hanabi from my partner, a popular firework in Japan, that when we went home, he ended up buying this firework again. This is a small firework, and it will form a ball-like shape later on and it shouldn't fall. If it falls, you're unlucky. If it doesn't, you're lucky. We had 3 in from the fireworks pack and all 3 fell. We're so unlucky! đ
At home, we got senkou hanabi and we tried a few, only to know we're still unlucky. đ
I was surprised there were a few people who were on the sandy dark beach at this time of the night, also doing their own thing, fireworks and just a walk.
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We were having fun and all the fireworks were already gone..or so we thought. When we were cleaning up, we saw the other side of what we bought and there were still a bunch of fireworks waiting for us. We lit them all together, it saved us time.
I didn't want to stay longer on the beach because our hotel has a curfew at midnight. I mean we can still enter the hotel but we had to call which was kinda bothersome for me. We cleaned of course. It's courtesy to bring your trash with you so we had to bring all the fireworks we lit and throw it in the proper trashcan. We went back to the convenience store to grab a few drinks and when it turned midnight, we're on the hotel lobby.
I had to celebrate my birthday in the hotel lobby. LOL
We just lazed around in the hotel room when we went back. We stayed late, talking, taking a dip in the private bath, watching films and just enjoying the time together.
Good Morning And I'm A Year Older
In the morning, we were so sleepy but we still got up to take the breakfast. We planned not to eat much but the food was so good we had to break the plan.
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I got bacon, sausage, onsen tamago (poached egg), and made maguro tataki don (minced tuna rice bowl).
My partner couldn't help but ate a lot of mochi dango topped with kinako powder.
After breakfast, you would probably think we'll be preparing to checkout and roam around but we slept again til checkout time.
It was a fun birthday. It was so laid back which was what I like. At this age, I just want to be stress-free. I enjoyed the views and the private bath the most. I forgot to try the hotel's onsen because of the private bath. Probably next time, if there is. It was an expensive treat but it's all worth it. I even wished that my house would be like the hotel room. đ
In my next blog, I'll share more about Atami and how I celebrated my actual day. đ
Thanks for reading!
See you around! ăăăăăŸăăïŒ
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.