Izu Peninsula: Follow Perry's Black Ships to Japan's best beaches

Let’s be honest -- travel in Japan can often focus too much on tradition and not enough on taking it easy.

Faced with a litany of temples, tea ceremonies and tatami mat-covered rooms, sometimes you just want to keep it simple and chill out. Sun, surf, sand ... and maybe a kip in a queen-size bed.

Mabo, a 35-year-old hedonist, knows the perfect place for that. He spends his summers in Shimoda, a beach town on the tip of Japan’s Izu Peninsula.

“People come here from Tokyo because there’s no nature there,” he says, a floppy burlap hat shading his deeply tanned face. “Very blue sea, many good fish.”

For those of us who can’t pass the summer in Shimoda like Mabo, spending a weekend (or weekends) there is a solid plan B.

Year-round draw

Less than three hours by train, and around four hours by car (depending on traffic), Shimoda’s a favorite for anyone looking to escape Tokyo’s crowds, concrete and crushing heat.

It’s just as alluring in early fall, when the beaches empty out and the air’s still warm.

History buffs will surely recognize Shimoda by name. That persistent American, Commodore Matthew C. Perry, sailed into this port in the mid-19th century after forcing Japan to end its 250-year-long period of isolation. Statues, plaques and replicas of Perry’s feared “Black Ships” pay tribute to that time.

There’s even the pretty Perry Road, located by a river with traditional buildings, cafés, restaurants and shops.

But with beautiful beaches (Tatadohama, Maisohama and Ohama are some of the names), secret coves and a sand-ski hill to explore, leaving the coast isn’t always top priority.

Beach bums

White stuff of the warmer variety makes going downhill a blast in Shimoda.

Groups of shirtless American guys in designer sunglasses toss around footballs on the hot sand, swigging from cans of cold Asahi beer. Japanese surfers perform elaborate, prolonged stretching routines before heading out to tackle the waves.

Others emerge from the sea, slick as seals in their black wetsuits, and head for home with their boards atop their heads.

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“I love surfing, I love sea,” says Tomoko Mori, a mother-of-three who moved here from Tokyo a few years ago.

Shimoda’s laid-back lifestyle is its big draw. It’s also one of those places that’s popular, but not too popular.

"Japanese really undervalue their beaches,” says Mike Faller, the owner of White Beach Hotel. “I think the Izu Peninsula, outside of Okinawa, has the best beaches in Japan.”