Beach Hopping

Travelling off the beaten track is a risky venture, even more so when you have no real idea of where you're going. Today, we fancied getting away from the relentless ugliness of Kawasaki, and off to somewhere a bit more rural. A random recommendation in an interview in this magazine had us hot-footing it over to Zushi, where apparently, the Elite of Tokyo (including your friend and mine, Shintaro Ishihara) make their homes...

There was something derelict about that place, despite the obvious wealth of the inhabitants. The whole estate, for want of a better word, felt like the money had been made decades ago, now a slow decay encroached. There were exceptions of course, the Peach palace being but one.

Spotting rich folk wasn't our plan though - we were after forests & beaches. We found the latter in abundance, the former was just in the distance.

The problem was that, there not being a glut of tourist attractions in Zushi, our trusty Lonely Planet Guide had no information about the place. Consequently, the day has been a gentle wander through some sleepy beach towns.


We may be in Asia, but it seems unnaturally warm for November. This time of year makes us yearn for home, especially when we know that back in England, it is actually cold, wet and miserable - leaves are changing colour and it feels like winter. Last December, whilst I wrote a blog entry wearing a hat, scarf and gloves (and being able to see my breath) I was desperate for these temperatures. At least I've managed to retain that Englishness of complaining about the weather.