Shimoda

Shimoda is a town on the south-eastern end of the Izu Peninsula. To be honest, the only reason we planned to stop here was that I had spotted a cute coffee shop on Google Maps. As it turns out though, Shimoda has a rather huge claim to fame as being the first port town in Japan opened to trade with the United States. I was left feeling rather bemused by Shimoda. Commodore Matthew Perry sailed in with his steam-powered black ships and essentially threatened Japan into opening its borders in 1854. But the town seems to have embraced this part of its history rather wholeheartedly - there’s a “Perry Road”, a bust of the man, and other memorials in recognition of this significant event. Our first sign of this was at the roadside station or “michi-no-eki” which was flying two flags of Japan and America. The Kaikoku Shimoda Minato ("Kaikoku" or 開国, which means opening the country) Nearby there was a ship cruising in the harbour, named the Susquehanna after the USS Susquehanna, one of the…