Japan
Shimoda
Perry's black ships forced Japan open here; now it's white sand and sleepy surf.
Commodore Perry sailed his black warships into this harbour in 1854 and Japan was never the same. Now Shimoda moves at a pace Perry would not recognise — white sand beaches doze beneath headlands, surfers drift in clean Pacific swell, and the old treaty port feels more like a fishing village that happens to have changed history.
Shimoda occupies the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula, where the Kuroshio Current brings warm water and a mild subtropical climate unusual for the Kantō region. The Ryōsenji temple, where the Treaty of Shimoda was signed between Japan and the United States in 1854, still stands near the harbour. Perry Road, a willow-lined canal path, connects the temple to the town centre. Shirahama Beach, with its 700-metre crescent of white sand, draws surfers and swimmers from Tokyo, three hours away by limited express. Shimoda's kinme-dai, golden-eye snapper caught in deep Pacific waters, is considered among the finest in Japan.
Couple
Shirahama Beach, the willow-lined Perry Road at dusk, and a kinme-dai dinner overlooking the harbour give Shimoda a romantic warmth that its historical weight doesn't suggest.
Family
The gentle surf at Shirahama, the Shimoda Aquarium, and the short walk along Perry Road make this a family beach destination with enough history to satisfy adults between swims.
Friends
Surfing, snorkelling, and a buzzing summer beach scene make Shimoda the Izu Peninsula's social hub. Golden-eye snapper dinners and harbour-side beers close out salt-crusted days.
- The first American consulate opened here in 1856 — Perry's black ships anchored in the bay and Japan changed forever.
- White sand beaches line the Izu coast, with surf breaks that draw Tokyo riders on summer weekends.
- Kinmedai golden-eye snapper, caught in the deep water offshore, is served as sashimi, simmered, and grilled — the local obsession.
- The town's Namako Wall district preserves plaster-and-tile merchant houses from the late Edo period.
Kinme-dai golden-eye snapper simmered whole in soy — Shimoda's pride on every menu.
Kusaya fermented fish — divisive, pungent, and utterly addictive to the initiated.
Alghero
Italy
Catalan spoken in Sardinian streets, coral divers returning to Gothic-arched harbour walls at dusk.
Key West
United States
Roosters crossing the street while the entire island gathers to applaud the sunset.
Essaouira
Morocco
Atlantic gales rattle shutters on a fortified port where Hendrix once jammed with Gnawa musicians.
Xochimilco
Mexico
Aztec floating gardens where flower-covered boats drift past mariachi bands on a thousand-year-old canal system.
Shirakawa-go
Japan
Thatched farmhouses steep as praying hands buried in snow up to the eaves.
Hirosaki
Japan
Apple orchards surrounding a moat where cherry blossoms form a pink floating carpet.
Kinosaki Onsen
Japan
Willow-lined canals and seven public baths where you wander in yukata and wooden clogs.
Hakone
Japan
Hot spring ryokans perched above a volcanic lake with Fuji framed in the window.