Hello all. I will be in Japan for three weeks in July this year. We will of cause be visiting Osaka and Tokyo and probably Kyoto.

However, for up to one week, we would like to stay in a romantic coastal town somewhere between Tokyo and Osaka.

Can anyone suggest some places here? I don't mind which coast. But not a great big city. Somewhere with lovely beaches maybe, or cliffs dropping into the sea. Maybe we could go cycling there, swimming, or just walking and relaxing.

I'm sure there must be some stunning places in that part of Japan. I know there are great coastlines in the south of the country, but we don't really want to travel outside of this region on this holiday.

Thanks!
Justme.

Izu peninsula comes to mind. Maybe too close to Tokyo? While beaches, especially the ones in Atami, will be extremely crowded with vacationers from Tokyo, Jogasaki or other places will be less crowded, I guess.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6310.html

I guess Izu is the obvious choice. Probably Ise area in southern Mie prefecture is another option you should consider.

By the way Justme, take zillions of pictures :D

Kamakura!

One of the old capitals of Japan, it's also in Kanagawa prefecture, although I don't think it counts as being on the Izu peninsula itself?

I suppose it will be packed with holiday-makers as well...

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys. I was amazed by some of the images I have seen so far on the Izu Peninsular, although I am a bit worried that it would be incredibly crowded in the summer month when I am there due to it’s proximity to Tokyo. The West Coast seems to be the nicest and most remote, but I read somewhere it can take 5 hours by road to cross due to extensive summer traffic jams.

I will continue to look at this and Kamakura. However, does anyone know of anything a little more off the beaten path, further from Osaka or Tokyo but still in between that has stunning scenery. Maybe on the Japan Sea side of the country?

Actually, I've been looking at Dogashima on Izu Pen and really love this place. There is a great hotel there called New Ginsui and looks fantastic.
http://www.dougashima-newginsui.jp/

About 42,000 yen a night from what I can tell, but the websites entirely in Japanese so it's so hard to know for sure.

Izu's only as crowded as you want it to be. As you progress clockwise along the peninsula from Atami, it becomes less accessible and therefore less crowded. The west coast is a lot less occupied. There are lots of cliffs there, too. This picture was taken from a cliffside onsen somewhere in Izu...it's been so long I forget where it was.

http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/1807779/from-cliffside-spring.jpg

That said, even Atami is a great place to go. I like Izu a lot.

However, does anyone know of anything a little more off the beaten path, further from Osaka or Tokyo but still in between that has stunning scenery. Maybe on the Japan Sea side of the country?

I have heard a little bit about Tottori-ken. Apparently the sand dunes are nice scenery... but I can't confirm that for you myself.

The two places I know on the Japan Sea side that have stunning scenery are places that I wouldn't consider terribly romantic.

Amanohashidate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanohashidate) is a long strip of land stretching across a bay in far northwestern Kyoto prefecture. It's pretty cool to see, but I don't know if it's worth the trip.

Toujinbou (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tojimbo), a series of cliffs on the Japan Sea shore near Fukui. It's beautiful, but in a bleak sort of way.