Tokyo seemed to have skipped the rainy season and we have reached summery 30 degrees days toward the end of last week🥵.
Saying that, last Sunday was a bit drizzly in the early afternoon and not the ideal weather to be heading to beachside, but it was a fitting weather to see some hydrangea which has been blossoming all over.
We headed over to 横須賀 (Yokosuka) in Kanagawa prefecture to have lunch by the ocean and enjoy some hydrangea.
About Hydrangea
紫陽花(ajisai or hydrangea) makes tsuyu (rainy season) beautiful in Japan.
This year, hydrangea are blossoming nearly 2 weeks early in some parts of Japan but in general, hydrangea season is from June to July.
The flower’s colour range from white, pink, purple and blue. Interestingly, the color of the flower changes depending on the soil’s alkaline content so hydrangea with blue flowers one year, can blossom with pink hydrangea on another year.
About Yokosuka
Yokosuka is along Tokyo Bay, approximately half an hour away from Yokohama by train.
We decided to visit Yokosuka as my colleagues mentioned about this art cafe along the beach and we heard that there are places to enjoy hydrangea.
How to get to Yokosuka from Tokyo
The main train lines that connect Tokyo to Yokosuka are Asakusa and Keikyu Main train lines. We caught Asakusa train line which has some express trains to make the journey a bit quicker (but door to door to the cafe took us 1 1/2 hours).
To get to the art cafe called かねよ食堂 (Kaneyo shokudo or in English called Kaneyo Art Cafe), we transferred to the local line and got off at 馬堀海岸駅(Maborikaigan station) and walked 25 minutes to the cafe.
First, lunch by the ocean
Kaneyo Art Cafe has indoor, balcony and covered terrace area and we dined in the covered terrace area with the ocean view.
When it’s sunny, it looks like we can dine with the sand between our toes; how lovely!
It was lightly showering when we had lunch at Kaneyo Art Cafe but it felt good to be near the ocean and the expansive view without high rise buildings towering over us.
Kaneyo Art Cafe offered some lunch set or a la carte menu and I selected this tuna and local vegetable soup lunch set that came with cold corn soup, focaccia and cinnamon jelly for dessert.
Apparently the owner fish for the restaurant so we know the seafood’s fresh here!
The chilled out beach vibe with some homemade like building had a comfortable vibe to enjoy our weekend lunch.
Kaneyo Art Center
Opening hour: Closed Monday, Tues – Thur 10:30AM–5PM, Fri-Sun 10:30AM–9PM
Website: art-onthebeach.com
Address: 1 Chome-6-4 Hashirimizu, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-0811
After our lunch, we walked 20minutes walk east which led us to 観音崎公演 (Kannonzaki Park).
Note: along the way, there was a Mount Fuji viewing spot. As it was overcast, we only saw the tip of Mount Fuji was but surprised how close it looked!
About 観音崎公園(Kannonzaki Park)
Kannonzaki Park is a large park overlooking Tokyo Bay with Yokosuka Museum of Art, nature walks, beach, kids play area and some navy historical sites. We didn’t see it but the first western style lighthouse in Japan is within this park too!
By the time we arrived at Kannonzaki Park, the sun was out and was getting humid but within the shade of trees in the park, we stayed cool and enjoyed some nature walk.
In fact, too much nature as some may feel as there were warning signs about poisonous snakes and hornets but we saw a couple of adorable squirrels that flew across from branch to another meters above our head.
We saw stunning pathways of hydrangea, open field, ocean and sone fun facts about the park along the way.
Kannonzaki Park
Website:https://www.kanagawaparks.com/kannon/
Address: 4-1262 Kamoi, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-0813
I had bookmarked the cafe for over a year and we wanted to see some hydrangea so we visited the tip of Yokosuka. From our area in Tokyo, it was a good day trip spot where we felt like we had a bit of a sea change for a refresh after being at home day in and out.
When you mention Yokosuka, I think most people think about Verny Park and Mikasa Park near the US Navy port. We didn’t visit the main Yokosuka area this trip so, I guess we have another reason to visit the area again!
Hope you have a safe weekend.
Native Expat 