It’s been more than a week since Instagram deactivated my account (@sparkinordinary) all of a sudden🥲 I have reported the incident twice and unfortunately neither of them got any decent follow-up emails. So I’m letting it go, I guess. I’m still grateful that it happened right after I finished all of my collaboration posts. I no longer take Instagram seriously since years ago, yet this still brought me to a certain level of disappointment. Therefore, I think I’m not gonna as active as before in Instagram even after I make another account.
The last time I scrolled through my Instagram, I saw bunch of people were going to the trendy yet retro seaside resort in the southwest of Tokyo, Shizuoka Prefecture, Atami. Other than famous for its onsen and fresh seafood, all along the riverside of Itogawa, also blooms Atamizakura, the first blooming sakura in Japan. You can usually enjoy sakura in March, but here it even bloomed since the end of January this year! Obviously I heard them calling for me too👀 so I went there for a day trip last Saturday with my boyfriend. The weather forecast said that it was gonna be raining from 14:00, but we truly feel blessed as it wasn’t until right in the evening when we have decided to go home😌
We started off from Akabane station, riding Ueno-Tokyo line all the way to Atami. It was around 2,300¥ one way for around 2 hours. But I think it will be cheaper to take Odakyu line from Shinjuku, next time I’d definitely gonna use this route. On the way we could see the charms of the sea right from the train, especially in Nebugawa station in which you get off was a straight view to the ocean. Once we arrived, we were welcomed by two lively shotengai, Japanese local markets street.
We dived our way in to search for lunch first! We encountered soba and tempura set display that looked super delicious and decided to give it a shot. It was a small, seems like a family owned restaurant, which the dishes taste, absolutely did not betray our expectation🤤 It was the best meal of the day!🍜🍤
We continued our journey roaming around the street and tried out some snacks like awabi, kamaboko, coffee, cookies and also fish burger! Ah, I miss them already…😋 With satisfied stomach, we finally were heading to the main spot, Itogawa! 15~20 minutes walk from Atami Station, we really enjoyed the retro vibe of the city!
The excitement was real. I mean, look at these…🌸
The surroundings were so quiet and peaceful. Just a few of people strolling around admiring these beauties. You definitely indulge yourself to the best vibe. 10/10 recommended!⭐️
We also spotted the heron!
Itogawa stream meanders down to the ocean. At the end of our walk alongside the river, we enjoyed the ocean that really refreshed our mind. That was exactly what we needed! The rare combination of sakura and ocean, blew my mind until this day. The feelings were beyond pleasant!🥰
Another highlight of the day, is when we saw some people fed the seagulls! There were bunch of them and pigeons too. It was one of my dreams to be surrounded by birds😂 so naturally, we followed the act and went straight to konbini to buy them some snacks! And the magic happened until the rest of the day. The seagulls are surprisingly cautious while pigeons being all YOLO, perched on our hands and ate most the treats😅
The wind blew stronger bringing the rain clouds. It started to drizzle. Both of the people and birds were going home one by one. Including us, we wrapped our trip with such happy hearts💛
📸 Gitta Ayu 