The is a large mountainous
peninsulaA peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
with deeply indented coasts to the west of Tokyo on the
Pacific coastThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
of the island of
Honshūis the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
,
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Formerly the eponymous
Izu Provincewas a province of Japan in the area of Shizuoka Prefecture. Izu bordered on Sagami and Suruga Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .The mainland portion of Izu Province, comprising the Izu Peninsula is today the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture and the Izu Islands are now part of...
, Izu peninsula is now a part of
Shizuoka Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...
. The peninsula has an area of 1,421.24 km² and its estimated population in 2005 was 473,942 persons.
Geology
Tectonically, the Izu peninsula results from the Philippine Sea Plate colliding with the
Okhotsk PlateThe Okhotsk Plate is a tectonic plate covering the Sea of Okhotsk, the Kamchatka Peninsula, Sakhalin Island and Tōhoku and Hokkaidō in Japan. It was formerly considered a part of the North American Plate, but recent studies indicate that it is an independent plate, bounded on the north by the...
at the
Nankai TroughThe Nankai Trough is a submarine trough located south of Japan's island of Honshū, extending approximately 900 km offshore. In plate tectonics, the Nankai Trough marks a subduction zone that is caused by subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath Japan, part of the Eurasian plate...
. The Philippine Sea Plate, the
Amurian PlateThe Amurian Plate is a proposed continental tectonic plate covering Manchuria, the Korean Peninsula, Western Japan, and Primorsky Krai...
, and the
Okhotsk PlateThe Okhotsk Plate is a tectonic plate covering the Sea of Okhotsk, the Kamchatka Peninsula, Sakhalin Island and Tōhoku and Hokkaidō in Japan. It was formerly considered a part of the North American Plate, but recent studies indicate that it is an independent plate, bounded on the north by the...
meet at
Mount Fujiis the highest mountain in Japan at . An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and...
.
The southern portion of the peninsula is composed largely of
brecciaBreccia is a rock composed of broken fragments of minerals or rock cemented together by a fine-grained matrix, that can be either similar to or different from the composition of the fragments....
, and the central and northern portions consist of numerous highly eroded
volcano2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
s. The Amagi Mountain Range dominates the center of the peninsula with
Mount Amagiis a range of volcanic mountains in central Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, forming the border between Izu City and Higashi-Izu Town. It is also referred to as the ....
(1406 m) and Mount Atami (773 m) in the east and Mount Daruma (982 m) in the west, with the eastern and western portions of the range extending underwater into
Sagami BaySagami Bay , also known as the Sagami Gulf or Sagami Sea, lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshū, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while the...
and
Suruga BaySuruga Bay is a bay on the Pacific coast of Honshū in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is situated north of an imaginary line joining Omaezaki Point and Irōzaki Point at the tip of the Izu Peninsula and surrounded by Honshū to the southwest and west and the Izu Peninsula to the east.-Geology:Suruga...
. The peninsula's major river, the
Kano RiverThe is a 1st class river in Shizuoka Prefecture of cenral Japan. It is 46 km long and has a watershed of 853 km².The Kano River rises from Mount Amagi in central Izu Peninsula and follows a generally northern path into Suruga Bay at Numazu. The Izu Peninsula is characterized by heavy...
in the north, flows through a
grabenIn geology, a graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults. Graben is German for ditch. Graben is used for both the singular and plural....
valley created by plate tectonics.
As a result of its underlying geology, the peninsula is prone to frequent
earthquake swarmEarthquake swarms are events where a local area experiences sequences of many earthquakes striking in a relatively short period of time. The length of time used to define the swarm itself varies, but the United States Geological Survey points out that an event may be on the order of days, weeks, or...
s and
tsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s, and it abounds in
hot springsHot Springs may refer to:* Hot Springs, Arkansas** Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas*Hot Springs, California**Hot Springs, Lassen County, California**Hot Springs, Modoc County, California**Hot Springs, Placer County, California...
.
Administration
All of Izu Peninsula is within
Shizuoka Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...
. It is divided administratively into several cities and towns:
- Atami
is a city located in the eastern end of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2010, the city has an estimated population of 39,755 and a population density of 645 people per km². The total area is 61.56 km².-Geography:...
- Itō
is a city located on the eastern shore of the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 71,400 and the density of 578 persons per km². The total area was...
- Izu
is a city located in central Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka, Japan. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 35,397 and the density of 97.3 persons per km². The total area as 363.97 km².-Geography:...
- Izunokuni
is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 49,381 and a population density of 521 persons per km². The total area was 94.71 km².-Geography:...
- Mishima
is a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 2009, the city has an estimated population of 112,078 and a population density of 1,800 persons per km². The total area is 62.13 km²...
- Shimoda
is a city and port in Shizuoka, Japan.As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 25,054 and a population density of 242 persons per square kilometer...
- Kamo District
is a district located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.The district name is very ancient, and is mentioned in the Engishiki records. Kamo District was one of the original districts of Izu Province, having been separated from Suruga Province along with Tagata District in the cadastral reform of 680 AD...
- Higashiizuis a town located in Kamo District, Shizuoka, Japan. As of 2009, the town has an estimated population of 14,562 and a density of 187 persons per km². The total area is 77.83 km².-Geography:...
- Kamo District - Kawazu
is a town located on the east coast of Izu Peninsula in Kamo District, Shizuoka, Japan. As of February 2009, the town has an estimated population of 8,074 and a density of 80.1 persons per km². The total area is 100.79 km²...
- Kamo District - Matsuzaki
is a town located in on the southwest coast of Izu Peninsula in Kamo District, Shizuoka, Japan.As of February 2009, the town has an estimated population of 7,709 and a density of 90.4 persons per km². The total area is 85.23 km². Sakuramochi is a noted local speciality.-Geography:Matsuzaki is...
- Kamo District - Minamiizu
is a town located at the southern tip of Izu Peninsula in Kamo District, Shizuoka, Japan. As of February 2009, the town has an estimated population of 9,637 and a density of 87.1 persons per km². The total area is 110.58 km².-Geography:...
- Kamo District - Nishiizu
is a town located in Kamo District, Shizuoka, Japan. As of 2009, the town has an estimated population of 9,720 and a density of 92.1 persons per km². The total area is 105.52 km².-Geography:...
Economics
A popular resort region for tourists from the
Kantō regionThe is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
, the Izu peninsula is primarily known for
onsenAn is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...
hot spring resorts in Atami,
Shuzenjiis a city located in central Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka, Japan. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 35,397 and the density of 97.3 persons per km². The total area as 363.97 km².-Geography:...
, and Itō. The peninsula abuts
Mount Fujiis the highest mountain in Japan at . An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and...
and is a part of
Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Parkis a national park in Yamanashi, Shizuoka, and Kanagawa Prefectures, and western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It consists of Mount Fuji, Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, the Izu Peninsula, and the Izu Islands....
. The area is also popular for sea bathing, surfing, golfing and motorcycle touring.
Aside from tourism, agriculture and fishing are the mainstays of the local economy. Izu is one of the biggest producers of
wasabi, also known as Japanese horseradish, is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages, horseradish, and mustard. Its root is used as a condiment and has an extremely strong flavor. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard rather than the capsaicin in a chili pepper,...
in Japan, and the local cuisine offers dishes flavored with
wasabi.
Railway
The Izu peninsula is easily accessible from Tokyo and points west via the
Tōkaidō Shinkansen, which has stations in both Atami in the northeast and
Mishimais a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 2009, the city has an estimated population of 112,078 and a population density of 1,800 persons per km². The total area is 62.13 km²...
in the northwest. JR
Itō Line and the
Izu Kyūkō LineThe is a privately owned railway line of Izukyū Corporation in Shizuoka Prefecture, JapanThe line runs along the eastern coast of the Izu Peninsula, a tourist district noted for its numerous hot spring resorts and golf courses, between Itō Station in Itō and Izukyū-Shimoda Station in Shimoda...
provides service along the east coast of the peninsula to Shimoda.
Central Izu is served by the Sunzu Line as far as Shuzenji. The west coast of the peninsula is less developed, and has no train service.
Roadway
Izu Peninsula is served by numerous expressways. By car, it is 103.3 km from the Yōga Interchange (用賀インター
Yōga Intā) on the Tokyo end of the
Tōmei ExpresswayThe is a national expressway on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. It is a part of Asian Highway Network -Naming:The word Tōmei is an acronym consisting of two kanji characters...
to Numazu.
To get to the eastern side, a branch at
Atsugiis a city located in central Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 225,622 and a population density of 2,410 persons per km². The total area was 93.83 km²...
leads to the
Odawara-Atsugi RoadThe is a 4-laned toll road in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is owned and managed by Central Nippon Expressway Company.-Overview:Officially the road is designated as National Route 271...
, which continues past
Odawarais a city located in western Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 198,466 with a population density of 1,740 persons per km² . The total area was .-Geography:...
to Yugawara,
Atamiis a city located in the eastern end of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2010, the city has an estimated population of 39,755 and a population density of 645 people per km². The total area is 61.56 km².-Geography:...
, and Shimoda. Izu Peninsula is also served by Japan National Route 135, Japan National Route 136, and Japan National Route 414.
The
Odakyu Electric Railway, or OER, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan best known for its Romancecar series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone....
runs local bus services from Odawara and Hakone, and there is an extensive internal bus network.