Yugawara, Recap'd

There's a decent amount of movement going on down in Yugawara with my recent move into a ryokan, a surprising influx of international business folx, and the Rotary Club's ongoing community activities there. Sorta feels like things are afoot, which is an exciting feeling to have in a relatively sleepy town.

So as I'm going through my catalogue of op-ed articles, cultural recommendations, and travel itineraries over on Substack looking for which ones to redistribute on Linkedin, Yugawara felt like a good one because of all that business-ish activity that I think I can feel.

So take a read through below to get a feel for the area and keep it in the back of your head in case you find yourself with a weekend with not much to do. Could come in handy for a good time and a new experience.

Yugawara. Where the surf gracefully meets the mountains. Where Kanagawa leisurely bleeds into Shizuoka. Where the onsen water flows in abundance. Where I often call home. How could I not talk about this place?

It’s a tiny, quiet town about an hour southwest of Tokyo by bullet train and about 2 by local that’s been bubbling away for at least 1,100 years. Back then it was established enough to be featured in the Manyo’shu, but these days it rarely makes headlines. Hell, I only know about it because I stumbled across it serendipitously while searching for farms I could work on the weekends at the start of the pandemic.

Its got its charm, for me at least, and while a whole lot of things boil down to perspective at the end of the day, one thing that’s very hard to deny about this area is that it is an outdoors lovers dream. Its main attractions are hiking, climbing, surfing, scuba, and camping, all of which I have reveled in over the 3+ years I’ve had my place down there.

Its also got a slew of high-class hotels, ryokan, and onsen, and a very nice variety of restaurants. If its nightlife yr looking for then you’ll probably be relatively disappointed, but its also got its fair share of drinking establishments.

Anyway, I could probably drone on about it, but instead of anecdotes why don’t we jump into the meat of it and check out some recommendations!

The Accommodation: Treeside

I’m really picky about accommodations not because I am picky - quite the opposite - but because all of you are picky. Jeez. The things I’ve had friends, family, and clients alike complain about over the years. But, I mean, I guess it’s good, at least I once again was able to expand my hassle-avoiding toolkit by learning what to look out for.

Which brings us to Treeside. It is a 5 minute walk to the station, has quite modern and attractive rooms, has a cafe on one side of the first floor and my favorite pizza place on the other side, a sound-proofed studio in the basement, and a rooftop balcony complete with barbecue set.

Sound good? It is. Book it.

There's a Whole Lot More

I could reformat the entirety of the original release, but that would take some time for not so much return, so instead, just click through the link below for further recommendations like restaurants, bars, and activities.