Less than an hour by shinkansen from Tokyo, touristy Atami is no one's idea of a quiet little getaway. From there down to the tip, Shimoda -- of Black Ship Festival fame -- this eastern side of the Izu Peninsula is the busy, developed one. This is where you go to check out such cultural hot spots as Atagawa's Banana and Crocodile Park, which, if you're talking fruit-and-reptile theme parks, is in a class of its own.

But the quieter, western side of this peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture is much more attractive and still relatively unspoiled. And along this coast, probably the prettiest section is around the town of Dogashima.

Upon arriving in Dogashima, there are worse ways of spending 20 minutes of your time and 750 yen of your hard-earned cash than by hopping on one of the many excursion craft. The coast here is rugged and scenic, and boats offer the best way of appreciating its arrangement of headlands, islands and beaches set against a lush green backdrop. As is often the case with such trips, the recorded commentary sees to it that you can't sit and enjoy the scenery in peace, but are instead bombarded with a barrage of information, directed, apparently, at those with an undying thirst for details. Not a rock raises its head above water, but it is dutifully logged and named.