Shimoda is a legendary place in Japan. Perry Expedition once opened the door of modernization for Japan from here, the whistle blew from black steamships led by Perry roused Japanese people from the dream of old peaceful era. I had read books about history of Japan, watched Japanese epic historical dramas in the past, Shimoda definitely was the main stage for many important historical events, before I arrived in Shimoda I already had many intense fantasies about this place.

My journey started from Atami, via a route with stunning beautiful scenery of sea. A friend told me that Atami was once a popular sightseeing area 40 years ago, newly married couples often chose Atami as the destination for their honeymoon in the past. However, these days people in Japan more wish to visit Okinawa or overseas which led to a declination of popularity for Atami. Even so, through the efforts made by the locals, Atami now remains as a popular destination for foreign travelers from Asia and other regions.
When reaching Shimoda, I still soaked in trance, pondering how the old Shimoda had changed since then. I was with my two Japanese friends, one of them asked somebody which road is the main road of Shimoda, I suddenly realized that we already reached Shimoda. The scenery of the town hasn’t change much, the road is narrow as the old time, no wonder my friend had to ask which road is the main road of Shimoda.
Because we were on a tight schedule, we drove trough Shimoda quickly without having a detailed tour, however we had a great meal of delicious golden-eye sea bream at here. There is a well-known golden eye sea bream restaurant called “Ichiba no Shokudo, Kinmetei”, we drove right to the restaurant.

There was a signboard outside the restaurant which contained both photos and text introductions. We entered the restaurant after deciding what to order, you have to insert cash into the vendor machine and push the button on to order.

Because I am not used to eat raw fish, I ordered a dish called Kyokujo Kinme Hoshiyaki which is recommended by the restaurant and it taste great. The restaurant has a outdoor area where customers can enjoy their meals outdoor, there were already many people sitting ourdoor, having there meals while enjoying the beautiful view. We chose a table and sit down, let the sea breeze bathing our face, there is fish jumped out of the surface of the sea sometimes, all of these made me feel comfort and refreshed.

After a while, the meals we ordered were ready, we have to pick up the meals by ourselves. The fish taste tender, the Miso soup was in rich flavor, the Sashimi taste fresh even to a person like me who is not used to eat raw food. My Japanese friends told me there was no need to eat them all if I don’t like to eat raw fish, but I just like the sashimi and ate them all. This is the most delicious meals I had since I came to Japan, I would like to revisit Kinmetei sometimes.    

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