![30 April 2005 6:50 PM. Shooting out the window, and forgetting to slide the screen out of the way, makes for some pleasing lighting effects in this shot looking due north from Ito towards Atami and Tokyo [almost 100 kilometers/60 miles away].](../02jan09/images/0517-_g5z9379.jpg "30 April 2005 6:50 PM. Shooting out the window, and forgetting to slide the screen out of the way, makes for some pleasing lighting effects in this shot looking due north from Ito towards Atami and Tokyo [almost 100 kilometers/60 miles away].")
![Sunday, 18 Mar 2007 5:26 AM JST: Looking a little north of due east over the southern part of Ito city and Sagami Bay at sunrise. The distant land masses are the Miura and Boso peninsulas. The Izu islands lie further to the south [right]. Sagami Bay gets warm water from the "Kuroshio" [black current] as well as colder water from intrusions of the Oyashio current, giving rise to very high biodiversity.](../02jan09/images/0711-_g5z4249.jpg "Sunday, 18 Mar 2007 5:26 AM JST: Looking a little north of due east over the southern part of Ito city and Sagami Bay at sunrise. The distant land masses are the Miura and Boso peninsulas. The Izu islands lie further to the south [right]. Sagami Bay gets warm water from the \"Kuroshio\" [black current] as well as colder water from intrusions of the Oyashio current, giving rise to very high biodiversity.")
![27 July 2008 7:01 PM. On this [eastern] side of the Izu Peninsula, we don’t get to see the sun setting over Suruga Bay, which lies between the west coast of the peninsula and the mainland. But we still get some great light as the sun disappears over the mountains. And of course, if you are a morning person, you can enjoy the sun rising out of the sea.](../02jan09/images/0830-_r3z7961-7975_tm1.jpg "27 July 2008 7:01 PM. On this [eastern] side of the Izu Peninsula, we don’t get to see the sun setting over Suruga Bay, which lies between the west coast of the peninsula and the mainland. But we still get some great light as the sun disappears over the mountains. And of course, if you are a morning person, you can enjoy the sun rising out of the sea.")
![28 July 2008 7:05 PM. This is a so-called "HDR" [high dynamic range] image, where several different exposures of the exact same scene are composited to allow the reproduction of tonal levels that would exceed the dynamic range [dark-to-light] of a single-shot photo.](../02jan09/images/0831-_r3z8031-8035_tm1.jpg "28 July 2008 7:05 PM. This is a so-called \"HDR\" [high dynamic range] image, where several different exposures of the exact same scene are composited to allow the reproduction of tonal levels that would exceed the dynamic range [dark-to-light] of a single-shot photo.")
![02 Jan 2009 8:16 AM JST: A typical Winter morning in Izu. I like the way this area of Japan slowly slides into Winter. The weather gets gradually cooler and drier. With the summer humidity gone, the sky and sea turn blue and visibility improves dramatically. Great conditions for landscape photography, sightseeing, and outdoor activities. This morning’s temperature is about 6 degrees Centigrade [divided by 5, times 9, plus 32 = about 42-43 degrees F.]](../02jan09/images/0901-_r3z1258-1270sub.jpg "02 Jan 2009 8:16 AM JST: A typical Winter morning in Izu. I like the way this area of Japan slowly slides into Winter. The weather gets gradually cooler and drier. With the summer humidity gone, the sky and sea turn blue and visibility improves dramatically. Great conditions for landscape photography, sightseeing, and outdoor activities. This morning’s temperature is about 6 degrees Centigrade [divided by 5, times 9, plus 32 = about 42-43 degrees F.]")
02 Jan 2009: views of the city of Ito, Shizuoka-ken, Japan [photos from various dates - see photo captions]
What a magnificent morning here in Ito, on the Izu Penninsula a couple hours southwest of Tokyo. It is one of those calm winter mornings where some kind of delicate balance is maintained between the crisp air and the brilliant sunshine. Standing in the sun, you almost forget it is Winter. Sun goes behind a cloud - all of a sudden, you're cold.
As soon as I got up [OK, so I am still on New Year's break and I slept in a bit] I stepped out onto the fire stairs and shot a panorama looking northeast, in the general direction of Atami and an invisible Tokyo over the horizon [click on the rightmost thumbnail image below to view].
Yeah, the water and sky are really that blue.
I thought I would share some other views of the city of Ito from pretty much the same spot, but from various angles and various times of day.
See the individual image captions for more information about each photo.
Where is Ito?
Ito is located in the dead center of the map below, in a notch halfway down the eastern side of the Izu peninsula. Use the zoom controls to get closer look.