Bentenjima is a mass formed by the cooling of muddy, soft lava that flowed to the seabed, but due to the uplift, you can now walk around the ground. In addition, a large amount of volcanic ash and pumice stones were emitted, creating a thick layer. People have been making good use of it. After visiting the Izu stone quarry, let's walk around the town and look for the ingenuity of our predecessors. At the visitor center, which is in an old historic house with “sea cucumber walls” and plaster paintings painted with trowels, turban and coral fossils are displayed. They are solid evidence that Izu was once submarine volcanoes in the warm sea.
| ｜Area | Western Izu Area (Matsuzaki Town) |
| ｜Geological Period | Ejecta of submarine volcanoes that erupted on the shallow seabed about 10 million ~ 2 million years ago |
| ｜Itinerary | "Izu Matsuzakiso" Parking Lot→ Bentenjima → <car transfer >→ Muroiwado Cave→ < car transfer>→ Izu Chohachi Museum Parking Lot→ walking around the town with "Sea Cucumber Walls"→ Matsuzaki Visitor Center→Meiji-era shop tour→ Izu Chohachi Museum of Art |
| ｜Distance | Approx. 2km (Cumulative elevation 100m) |
| ｜Duration | Approx. 150 minutes (including car transfer of 10 min.) |
| ｜Level | Hiking |
| ｜Meeting Point | "Izu Matsuzakiso" Parking Lot (Reception 20 minutes before departure) <MAP> |
| ｜Ending Point | Chohachi Museum of Art in Izu <MAP> |
| ｜Participation Fee | Adults (junior high school students and older): 3,500 yen Elementary school children: 1,750 yen |
| ｜Number of Participants | 2 to about 10 people |
| ｜Reservation | Please make a reservation at least one week in advance. |
| ｜What to Wear/ bring | Comfortable clothing, footwear (no sandals), hats, drinks, etc. |
| ｜Notes | Please travel by your vehicle. (Please follow the guide vehicle.) The tour will be operated in case of light rain, but in case of stormy weather it will be cancelled. Please read about the cancellation policy. |
| ｜How to Apply | Please apply from the "Reservation Form" at the bottom of the page. |
Izu Matsuzakiso
A seaside lodging near Bentenjima. Free parking is available at a location nearby.
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Bentenjima
On the promenade around the island, which is about 200 meters in circumference, you can see geological formations from the time when the Izu Peninsula was a group of submarine volcanoes. The eruption occurred in the sea, and you can see the powerful craggy cliffs that cooled sharply and shattered into pieces.
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Muroiwado Cave
Over a long period of time, a large amount of volcanic ash that had accumulated on the seabed turned into a mass of tuff. This is the remains of a quarry where people quarried out stones. They were quarried and used under the name of "Izu stone" until the 1939s.
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Nakase Residence (Matsuzaki Visitor Center)
It used to be a kimono shop of the wealthy merchant "Yoda family" built in 1891. There still remain many storehouses, and one of them is used as the "Matsuzaki Visitor Center," where fossils and rocks collected in the Matsuzaki area are exhibited.
