Hayama is a small town on the sea with a reputation for being quietly rich. For more than a century, Hayama has been a retreat for Tokyo's elite, and the imperial family still has a villa on the shore, a simple wooden house in a pine grove, guarded and not open to visitors. Thirty thousand people live here, and the coast road runs straight through the middle of the town, along the cliffs and beaches, with yachts in the harbour and pines clinging to rocks.
The road is Route 134, the Shonan coast road, and the stretch between Zushi and Hayama is its prettiest, with the sea close on one side and low wooded hills on the other. The surface is good, the bends are gentle, and the pace is slow, thanks to traffic lights and a limit that does not allow for much speed. On weekends in summer, the road is jammed with cars, surfers and cyclists, and a ride along it can take twice as long as expected. A weekday morning or a winter dawn is a different experience.
Sunset is the best moment. Mount Fuji, which is visible across the bay on clear days, appears as a dark silhouette against the red sky, and the beaches fill with people who have come to watch. The Morito coast and the beaches of Isshiki are especially good, and small cafes along the shore serve coffee and cake to the sound of the waves. In winter, the air is cold and clear and Fuji appears with a white cap, while in summer, haze and humidity often hide it.
Food in Hayama has a good reputation. The town is known for its beef, raised locally and served in a few restaurants, and for a café culture that has grown up around the beach. The Miura peninsula as a whole is famous for fresh seafood, tuna in particular, and for its radishes and cabbages, grown in fields on the plateau behind. Fuel is available in Hayama, but the choice is wider in Zushi, two or three kilometres away, which has sixty thousand people. In busy periods, parking is difficult, so be prepared to circle. The salt air is hard on chains and metal, and a rinse after a coastal ride is good practice.