Shizuoka: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

Tokugawa Ieyasu, who founded the shogunate that ruled Japan for 250 years, spent his childhood and his last years in this city. The route goes from the temple where he studied, through the castle he retired to, to the shrine where he was first buried. The first half is on foot in town; for Kunozan drive to Nihondaira and take the ropeway. Allow most of a day.

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A short history of Shizuoka

In the Shizuoka area lies the Toro site, a farming village of the Yayoi period, where ancient rice fields were uncovered in the 1940s. In the Middle Ages the city was called Sunpu, and the provincial governors had their seat there. In 1607, after handing the title of shogun to his son, Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to Sunpu Castle, from where he continued to pull the strings until his death in 1616. In 1868, after the shogunate fell, the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, was sent here, and in that period the city received its present name. Former retainers of the shogun began growing tea in the area, and Shizuoka Prefecture now produces about 40 per cent of Japan's green tea.

The ten best sights in Shizuoka

1. 
   1

   Sunpu Castle Park

   Moats, rebuilt gates and the garden where Tokugawa Ieyasu retired; free to walk

2. 
   2

   East Gate and Tatsumi Turret

   Reconstructed wooden gate and corner turret, built with traditional joinery; small fee

3. 
   3

   Shizuoka Sengen Shrine

   Lacquered shrine halls at the foot of Mount Shizuhata, ten minutes from the castle

4. 
   4

   Rinzai-ji

   Zen temple of the Imagawa clan; the garden opens only on a few days a year

5. 
   5

   Toro Ruins and Museum

   A 2,000-year-old farming village with rebuilt huts and paddies; free outdoors

6. 
   6

   Serizawa Keisuke Art Museum

   Stencil-dyed textiles by a Shizuoka-born master, next to the Toro site

7. 
   7

   Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art

   Japanese landscapes and a whole wing of Rodin sculptures

8. 
   8

   Kunozan Toshogu

   Ieyasu's first tomb, a lacquered shrine above the sea; climb the steps or take the ropeway

9. 
   9

   Nihondaira Ropeway

   Five-minute cable car from the Nihondaira plateau down to Kunozan, with Fuji views on clear days

10. 
    10

    Miho no Matsubara

    Black-sand beach and pine grove with the classic view of Fuji across the bay

11. 
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    All ten on a map

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How we choose

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Shizuoka:

Free walking tours in Shizuoka

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Getting to Shizuoka and getting around

• Shizuoka Station · Shinkansen stop between Tokyo and Nagoya, about an hour from Tokyo; the castle park is a 15-minute walk
• Shimizu Station · JR station for the port, the fish market and the bus to Miho
• Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport · Small regional airport about 40 minutes west by car, mostly domestic and a few Asian flights

Cheap eats in Shizuoka

Shizuoka has its own oden: skewers simmered in a dark broth of beef stock and soy, then dusted at the table with fish powder and green seaweed. Black hanpen, a grey fishcake of ground sardine and mackerel, is the local star. The prefecture grows around 40% of Japan's green tea, so a cup comes with almost everything, and a quick lunch costs much less than in Tel Aviv.

• Chojiya · Tororo-jiru set with barley rice, about ¥2,000
• Kashi no Ichi · Tuna bowl at the port market, about ¥1,500-2,500
• Numazu Uogashi sushi · Quick sushi in the station, about ¥1,500-3,000
• Tendon Tenya · Tempura rice bowl, about ¥600-900
• Hakata Ramen Ikku · Pork-bone ramen, about ¥800-1,000
• PART Coffee Roaster · Specialty coffee near the station, about ¥500-700

Museums in Shizuoka

• Toro Museum · Yayoi-period village and finds; the outdoor site is free
• Serizawa Keisuke Art Museum · Stencil-dyed textiles and folk art
• Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art · Rodin wing and Japanese landscape painting
• Kunozan Toshogu Museum · Ieyasu's armour, swords and a clock from Spain
• Tokaido Hiroshige Museum · Woodblock prints in Yui
• Shizuoka City Museum of Art · Changing exhibitions at the station

Nature and day trips near Shizuoka

• Miho no Matsubara · Pine grove and black-sand beach facing Fuji
• Nihondaira · Hilltop with Fuji views, linked to Kunozan by ropeway
• Satta Pass · Short walk to Hiroshige's Fuji view
• Utsunoya Pass · Old road and tunnels through the hills west of town
• Yui coast · Sakura shrimp port on the bay

Things to do in Shizuoka with kids

• Chibi Maruko-chan Land · Small museum of the manga girl from Shimizu
• Nihondaira Zoo · Mid-size zoo with polar bears, near the plateau
• S-Pulse Dream Plaza · Ferris wheel by the harbour
• Toro Ruins · Rebuilt huts to walk into and paddies to see
• Nihondaira Ropeway · Cable car across the valley to the shrine

Where to eat in Shizuoka

• Aoba Yokocho oden alley · Tiny oden bars; skewers about ¥100-200 each
• Muso, Shizuoka oden and skewers · Oden and grilled skewers with beer
• Mekiki no Ginji · Seafood izakaya, plates to share
• Sapporo Kani Honke · Crab dinners; book ahead
• Ginzuki Chinese restaurant · Japanese-style Chinese dishes near the station
• Fiore · Casual Italian in the centre

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