The Shizuoka City, Shimizu, and Yaizu areas are home to tourist attractions such as Kiyomizu Temple, Miho no Matsubara, and the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, tourist events such as the Shizuoka Hobby Show, the Abe River Fireworks Festival, and the Shizuoka Festival, and local delicacies such as eel pie, Kokko, and Shizuoka Oden.
Shizuoka is a very vast area, with Mt. Fuji as the representative symbol of the prefecture, and the Izu Peninsula, famous for the production of "Izu no Odoriko" and "Wasabi" (Japanese horseradish).
Suruga Bay is also famous as the domain of "Yoshimoto Imagawa," who was known as the "greatest archer on the sea route. Shimizu is famous for its soccer team, the Shimizu S-Pulse, and is also one of the largest fishing ports in Japan.
Yaizu City has flourished mainly by marine products and fishery on the Pacific Ocean side, and "Shirasu" (baby sardines) is a particularly famous specialty product.
Shizuoka is an area with many different types of tourist attractions and a wealth of specialties. Miho no Matsubara, the stage of the Tennyo legend, Chibimaruko-chan Land, the Ocean Science Museum, and the Museum of Natural History are all popular spots for children, making it a great area for families.
Yaizu is home to the "Yaizu Sakana Center" and the most famous hanpen in Shizuoka is "kuro-hanpen" (black hanpen). The Ogara Coast, with its sheer cliffs, is also very impressive. The famous Toro Ruins are also well-known as ruins. Ieyasu Tokugawa retired to Sunpu (present-day Shizuoka City), and various cultures that originated in Sunpu remain here.
There are various places of interest and historic sites, such as "Kugumayama Toshogu Shrine," which has been a national treasure for about 400 years, "Shizuoka Sengen Shrine," all of whose pavilions are nationally important cultural properties, "Suruga Castle Park," famous for the place where Ieyasu Tokugawa retired, "Sunpu Castle Ninomaru East Gate," and "Renna Bridge," which was recognized in the Guinness World Records.
The Oigawa Railway, famous for its SL (steam locomotive), and the Nihondaira Zoo, a delight for families with children, are also popular. Nihon-daira" with Mt. Fuji in the background offers a wonderful view.
There are various gourmet foods in Shizuoka, and "Shizuoka Oden" and "Abegawa Mochi" are famous as local specialties. Other local delicacies include the simple "Tororo soup", the "Motsuno Curry" of Shimizu, and the most famous marine products, "Shirasu" (baby sardines) and "Sakuraebi" (sakura shrimps). Shizuoka is also famous for strawberry picking.
The Shizuoka area is a vast region, so if possible, it would be better to arrange a rental car and take a drive to explore the area.
This scenic spot attracts visitors with its beautiful view and the legend of the robe of feathers. Located on the Miho Peninsula, it has long been protected as a shrine grove for the Miho Shrine. It stretches a total of 7 kilometers and features a sandy beach over 100 meters wide and a pine forest of 54,000 trees. Fuji and the Izu Peninsula across Suruga Bay. This beautiful place is also known a...»
The shrine was built in 1617 to worship Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first barbarian general of the Edo shogunate. The shrine is located on the southern slope of Kunouzan facing Suruga Bay and is reached by 1159 winding stone steps. Today, it is also accessible by a ropeway from the north. During the Edo period, the shrine and buildings were periodically repainted with lacquer. Beauty and history inter...»
The Nihondaira Ropeway connects Nihondaira, a scenic spot selected first in a competition of the best 100 sightseeing spots in Japan, and Kunouzan Toshogu, a historic site associated with Tokugawa Ieyasu and the only national treasure building in Shizuoka Prefecture. While swaying in the gondola, visitors can enjoy magnificent views of the Byobu-dani Valley, which changes with the seasons, and th...»
This beautiful observation facility is located at the top of the popular tourist spot "Nihondaira" and offers a 360-degree panoramic view from the 3rd floor of the building and the observation deck. Fuji and Suruga Bay, as well as the Izu Peninsula and the Southern Alps. On the first floor of the building, there is a corner introducing the history and topography of Nihondaira, and the second flo...»
Nihon-daira is one of the most scenic spots designated as a national place of scenic beauty and was selected as the first place in the competition of the 100 best sightseeing spots in Japan. Its name is derived from the deity Nihon Buson. Fuji, Suruga Bay, the Izu Peninsula, and the city of Shimizu can be seen from the 307-meter-high summit, and the view is truly spectacular. Fuji over the plum ...»
There are more than 50 strawberry farms along an 8-kilometer stretch of National Route 150 from Suruga-ku to Shimizu-ku in Shizuoka City, facing Suruga Bay, and they are called "Strawberry Line" or "Kunou Strawberry Coastal Road". You can pick strawberries from mid-December to early May, and enjoy freshly squeezed strawberry juice, soft-serve ice cream with fresh strawberries, and other strawberr...»
Sakura shrimp yakisoba (fried noodles) are a seaside town specialty containing dried sakura shrimp packed with aromas of the sea and goodness from the sun, and topped with dried sardine flakes, another local specialty. The sight of sakura shrimp, a specialty of Suruga Bay, laid out to dry in the sun like a pink carpet by the Fuji River, with Mt. Fuji in the background is a scene symbolic of Shizuo...»
Shimizu City in Shizuoka Prefecture boasts one of the largest tuna catches in the country. With the beautiful surrounding scenery including a view of Mt. Fuji, Shimizu port is also considered one of the three most beautiful fishing ports in Japan. The best cuts of o-toro from Tuna landed at Shimizu port are used lavishly to make the ‘Shimizu tuna o-toro don’. The marbled meat is rich in oils and f...»
A type of pickle using sake lees, which was developed by merchants in Fuchu (modern day Shizuoka) when sake production began to flourish in the latter Edo Period. It is traditionally made by chopping and salting wasabi roots and stems (a local specialty) before pickling in matured sake lees and seasoning with salt and sugar. Nowadays, most products contain added spices, fragrance, and wasabi flavo...»
Whitebait is a collective term for the immature fry of fish, typically sardines and pilchards between one and two months old. The Suruga bay fed by the Fuji, Abe, and Oi rivers attracts vast amounts of plankton, and is known as one of the leading whitebait fishing grounds in Japan. Fresh whitebait are delicious eaten raw, but as they spoil easily, they are often enjoyed in various ways such as ‘ka...»
Raw sakura shrimp are mixed with chopped vegetables, dipped in a little batter and fried in oil. This dish lets you enjoy the aroma and sweetness of sakura shrimp along with the crunchy texture of kakiage tempura. Suruga Bay off Shizuoka Prefecture accounts for 100% of the domestic sakura shrimp catch, giving all sakura shrimp caught there the trademark Surugawan Sakura Shrimp, with Yui, the main ...»
‘Shimizu oden’ is distinguished by dipping it in a miso flavored sauce, having skewers of pork entrails in it, and having a light colored dashi stock. The flavor of the sweetish miso sauce is adjusted with dashi powder and mustard. Being able to adjust the flavor to suit your taste is one reason behind its popularity. ‘Shimizu oden’ is similar to ‘Shizuoka oden’, and people often find it difficult...»
Shizuoka chirashi, a new local specialty developed by the ‘Shizuoka Sushi Association’ is a kind of chirashi sushi brimming with locally produced ingredients. The five essential ingredients are tuna, sakura shrimp, pickled fish, widely popular tea and wasabi (including wasabi pickles). Aside from that, each shop adds its own ingredients such as rainbow trout, anago (conger eel), boiled shrimps, or...»