Sleep at the foot of Mount Fuji, in the land of green tea? Here’s where to stay in Shizuoka!
Capital of the eponymous province, Shizuoka is a city of 716,018 inhabitants located on the Japanese island of Honshu, halfway between Nagoya and Tokyo, and anchored by the Pacific Ocean. Shizuoka is an important regional economic, educational, political and cultural center, and literally means » quiet hill ». However, the megalopolis is located in an area where the risk of earthquakes and tsunamis is very high. Inhabited since prehistoric times, Shizuoka was home to the founder of the Edo shogunate (1604-1868), Ieyasu Tokugawa (1543-1615). The city is built in the midst of a luxuriant natural environment, offering visitors the chance to enjoy a peaceful getaway. Shizuoka is world-renowned for its hundred-metre-high waterfalls, fruit trees and green tea, with tea fields stretching as far as the eye can see over the surrounding mountains and hills. As elsewhere in Japan, accommodation in Shizuoka is rather expensive.
Between the mountains to the north of the city and the dense urban sprawl along the coast, where most of the population lives, Shizuoka boasts some of Japan’s most famous landmarks: the remains of Senpu Castle, Toro Archaeological Park, Kunozan Toshogu Shrine and Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Here’s our selection of places to stay in Shizuoka.
Shizuoka station district
Photo credit: Flickr – jpellgen (@1179_jp)
Around the Shinkansen high-speed train station stretches a district where many classic hotels have sprung up for Western-style accommodation in Shizuoka. The district’s alleyways are home to a myriad of cafés, bars and restaurants where you can stroll and have a good time or sample the culinary charms of Japan, and numerous stores where you can do your shopping. Sengen Dori street, northwest of the station, has a strong shopping soul. Overlooked by a torii, it stands on the promontory of Shizuhatayama Park, with its cherry trees, Shinto and Buddhist temples.
To the south of the district is the unmissable Senpu Castle and its park surrounded by the ancient moat. In this district of Suruga-Ku, don’t forget to visit Toro Archaeological Park and the Kunō-zan Tōshō-gū, a Shinto shrine – burial place of I. Tokugawa – the oldest tōshō-gū shrine in the country. Staying west of Shizuoka gives you a taste of modern, developed Japan, living at a frenetic pace at the foot of modern architecture and where life is good.
Shimizu station district
Photo credit: Flickr – M Reza Faisal
Stretching eastwards towards Shimizu station is another of Shizuoka’s downtown areas: a former traditional fishing village that has been transformed into an industrial and commercial city. It offers splendid views of Mount Fuji. It’s a great place for fresh seafood. A trip to the Miho no Matsubara beach along Suruga Bay is a must in the city, allowing you to forget about the industrial port and its incessant activity. In reality, Shizuoka’s second downtown is a former independent city that merged with Shizuoka in 2003, with a population of 233,184: Shimizu. No wonder, then, that staying in Shimizu offers a different atmosphere.
Main photo credit: Max Pixel
Map of hotels and accommodations – Shizuoka