Shimmering Shizuoka (Part 2 of 2)

–Gorgeous Beaches and Mountains in One Prefecture

A bridge over the Oi River, as seen from the Ikawa Line

Introduction:

The following are more highlights from my recent travels to Shizuoka prefecture. (Part 1 can be found here.)

1月から2月にかけて、静岡県における3週間の通訳のお仕事の傍ら、県内のあらゆるところを観光しました。下記の投稿は、前編に続き、特に印象深かった箇所を取り上げます。

6. Train rides along the Oi River

This was hands down my favorite activity in Shizuoka! As a big fan of trains, I was thrilled to learn that Oigawa Railway, a local train company, still runs steam locomotives. I expected the ride to be more bumpy, but it was just as smooth as electric trains–the only difference were the puffs of smoke we could see from the window and the slightly smoky smell! It’s usually an hour-long ride on the Oigawa Main Line running alongside the Oi River. After a typhoon last fall, the ride has been cut to 30 minutes, but it was still well worth it!

Great train rides should always be enjoyed with food, and I was super excited to find cute train-related sweets. I particularly enjoyed one called “SL (steam locomotive) food,” a pack of peanuts coated in a mixture of black sesame powder, soy bean powder, and sugar. It’s meant to look like the coal that’s “fed” into the steam locomotive–and I thought that concept was so cute! I melted upon seeing the back of the package: it has an illustrated disclaimer (probably meant for little boys) that warns, “unfortunately, eating this won’t turn you into a steam locomotive”!

After enjoying the steam train, I switched to the Ikawa Line (a regular train also run by Oigawa Railway), which goes further up the Oi River. I really wanted to visit Okuoikojo Station, which is on a tiny piece of land jutting into the riverbend. The isolated station looks like it’s on top of an island, and the contrast of the greenery, the turquoise water, and the red bridge is absolutely gorgeous. Part of the bridge is walkable on foot, so it’s easy to cross to the other side of the river and head to the vantage point where you can take in this incredible view.

Okuoikojo Station is the tiny structure in the middle of the bridge

Okuoikojo Station is so remote and free of light pollution that on weekends during the winter, Oigawa Railway runs special roundtrip trains to the station at night. Passengers spend an hour gazing at stars before the train heads back. This sounded really nice, too (it reminds me of Kenji Miyazawa’s story, “Night on the Galactic Railroad”), but it was fully booked that evening. Maybe some other time!

A view of the walkable part of the bridge stretching from Okuoikojo Station. I love the dramatic straight path and the light streaming from the clouds–a nice metaphor for a better tomorrow!

Incidentally, Ikawa Line is the only line in Japan that uses what’s called an Abt system, a rack-and-pinion railway that allows trains to go up or down steep inclines. The steam locomotive, the beautiful Okuikojo Station, and the Abt system all make train rides along the Oi River a fun trip worth exploring!

7. Shizuoka City (Other Highlights)

While I’ve already discussed various locations within Shizuoka City (such as Kunozan Toshogu and Miho no Matsubara), downtown Shizuoka has many other locations to sightsee.

One of the main spots is Sumpu Castle, which Tokugawa Ieyasu built. While only part of the castle remains today, the premises have been turned into a park, so it’s a very nice place to walk around, read the descriptions, and learn about history. The park is surrounded by a moat, and crossing the bridge to enter the park feels like you’re traveling back in time!

Sumpu Castle in the evening–a beautiful place to walk around

2023 happens to be a special year to commemorate Ieyasu, because NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster, is airing a year-long historical drama that focuses on him. Until I visited Shizuoka, I didn’t realize how strong his ties to this area were. Dozens of historical locations throughout the city highlighted their connections to Ieyasu, often by displaying posters of the drama.

The lobby of my hotel displayed the replica of an armor that was worn by Ieyasu. The Japanese restaurant in the hotel served Ieyasu specials based on dishes that he apparently liked!

Another highlight is Shizuoka Sengen Shrine, which is just a 10-minute walk away from Sumpu Castle. It’s a collection of seven shrines, each with distinct buildings that enshrine different gods.

The impressive gate leading to two of the shrines. The board in the foreground that says 鬼 (demon) was apparently used during setsubun (a spring festival to drive evil spirits away) on Feb. 3.

One of the shrines sits atop a mountain, and behind it is a hiking trail. On that trail I found this fascinating set of stairs. I thought it could serve as a metaphor for the many different paths we can take before reaching a goal: shall we climb steep stairs quickly, go up more gradual steps slowly, or give up and and go back down?

Another place worth visiting is the Shizuoka City Museum of Art. It’s a compact but modern space atop a building in downtown Shizuoka, less than a 10-minute walk from Shizuoka station. I enjoyed an excellent exhibit on Sugiura Hisui, who was a pioneer in modern Japanese graphic design.

A social media booth based on Sugiura’s poster (1927) commemorating Japan’s first subway system

Setsubun was not the only seasonal event celebrated. In the lobby of my hotel was a wonderful display of dolls for Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival or Girls’ Day), which celebrates the health and development of young girls. I, too, grew up decorating hina dolls, but have never seen dolls hanging down like this. They are apparently called tsurushibina, and I was delighted to learn that Shizuoka is one of the prefectures that has this tradition. Because hina dolls tend to be expensive, family members and friends would apparently visit girls together, bringing pieces of cloth and sewing them to create dolls.

Shizuoka is a dynamic city with many different faces. Apparently it is also known for plastic models (major toy companies like Bandai have factories here). I was delighted to come across this cute sculpture in Shizuoka Station: a plastic model of payphones!

8. Yaizu City

Yaizu is a port city where a lot of the seafood Shizuoka is known for is caught or processed.

A fishmonger Hello Kitty welcoming visitors to the Yaizu Fish Center

The Yaizu Fish Center is a big fish market with several eateries. The lunch I had there packed so many Yaizu / Shizuoka specialties: tuna and bonito sashimi, shirasu (whitebait), a kakiage of tiny sakura shrimp, and miso soup with crab.

The fish market had many gacha (capsule toy) machines or simple arcade games. That in itself isn’t surprising, but upon closer inspection, I found that the prizes were related to seafood! This included salmon roe, frozen lobsters, and even a 3kg tuna delivered to your home. The gacha machine that offered the tuna grand prize was expensive, costing a cool 1,000 yen to enter (although there are consolation prizes of seafood-related trinkets)!

I also loved this sign encouraging visitors to maintain a social distance worth the length of two bonitos (but I wonder how many people know how long bonitos are?!).

9. Yui (Shizuoka City)

Yui is another area in Shizuoka City that has its own distinct flavor (literally!). It’s known as the place where sakura shrimp are caught, and I very much enjoyed seeing quirky shrimp sculptures everywhere.

The subject (shrimp!), the stringy appearance of the shrimp sculptures, and the blue tiles that look like the bottom of pools make this one of the quirkiest works of public art I’ve ever seen!

Yui is also part of the old Tokaido Road that connected Tokyo and Kyoto during the Edo period (early 1600s to late 1800s). It was a post station where travelers could rest, and has maintained historic buildings such as honjin (large local residences where traveling samurai stayed), some stores, and even water troughs for horses.

The main reason I was in Yui was to visit the Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art. As Yui makes an appearance in Hiroshige’s masterpiece, 53 Stations of the Tokaido (a series of ukiyo-e highlighting post stations along the old Tokaido Road), this seemed like the perfect place to appreciate both Hiroshige and Shizuoka.

The museum was fairly small, but I loved the comprehensive permanent exhibit that explains the history and technique of ukiyo-e. It makes interesting comparisons to modern equivalents, describing how scenic ukiyo-es (such as 53 Stations of the Tokaido) were like travel guidebooks, while portraits of kabuki actors were like entertainment magazines.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Hiroshige prints on display as well–I love the subtle humor he exudes in the expressive body language of tiny people and animals.

“Fukagawa Lumberyards” by Hiroshige (from “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”). I love the tiny puppies showing their cute butts on the lower left!

One of the best parts of the museum was a small station that allows visitors to make their own ukiyo-e prints to take home. The design changes periodically, and on this day it was “Yui” and “Okitsu” from 53 Stations of the Tokaido Road.

The DIY ukiyo-e station for “Yui.” This activity alone is well worth the visit to this museum!

10. (Bonus) Food

I thoroughly enjoyed the food in Shizuoka prefecture. This included seafood like sakura shrimp and shirasu, as well as agricultural products like strawberries. Local dishes like Shizuoka oden (stew with fishcakes) and Hamamatsu gyoza (fried dumplings) were memorable, too.

But one of the best discoveries for me was related to unagi (eel). I visited a lovely restaurant (left photo) where they use unagi raised with sashimi. It was so good! And there, I learned about snacks called “unagi bones” (right photo)–fried eel bones! I’d never had these before, and loved these crispy, calcium-rich snacks so much that I bought several packets (in salt and soy sauce flavors).

When I visited Hamamatsu, I also came across a cute dessert place called Unagiimo. I was surprised to learn that this store uses Japanese sweet potatoes grown with fertilizers made from unagi parts, such as bones and heads. (Its mascot, which reminded me of Slime from Dragon Quest, is in fact a sweet potato whose body is an eel.) I love how innovative and environmentally friendly this concept is!

Pink mochi (sooo cute!) with sweet potato cream (right) and a cookie sandwich with cream (left)

One of the best known Shizuoka specialties, though, is probably green tea. I couldn’t resist visiting Nanaya, a cafe and store that specializes in matcha desserts. They’re well known for their tea-flavored ice cream, which runs the gamut from matcha (in SEVEN different levels, depending on how strong you want the matcha flavor to be) to hojicha (roasted green tea) to genmaicha (green tea with roasted brown rice). I tried genmaicha, black sesame, and matcha No. 7–the latter has a very rich, deep flavor, and definitely worth experiencing!

All in all, I had a wonderful three weeks in Shizuoka. I feel so lucky to have had the chance to explore the prefecture in depth, and would love to revisit again soon!

Shimmering Shizuoka (Part 1 of 2)

–Gorgeous Beaches and Mountains in One Prefecture

The view from Mt. Kuno in Shizuoka City

Introduction:

The following are highlights from my recent travels to Shizuoka prefecture. (Click here to see Part 2.)

1月から2月にかけて、静岡県で3週間にわたる通訳のお仕事をしました。仕事が終わった後の平日夕方や週末は、静岡の海、山、神社仏閣など、あらゆるところを観光しました。気候がよく、美しく、食べ物もおいしくて、本当に素敵な場所でした。下記の投稿(そして続編)では、特に印象深かった箇所を取り上げます。

For three weeks from January to February, I had an interpretation assignment in Shizuoka prefecture. I had visited the prefecture before, but never had the opportunity to explore it in depth. I took advantage of any time off I had to explore beaches, mountains, museums, and shrines–and fell in love with the amazing sights and food the prefecture offers. Here are some highlights, in alphabetical order of location. (The rest will continue in a second blog post.)

1. Fuji City

The view of Mt. Fuji from a local train (the Tokaido Line) heading to Fuji City. Cropped out of this photo are commuters nodding off on the train (it was early in the morning), all with their backs to this amazing view!

Fuji City is one of Shizuoka’s cities that’s closest to Mt. Fuji, and offers great views of the snow-capped mountain. It’s about 30 minutes from Shizuoka station by local train, and a mere 10 minutes by bullet train.

I was lucky enough to be in Fuji City when a local temple called Myohoji hosted an annual festival called Bishamontensai. This is apparently considered one of the largest daruma festivals in Japan. There were daruma dolls of every size, with multiple color variations that promised good fortune in different aspects of our lives (academic success, health, romantic happiness, etc.). Many local residents had brought their own old darumas to be burned, some so big that they have to be carried in both arms. I bought some tiny ones for good luck. Tradition says that we’re supposed to draw in its left eye when we make a wish (and its right eye when that wish comes true), but they’re so cute that I’ve kept them as is–I worry that I might ruin their faces!

A manhole cover (illustrated manhole covers are a big thing in Japan!) in Fuji City, with Princess Kaguya from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Mt. Fuji makes an appearance in this Japanese fairytale that’s about a thousand years old.

2. Fujinomiya City

Fujinomiya is another city that is close to Mt. Fuji and honors the majestic mountain in many ways.

Central to this is a shrine called Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha. I was drawn to the name because when I lived in Tokyo as a child, there was a Sengen shrine in my neighborhood–I didn’t realize until now that Sengen shrines throughout Japan all honor Mt. Fuji, and that this shrine in Fujinomiya was the main one! I especially loved the pond at the back of the shrine, which serves as a nice oasis in the middle of the city. The water comes from melted snow trickling down from Mt. Fuji, and there are bamboo pipes that capture this water for visitors who wish to drink it or wash their hands.

Fujinomiya is also home to the Mt. Fuji World Heritage Center. Mt. Fuji and multiple entities related to it (including the Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha) were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013. This center apparently opened four years later. I fell in love with this gorgeous, modern building that complements the torii gate right next to it. It’s also shaped like an upside down mountain. Visitors first go to the top and gradually descend gentle slopes that wind down. I enjoyed visiting galleries that examined the geology and history of Mt. Fuji, including how the mountain has been revered as a deity and honored in numerous works of art and literature.

I love how, when reflected upside down into the water, the building looks like a mountain

I then took a 30-minute bus ride to visit Shiraito Falls, which is also part of the Mt. Fuji World Heritage Site. The falling water that comes from Mt. Fuji certainly looks like a bunch of white thread (the meaning of “shiraito”) and is very pretty. I was especially amazed at how blue the bottom of the waterfall was. The one unfortunate aspect was that the trees and grass were a disappointing brown. Of course that can’t be helped during the winter, and I suspect everything looks even better during the warmer months.

3. Hamamatsu City

While Shizuoka City is the prefectural seat of government, the biggest city is actually Hamamatsu. It’s at the edge, almost bordering Aichi prefecture, and about an hour away on the local train (20-30 minutes on the bullet train) from Shizuoka City.

My guidebook suggested several places to visit, but as a fan of all things related to art, I made a beeline to the Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments. In contrast to similar institutions in the West (such as the Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels and the musical instruments section at the Met), there was of course a big emphasis on Asian instruments. This included traditional Japanese instruments that are used for gagaku or kabuki performances, as well as several grand instruments from other Asian countries.

Colorful instruments from Indonesia (foreground) and Korea (background)

I also made a quick visit to Hamamatsu Castle, a replica of the castle Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun, had spent his youth in. It was too late for me to tour inside the castle, but I enjoyed walking around and examining the exterior of this compact but elegant building.

4. Kunozan Toshogu (Shizuoka City)

This beautiful shrine in Shizuoka City is a short train and bus ride away from Shizuoka station. It’s a smaller version of the Toshogu in Nikko, and where the grave of Tokugawa Ieyasu lies. It’s up on a mountain (Mt. Kuno) by the ocean, and has about 1,000 steps to the top–but the breathtaking view is definitely worth the hike.

While a thousand steps is a bit of workout . . .
. . . this view makes it all worth it
(and there are cable cars available for those who don
t wish to
or are unable to walk)

The bright colors of the Toshogu looked especially beautiful against the blue sky. Plums trees (including a tree that was supposedly planted by Ieyasu himself) were blooming nicely on this late January day.

Incidentally, this area is also known for its strawberries. Since they’re grown in greenhouses (which can be seen in the photo above, lining the beach), strawberry season had already begun in January! I bought a box as well as some desserts like strawberry daifuku (mochi stuffed with red bean paste).

Shizuoka is also known for its sakura shrimp, or tiny dried shrimp eaten whole. For lunch, I had the biggest, crunchiest, most delicious kakiage (a type of tempura with shredded vegetables or tiny shrimp) I’ve ever had!

The kakiage was as big as the udon bowl (!), and seemed to contain at least 30 tiny shrimps

5. Miho no Matsubara (Shizuoka City)

This is a famous spot on the beach for scenic views of Mt. Fuji, and is also a short bus ride away from Shizuoka station. Mt. Fuji looked a bit farther than I expected, but I caught the sunset in time to see the mountain bathed in pink. The blue waters, black sand, pieces of white driftwood, and gorgeous rocks that were flattened after years of tumbling in the waves made for picturesque photos!

This place is also known for being the location where The Legend of the Winged Robe takes place. The funny thing was that the sign that described the story said that the man immediately returned the winged robe to the celestial maiden. The versions of the story I’ve heard have the man hiding the robe and forcing the maiden to be his wife. I couldn’t help but chuckle and wonder if there’s some local bias that paints a favorable picture of this man . . . (Incidentally, when I looked up the English title of this story, I found that different iterations exist all over the world, including the West. How fascinating!)

There’s also a beautiful wooden walkway, surrounded by pines, that connects this beach with another shrine called Miho Shrine. While most of the walkway is a straight line, I was fascinated by this one location where the path curves a bit to allow for a pine that leans forward. This seemed like a great metaphor for the journey of life: sometimes unexpected incidents prevent us from going forth in the way we envision, but we must be strong enough to find news ways to keep going.

More Shizuoka adventures are available in Part 2 .