Shimmering Shizuoka (Part 1 of 2)

–Gorgeous Beaches and Mountains in One Prefecture

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

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!

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 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.

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.

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!

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 .