Ride the ordinary Tokaido line from Tokyo to its southernmost end, or miss your stop on the shinkansen, and you'll find yourself in the sleepy resort town of Atami. In Japan's boom days, Atami was the weekend vacation of choice, and on holidays you might still see busy streets and happy shopkeepers...
Green tea is one of Japan’s most representative products—and one of its most delicious. Green tea used to be such a prized commodity that it was used as a form of taxation in the late 1700s. One of the most prominent tea regions is Shizuo..
Looking for dinner one night in Shimizu after a tiring day exploring Seiken-ji temple and the Satta Toge pass, I didn't want to go far, so I just looked up and down the covered arcade adjoining my hotel. I found a Korean restaurant, liked what I ..
On a visit to Mishima one time, I picked up a guide to the town's restaurants, which has proved useful since in finding places to eat. I used it one night when looking for dinner in the main downtown part around Mishima-Hirokoji station, and foun..
K’s House of Ito is located in a 100 year-old Registered Tangible Cultural Property. It is located within a 7-minute walk from JR Ito Train Station and a 4-minutes walk from the beach. The hostel offers hot-spring baths, free Wi-Fi, and three l..
Every autumn I go to Shizuoka city for the Daidogei Street Performance World Cup, pretty much my favourite event of the year. I like to stay somewhere central, comfortable and affordable, so I can pop in and out during the day, and all those boxes ar..
When I visit Japan, I get to stay in many hotels. I want to see as many places as I can, so I don’t spend much time in hotels and don’t like to waste my money. I try to find budget hotels with a hot spring bath as it’s good for rela..
Towards the southern end of Gofukucho-dori shopping street in the heart of Shizuoka City, Ogushi shrine is a pleasant, spacious shinto shrine which makes a good place to rest your weary legs after a morning or afternoon in the shops. There are sever..
These days Fujieda is a peaceful suburb to the west of Shizuoka city, but during the Edo era between 1603 and 1868 it served as a post town on the historical Tokaido highway between Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto. As a result it flourished commercially, w..
Located strategically on the historic Tokaido highway between Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto, Fujieda is these days a pleasant suburb of Shizuoka, but possesses an improbably large number of temples and other sights. Near Fujieda-Omote crossing, about a t..
