静岡県 · Chubu Region

Shizuoka Hidden Gems

Shizuoka is a long strip between Mt. Fuji and the Pacific, and the tea, the fish and the climate are all consequences of that geometry. The hillsides drain fast and catch morning fog, which is why the prefecture grows a large share of Japan's tea, with the Makinohara plateau given over to it almost entirely. Suruga Bay drops to 2,500 metres just offshore — the deepest bay in Japan — so Yaizu lands deep-water tuna and Sakura-ebi are netted nowhere else in the country. Fuji itself is closest here, and the classic compositions with the mountain behind a tea field or the pines of Miho no Matsubara are Shizuoka views rather than Yamanashi ones. The eastern end is the Izu peninsula, a volcanic thumb of hot springs and coves that Tokyo has used as a weekend escape for a century. The whole prefecture sits on the Tokaido, so nothing here is hard to reach.

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Climate & Best Season

Mild and sunny, with warm winters on the coast — one of Japan's most comfortable climates. Good year-round.

Famous For (Food)

Green tea
Sakura-ebi
Unagi (Hamamatsu)
Shizuoka oden

Signature Sights

Mt. Fuji viewpoints
Izu Peninsula onsen
Miho no Matsubara
Kakegawa & Sunpu castles

When to Go

This is one of the mildest climates in Japan: coastal January highs near 12°C, frost rare, and Izu's flowers open in February. Fuji is most reliably visible from November to February, when the air is dry and the snowcap is on. The first tea flush is picked from late April into May. Sakura-ebi have two short seasons, roughly spring and autumn, and are landed only in Suruga Bay. Summer is warm and humid rather than extreme, with sea breezes, and the beaches on the Izu east coast open in July. Typhoons can hit this coast in September.

Getting Around

The Tokaido Shinkansen runs the length of the prefecture — Tokyo to Shizuoka in about an hour, to Hamamatsu in an hour and a half — but note that the fastest Nozomi services do not stop here, so use Hikari or Kodama. Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport sits between Shizuoka and Hamamatsu. The Izu peninsula is served down its east coast by the Izukyu line from Atami to Shimoda, with limited express trains from Tokyo; the west coast of Izu has no railway at all and needs a bus or car. Tea plateau villages and the Fuji viewpoints similarly reward driving. Ferries cross Suruga Bay between Shimizu and Toi.

Local Food

Green tea is the prefecture's crop and the difference between a supermarket sencha and one bought at a Kakegawa or Kawane grower is not subtle; many farms pour tastings. Sakura-ebi, tiny pink shrimp, are landed only in Suruga Bay and eaten raw in season or dried on racks along the Yui shore. Hamamatsu grills unagi over charcoal and has done since eel farming began on Lake Hamana. Shizuoka oden is simmered in dark beef-stock broth, skewered, and dusted with dried fish powder — sold in sweet shops as an after-school snack.

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