Shizuoka Things to Do

When you walk toward Sumpu castle this building sure stand out from all the other around...It was build in 1934 and today its register as TANGIBLE CULTURAL PROPERTY the 1st of its kind in the nation in 1996..

The spanish style dome is called AOI TOWER....(or blue tower) because the mosaic tile on the dome appears blue at night when iluminated..

The dome roof has drawings of the compass in gold on green and window frames are decorated with terra cotta....

The first floor is a gallery...

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If you miss a glimpse of Fuji on the journey from Tokyo to Shizuoka, your first stop on arrival in the city should be to the Prefectural Office, its a mini-skyscraper about 10 minute walk from the station.

The express elevator which takes you up to the 21st floor observation platform is free of charge.You will be able to enjoy a great view of shizuoka city and beyond.

If Fuji-san is still cloaked in cloud, then go to the little tea area and enjoy a cup of green tea from shizuoka..(The tea room is adjacent to the observation gallery.).

There is also a 3D high vision video.."FUJI NO MEGUMI"..(blessing of Mt fuji) its an introduction film about Japan's highest mountain..

PS....the best time to view Mt fuji is in the winter....The days are clear and that lingering cloud many times is just not there..:)

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1.-HITOTSU-ISHI, it is said that the foundation of a waterway around the Sengen-jinja is made by 1 stone...uhmmm...

2.-KANAE-UMA, When there was a fire during AN'EL ERA, 2 wooden horses designated by HIDARI JINGORO ran away to MIHO-MYOJIN...One of them stayed there, and the other came back to Sengen jinja..the wooden horse could be seen at a little shire building off the main court yard..

3.-MIZUNOMI-RYU, Hidari Jingoro also made some sculpture at Sengen jinja..One of them is a Dragon..This dragon at a time of a fire, went down to the pond and extinguished the fire by splashing water from his mouth onto the palace..The dragon is found on the beam on the ROUMON gate by the main court yard..

4.-NAKI-UZURA,The famous sculptor of the Shinshu era, TACHIKAWA WASHIRO made a sculpture called, AWAHO NI UZURA....not sure what the big deal about it..:)

5.-SHIHO-NIRAMI-RYU, There is a picture of a dragon drown in coal, on the TOP OF THE OHAIDEN(main shrine)...The dragon stares back at you in which ever angle you look at it.

6.-SANJO-NO-FUSHIGI,On the way to HAYAMA-jinja, there is a stone named NAKI-ISHI..you can hear strange sounds when you step on the front of it..

7.-SHIHO-HASHIRI-NO-UMA,There is an old story that the horse drawn on the EMA(wood plate) came out and ran around destroyiing the farmland...The people got so angry they rope him and tied him to a tree, snice then he was never been seen running around...This OLD EMA with the drawn horse is on exhibit at the CULTURE MUSEUM at Sengen jinja

On your way to the shrine, there were so many interesting little things...These mask were located at a tradional paper store on the way..

The mask is call Hyottoko is an abbreviation to "Hi Otoko," or "Fire Man," from the idea that this character blows fire from a bamboo tube that is why his mouth shaped as it is...
The female equivalent is known as "okame," (the mask on the right)

Their dance is considered comical, and is said to have been used as long as 900 years ago to amuse troops fresh from battle.

In this museum, 180 paintings by Yokoyama Taikan and Watanabe Kazan, as well as 370 works including calligraphy by Katsu Kaishu and Yamaoka Tesshu are maintained.

Its a very small museum, which will take you 1/2 hour to see, not far from SHIZUOKA station

Cost, 200 yen for adult and 50 yen for a small child..

Open ...from 9am to 5pm

Close ...
-on MONDAYS ,
-year-end(meaning around dec25 on),
-New year(jan1-4)
- during the exhibition rearrangement period

Rukuru is the Shizuoka Science Center. It is composed solely of games, and is very fun! It costs 500 yen for adults, and is free for kids 15 and under. Also, English brochures are available at the information desk... You just have to specifically ask for them, that's all.

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Consider making a little-known side trip by bus from Shizuoka station to Kunozan Toshogu Shrine, a little way out of the city center but accessible via a scenic road and ropeway.

The shrine is home to the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu, who became so attached to Shizuoka that he spent the last years of his life in the city.

Most people believe Ieyasu is buried in Nikko, a famous temple and shrine town north of Tokyo. But anybody from Shizuoka will tell you the man is actually buried here.:)

Once pressed a little, however, most Shizuokans will cave in and admit his body was moved to Nikko, though they'll point out that Kunozan Toshogu is the original place..Ieyasu's whereabouts may be disputed, but what is undeniable is that while Nikko can hardly breathe for visitors, anyone who makes the journey here will be rewarded with time and space to contemplate the life of one of Japan's most celebrated historical figures.

Through the Torii Stone gate its a long zig-zag flight of 1159 stone-steps which will lead you to the main structure of this shrine....It will take a good 20 minutes walk up at a good space....there is lots of resting log chairs on the way up.....

..........and only 5 minutes down..:).....

The view on the way up is great if its a nice sunny day, like the day I went.....you are able to see the strawberries farms and even Izu peninsula.....

Fee
adult 650 yen, to see the shrine...& museum.
child , 6 and up...250 yen.

Open
April 1-Sept. 30 8:30-5:30...
Oct. 1-March 31 from 9:00-16:00
OPEN ALL YEAR LONG

THERE is a festival held here every April 17th

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.....to the deified spirit of Tokugawa Ieyasu...., the greatest SHOGUN in Japanese history...

It was built in 1617 by the second shogun , HIDETADA, the 3rd son of Ieyasu, here in Kuno-zan hill.....

IN HISTORY

KUNOZAN was built at the time of the 6th century Emperor Suiko. Takeda Shingen, a legendary military commander during the Warring States Period, recognized the strong strategic position of this mountain and built a fortress here. Captured by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the castle was destroyed.
Later the Toshogu shrine was built, as Ieyasu had requested in his will, to hold his remains.

There are 13 structures within the sacred grounds...All of them are the ORIGINAL STRUCTURES and have been designated as IMPORTANT CULTURAL PROPERTIES by the Ministry of Education...

The 1st gate , situated at the spot where the stone steps run uphill come to an end...This is of a CASTLE -GATESTYLE and the roof is gabled and copperplated..
As you enter the gate you will find a very run down little structure , this is the GATE KEEPER HOUSE...This was used once by the gate keeper...and the roof is made of tiles.....