Tokyo to Hakone to Kyoto is the most popular itinerary for first-time travelers to Japan. As such, it is often called the “Golden Route” It covers the modern vibrancy of Tokyo, the historic serenity of Kyoto, and the relaxing hot-spring resorts (onsen) with views of Mt. Fuji, (top, in January), south of Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture’s Hakone. However, there is a more interesting, affordable, less crowded and still easily accessible alternative to Hakone – the eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture, specifically Atami, Mishima, and Shuzenji.
Mt. Fuji, named a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 2013, is a big mountain. At 12,389 ft., it is the highest peak in Japan and often the symbol of the country. While Hakone offers one view of the iconic peaks, on the other side - the Shizuoka Prefecture side, you can see the mountain sometimes even more brilliantly. For this reason, Shizuoka even calls itself “the Home of Mt. Fuji.” Therefore, instead of taking the Kodama Shinkansen bullet train to Odawara Station in Kanagawa Prefecture (35 minutes from Tokyo Station), use your JR Pass – available for purchase in Japan for the first time starting from March 8, 2017 -- to explore Fuji and other cultural sites from the Shizuoka side.
Here’s a suggested itinerary:
Take the Hikari Shinkansen bullet train to Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture (40 minutes from Tokyo Station). In Atami, on February 5, 2017, the fabulous MOA Museum of Art (below) reopened with a new café, new research library, new lobby and more expressive exhibition space to better enhance the beauty of the art objects. The opening exhibition includes the Atami Seascape Nihonga-style paintings of Hiroshi Sugimoto.
From Atami, you can continue to Mishima -- just seven more minutes on the Kodama Shikansen bullet train. Here you can explore Mishima Taisha (below), considered the third most important Shinto shrine in Japan, after Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture and Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, is not to be missed. The shrine is revered for its floral blossoms – from February, when a rare plum (ume) tree "omoi-no-mama" opens its petals in four different colors of red, white and pink -- through April when 200 cherry trees, in 15 varieties, bloom. In addition, annually on August 16, it attracts visitors to its Yabusame festival. This archery on horseback dates back to Japan’s 12th- to 13th-century Kamakura Period, when the shogun, Minamoto no Yoritomo, who was exiled on the Izu Peninsula and worshiped at Mishima Shrine, became alarmed at the poor archery skills of his samurai.
Given the shrines importance as a hanami (blossom viewing spot), it’s no wonder that the most important object in the shrine museum’s collection is a late Heian-period (12th-century) lacquerware box with the inlayed goldleaf (maki-e) design of plum blossoms that is designated a National Treasure of Japan. On the shrine grounds, a 1,200-year-old fragrant osmanthus tree is protected by the national government as a natural monument. When I was at the shrine, I was chosen to participate in a small ceremony, and was given a special shrine vest (below), which I was unfortunately not permitted to keep as a souvenir.
During the Edo Period (1603-1868), Mishima Taisha was the main shrine of the post town of Mishima that prospered as a major pilgrimage stop on the Tōkaidō highway between Edo (present day Tokyo) and Kyoto. Mishima Taisha’s torii gate was depicted in an ukiyoe by Ando Hiroshige. A calendar issued by the shrine was carried home by pilgrims from all over Japan, and was known as the “Mishima Calendar.” Our group visited the house of the Mishima Lunar Calendar Publisher, which is just a short walk away. After viewing some ancient calendars (below), we had the chance to try printing old samples ourselves!
After exploring Mishima town, return to Mishima Station and hop on the Izuhakone Railway’s Sunzu line toward Shuzenji. Although this train is not included in the JR Pass, the 20-or-so-minute trip to Izu-Nagaoka Station costs only 320 yen. Disembark and walk just one minute to Izunokuni Panorama Park. Now is your chance to view Fuji-san! For just 1,220 yen round-trip, you’ll take a seven-minute gondola-ski-lift-style ropeway ride up 1,800 meters into the mountains of the Izu Peninsula. Behold: a panoramic view of Suruga Bay, Japan’s deepest bay (below); Hakone; the Amagi mountains; and of course, magnificent Mt. Fuji. The park is open 360 days a year, but if you go from mid-April to early May, you’ll especially enjoy the azalea festival, with 35,000 azaleas are in full bloom across the mountaintop.
After you’ve had your “Fuji fix,” it’s time to proceed to Shuzenji, a picturesque onsen town, where you will spend the evening and night. Founded by the Shingon Buddhist monk Kobodaishi over 1,200 years ago, the town is centered around Shuzenji Temple (below), where visitors can participate in Zen meditation classes every Tuesday at 9:30 am.
The town is slightly hilly with cobblestone streets, some lined with bamboo groves, alongside scenic waterfalls. There are numerous antique shops, craftspeople making bamboo baskets, and ubiquitous places where you can purchase food products made with the local crop – wasabi. You’ll find wasabi salad dressing, wasabi white chocolate, and even wasabi soft-serve ice cream! And, don’t forget to stop by Baird Brewery gardens for some local craft beer made famous by Ohio native Bryan Baird and his Japanese wife, Sayuri. They may even have a wasabi-infused brew!
In the evening, as the sun fades, crimson Chochin-style (oblong) Japanese lanterns light the pathways around the town. The river views outside Arai Ryokan (right and below), a traditional Japanese inn founded in 1872, with tatami-mat guest rooms, onsen baths, and even foot baths on some of the balcony guestrooms, are magical. Inside, the feeling of serenity persists. Wooden corridors framed with fusuma screens open onto courtyard ponds and gardens.
Kaiseki meals include freshly caught river fish and freshly picked and shaved wasabi. Guestroom futons are soft and comfortable (although the bean-filled[?] pillows can be a little too authentic), and the all-you-can-drink sencha green tea -- another local specialty -- is set out in a beautifully decorated lacquer canister on the low table with a traditional sweet and an electronic pot of self-serve hot water.
When I was there, I grabbed my tea cup, wrapped myself in a blanket, opened the fusuma screen looking out onto the river, and cuddled into the reclining chair in front. The clean air, the natural sound of the water, the glowing red lamps in the distance, this was the Japan of my imagination, at half the cost and without the crowds of Hakone.
Tomorrow I would take my time, and then proceed by bullet train on to Kyoto, or perhaps first, even another area of heartland of Japan.
Shizuoka is a Prefectural member of the Shoryudo region of central Japan. For more information on this region, visit:Shoryudo.Go-CentralJapan.jp.
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