Shizuoka Prefecture stretches along Japan's Pacific coast between Tokyo and Nagoya, framed by the southern slopes of Mount Fuji, the hot-spring resorts of the Izu Peninsula, and the deep waters of Suruga Bay. Home to Japan's largest green tea harvest, its top eel-producing city, and the closest classic views of Mount Fuji outside Yamanashi, Shizuoka pairs UNESCO World Heritage scenery with feudal-era castles and coastal onsen towns across 7,777 square kilometres of the Chubu region.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Shizuoka.
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1
Yayoi-Period Rice Farming at Toro
A Yayoi-period settlement on the Abe River delta, later excavated as the Toro Ruins, farms irrigated rice paddies using wooden tools and raised-floor storehouses that survive as one of Japan's best-preserved ancient farming sites
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2
Founding of Seikenji Temple
A Tendai temple is founded at Okitsu to guard the Kiyomi barrier, a narrow cliffside pass on the ancient Tokaido road linking the capital with eastern Japan
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3
Shuzenji Temple Founded
The Buddhist monk Kobo Daishi (Kukai) founds Shuzenji Temple in the Izu mountains, and the hot spring beside it gives its name to the surrounding onsen town
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4
Exile and Death of Minamoto no Yoriie at Shuzenji
The deposed second Kamakura shogun, Minamoto no Yoriie, is exiled to Shuzenji and killed there the following year, a violent episode still marked by his grave near the temple
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5
Imagawa Yoshimoto Rules Suruga from Sumpu
Imagawa Yoshimoto expands his family's rule over Suruga, Totomi and Mikawa provinces from Sunpu Castle, turning the town into a cultural center, until his death at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560 against Oda Nobunaga breaks Imagawa power
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6
Young Tokugawa Ieyasu Held Hostage in Sunpu
The future shogun, then known as Matsudaira Takechiyo, is sent to Sunpu as a child hostage of the Imagawa clan and educated partly at Seikenji Temple in Okitsu, an experience that shapes his later strategic patience
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7
Ieyasu Builds Power from Hamamatsu Castle
Tokugawa Ieyasu seizes Hikuma Castle from the Imagawa, renames it Hamamatsu Castle, and rules from it for seventeen years, surviving a crushing defeat at the 1572 Battle of Mikatagahara against Takeda Shingen before rebuilding his strength
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8
Yamauchi Kazutoyo Rebuilds Kakegawa Castle
After the Toyotomi conquest of the Hojo, Yamauchi Kazutoyo is granted the Kakegawa domain and rebuilds the castle with a new keep, stone walls and moats largely unchanged in the site's present layout
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9
Ieyasu's Retirement Rule from Sunpu Castle
Having ceded the shogun title to his son Hidetada, Ieyasu renovates Sunpu Castle into a triple-moated seat of retired power (Ogosho), where he governs the country in practice, mints Japan's first national currency, sponsors the first Japanese movable-type printing, and orders construction of Japan's first Western-style ocean-going ship
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10
Death of Ieyasu and Founding of Kunozan Toshogu
Tokugawa Ieyasu dies at Sunpu Castle on the 17th day of the 4th month and, per his will, is buried at Kunozan; construction of the Kunozan Toshogu shrine and mausoleum begins the same year and is completed within about a year and a half
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11
Tokaido Post Stations Flourish
The Edo shogunate formalizes the Tokaido highway's 53 post stations, several of them in present-day Shizuoka Prefecture including Okitsu-juku, Shizuoka-juku and Kakegawa-juku, generating two and a half centuries of travel-driven trade and culture
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12
Treaty of Shimoda Signed at Ryosenji
Commodore Matthew Perry and shogunate officials negotiate at Shimoda's Ryosenji Temple, concluding the Treaty of Shimoda, which opens the port to American ships and formalizes terms following Japan's forced opening to the West
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13
Meiji Restoration and Modern Shizuoka
The former Tokugawa shogunal family relocates to Sumpu, renamed Shizuoka, after the fall of the shogunate; the region reorganizes into modern Shizuoka Prefecture in 1876 and develops its tea and railway industries through the Meiji era
Historical sites
Places where Shizuoka's past comes alive.
Sunpu Castle Ruins (Sunpu Castle Park)
Where: Aoi Ward, Shizuoka City
Admission: JPY 150-360 per facility or combined ticket (approx $0.95-$2.27); free to walk the park grounds
Kunozan Toshogu Shrine
Where: Suruga Ward, Shizuoka City
Admission: JPY 700 shrine only, JPY 1,200 combined with museum (approx $4.41-$7.56)
Hamamatsu Castle
Where: Chuo Ward, Hamamatsu
Admission: JPY 200 (approx $1.26); free for junior high age and under
Kakegawa Castle
Where: Kakegawa
Admission: JPY 410 adult, JPY 150 ages 7-15 (approx $0.95-$2.58); free age 6 and under
Toro Ruins
Where: Suruga Ward, Shizuoka City
Admission: Ruins and museum 1st floor free; 2nd floor exhibits JPY 300 (approx $1.89)
Seikenji Temple, Okitsu
Where: Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City
Admission: JPY 300 for the garden and reception halls (approx $1.89)
Ryosenji Temple
Where: Shimoda
Admission: JPY 500 treasure museum (approx $3.15)
Shizuoka Sengen Shrine
Where: Aoi Ward, Shizuoka City
Admission: Free (donations accepted)
Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha
Where: Fujinomiya
Admission: Free (donations accepted)
Shuzenji Temple
Where: Izu City
Admission: Free to walk the temple grounds