Shizuoka marked our final stop before reaching Tokyo. The city is famous for its green tea, strawberries and beautiful views of the sacred Mount Fuji. To take in this iconic sight, we headed first to the Nihondaira observation deck (308 meters). In Shizuoka we finally met someone who speaks Slovak - Simona Dvorská (Sewitches), whose blog inspired me to start writing my own. She studied in Japan and decided to live there.
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| Fuji-san, highest peak of Japan (3776 meters) |
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Tour participants and Sewi, our guide to Shizuoka
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| Omelette rice with miso soup |
When we were done observing Mount Fuji, we had lunch at one of the local restaurants, I went with the omelette rice and was not disappointed - although it didn't quite match the magic of the first time. From Nihondaira, there is a cable car to Kuno Hill, which houses the shrine of Kunozan Toshogu. It is dedicated to a shogun named Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, who ruled Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1867. His remains were originally placed in the mausoleum at this shrine and were later transferred to Nikko.
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| Did I mention there were lots of stairs everywhere? |
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| Detail of roof with gold plated ornaments |
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| The way to the shrine |
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| Detail of the decorative relief of the sanctuary |
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| Barrels of saké |
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| Bell-shaped mausoleum - the original place of shogun's rest |
Strawberries in November
As we descended from Kuno Hill, we saw Japanese greenhouses along the coast where strawberries are grown even at this time of year (the average temperature in Shizuoka in November is 15 degrees Celsius). You could also buy strawberry ice cream made from freshly picked berries. Interestingly, the strawberries grow in special stone terraces that resemble stairs, ensuring each berry receives maximum sunlight. The warmth retained by the stones also helps the strawberries to grow.
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| Shizuoka - coast and strawberry farms in greenhouses |
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| I-chi-go |
Back in the city, we spent the evening in a bit cheesy decorated center, adorned with Christmas lights and a colorful fountain. Later, we sat in a real Japanese bar and placed our orders using an electronic menu - on a tablet. It is a bit like ordering online, you could see your total, keep track of your food and drinks, and view pictures of each item. Just another of those clever Japanese conveniences I wish we had in more local restaurants. Some of the brave among us ventured into a karaoke bar - but they weren't going to convince me to join in :-).
The following day, we explored Sunpujo Park in the city center and visited the Shizuoka Sengen Shrine complex. It consists of three shrines: Kambe, Sengen and Ohtoshimioja. These shrines are richly decorated with detailed wooden carvings, reminiscent of the Shrine of Kunozan Toshogu. As usual, there were schoolchildren on field trips, wearing colorful caps identifying their classes.
We said goodbye to Sewi and only one final destination of our trip remained - Tokyo.
Video below shows Japanese koi carps being hungry.
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