6 Days in Shizuoka: First-Timer Plan

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Six days combines the Fuji area with a full Izu Peninsula loop, the two add-ons that a shorter trip has to choose between. The 3-day and 4-day plans each pick one; this one does both. For an extra day in Hamamatsu on top, see the 7-day version.

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Day 1: Sumpu Castle and Shizuoka City

Arrive at Shizuoka Station on a Hikari (about 1 hour from Tokyo, roughly ¥6,000) or Kodama, not a Nozomi, which doesn’t stop here. Spend the morning at Sumpu Castle Park, Ieyasu’s retirement castle, then try a tea-tasting experience in the afternoon. Order Shizuoka oden for dinner.

Day 2: Miho no Matsubara and Kunozan Toshogu

Visit Miho no Matsubara’s pine-grove coastline, a genuine Fuji UNESCO component, then ride the Nihondaira Ropeway (roughly ¥1,250 return) to the Yume Terrace deck and down to Kunozan Toshogu, Ieyasu’s original 1617 shrine, older than Nikko’s.

Day 3: Fujinomiya, the Fuji side

Head to Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha, head shrine of over 1,300 Sengen shrines and a Fuji UNESCO component, then Shiraito Falls, fed by Fuji’s own meltwater. Have Fujinomiya yakisoba for lunch, and if it’s late April or May, detour to Obuchi Sasaba for the tea-rows-and-Fuji photo. This is a viewing day, the Shizuoka FUJI NAVI permit is only for actually climbing, a separate summer-only trip covered in the main guide . Return to Shizuoka City for the night.

Day 4: Into Izu, base at Shuzenji

Travel to Shuzenji, “the Little Kyoto of Izu,” an onsen town with roughly 1,200 years of history and the Chikurin-no-Komichi bamboo path along the Katsura River. Check into a ryokan and spend the evening soaking; this is your base for the next two nights.

Day 5: Shimoda and the Jogasaki coast

Head south to Shimoda, where Commodore Perry’s Black Ships landed in 1854 and the Treaty of Shimoda ended Japan’s isolation; walk Shirahama Beach if the weather holds. On the way back, stop at the Jogasaki coast’s lava cliffs and the Kadowaki suspension bridge.

Day 6: Wasabi farms and Kawazu

Visit an Amagi wasabi farm, Shizuoka grows roughly 80% of Japan’s real hon-wasabi, using a terraced-streambed method recognized as a GIAHS heritage system. In Kawazu, walk the Nanadaru Seven Waterfalls trail, or, if you’re here in early February, catch the Kawazu-zakura cherry blossoms (the 2026 festival runs February 7 to March 8). Head back toward Shizuoka or Tokyo in the evening.

Getting around and where to stay

Shizuoka City for nights one through three, then Shuzenji for nights four and five (days 4-6 above). A rental car is genuinely useful across the Fuji area and Izu interior, transit thins out fast once you’re off the main lines. Compare rental cars before you land.

One concrete tip: book the Shuzenji ryokan and the Fujinomiya day tour (if you’re using one) before anything else, both fill up well ahead of spring and autumn weekends.