Chapter 03 · Experiences
No. 09
History and heritage
Shimoda: where Japan opened
下田・開国の町
Walk Perry Road beside its willow-lined canal to Ryōsen-ji, where the treaty's fine print was signed, and stand in the harbour the Black Ships sailed into.
時刻表Timetable
- 所要Duration
- About 8 hours (a long day)
- 季節Season
- All year.
- 人数Group
- 1–12 guests · Ages 8 and up
- 移動Getting there
- By trainTransportation by car and a bilingual guide will be arrangedCome in your own carThe hire company bills you directly; our fee is for the guiding.Travel by train or in your own car. If you'd rather be driven, we book a private car with a licensed driver, and the hire company bills you directly.
- 集合Meeting point
- Atami Station.
- 料金Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
Add a paid tour and the stay is 10% less; discounts don't combine
Reserve
Choose a day, and book it
Finding the open days…
The story
The other half of the Nirayama story. Walk Perry Road beside its willow-lined canal to Ryōsen-ji, where the rules of Japan's first treaty with America were signed, and stand in the harbour the Black Ships sailed into. It's a long day, worth it.
In 1854 Perry's men marched through Shimoda to Ryosenji, where the detailed rules of the treaty that opened Japan were agreed. The lane they took runs beside a small river, paved in stone and lit by gas lamps, and is still called Perry Road.
It is a long day, about two hours down the coast each way by the Izukyu line or by hire car, so we keep the stops few: the temple, the lane, the harbour, and lunch by the water. Pair it with the Nirayama furnace for the whole story of the Black Ships in Izu.
The other half of the Nirayama story: the port the furnace had to move away from.
路線図
The route
Times are a guide; the day bends to the weather.
Start
Ryosenji
了仙寺
45 min
Where the Shimoda Treaty was signed.
+0:45
Perry Road
ペリーロード
45 min
About 400 m of stone paving and gas lamps along a small river.
+1:30Finish
Shimoda harbour
下田港
1 h 15 min
Lunch by the water; you pay the restaurant.
Good to know
Included
- Your host as guide, in English or Japanese
- A route planned around your group and the weather
- Help booking tickets and restaurant tables
Not included
- Travel: train fares, fuel and tolls for your own car, or the hire car
- Admissions, boats and workshops, paid on the day
- Meals and drinks
- Price
- Guide fee per person, tax included. With your stay: ¥10,000 for one guest, ¥7,500 each for two, ¥5,000 each for three to twelve. Tour only: ¥10,000 each, for two guests or more. Admissions, partner fees, meals and travel are paid on the day. Book a paid tour with your stay and the stay itself is 10% less (you always get the single best discount). Groups of seven or more, please book 10 days ahead.
- Meeting point
- Atami Station.
- Ages
- Ages 8 and up
- Weather
- Fuji, the stars and the fireworks depend on the sky; we tell you the evening before if it's worth going.
- Cancellation
- Guide fees follow the stay's cancellation tiers. Partners' own terms apply to theirs.
On the mapF6
Ryosenji and Perry Road, Shimoda · About 47 km from the house
Sources
- 01
At Ryosenji in Shimoda the Shimoda Treaty, the detailed rules of the Japan–US Treaty of Peace and Amity, was signed; Perry's party marched to it along what is now Perry Road.
Source: shimoda-city.info (opens in a new tab) - 02
Perry Road is a stone-paved lane of about 400 m with stone railings and gas lamps along a small river.
Source: shimoda-city.info (opens in a new tab) - 03
The furnace was planned by the Nirayama magistrate Egawa Hidetatsu (Tan'an) after Perry's arrival in 1853; it was first begun near Shimoda, moved inland after sailors from Perry's fleet entered the site in March 1854, and finished by his son Hidetoshi with help from Saga engineers in November 1857.
Source: city.izunokuni.shizuoka.jp (opens in a new tab)
Ask us about a date.
Tell us the day, who's coming and what you'd like to see. Your host replies within a few hours, in English or Japanese.
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No. 06The furnace that answered the Black Ships
- Duration
- 5–6 hours
- Season
- Getting there
- Transportation by car and a bilingual guide will be arranged · Come in your own car
- Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
- Map
- F3
The hire company bills you directly; our fee is for the guiding.
No. 13About 4 hours
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No. 13Jogasaki at dusk
- Duration
- About 4 hours
- Season
- Getting there
- By train · Come in your own car
- Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
- Map
- H5
- 火山No. 14 · Coast, caves and geologyEast Izu's volcanoesPhotographs coming soon
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No. 14East Izu's volcanoes
- Duration
- About 8 hours
- Season
- Getting there
- Transportation by car and a bilingual guide will be arranged · Come in your own car
- Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
- Map
- G4
The hire company bills you directly; our fee is for the guiding.
