Chapter 03 · Experiences
No. 04
History and heritage
Shizuoka history day
静岡歴史めぐり
Four centuries of Shizuoka in one day: the gold of Toi, a furnace built to answer the Black Ships, Ieyasu's castle town and a craft to finish.
時刻表Timetable
- 所要Duration
- 7–10 hours
- 季節Season
- All year; spring and autumn are kindest for walking.
- 人数Group
- 1–12 guests · Ages 8 and up
- 移動Getting there
- Transportation by car and a bilingual guide will be arrangedCome in your own carBy trainThe 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 at about 8:00, or the house if you travel by hire car or in your own car.
- 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
Your host's own route through four centuries: the gold of Toi that helped pay for the shogunate, the Nirayama furnace built to answer the Black Ships, the castle where Tokugawa Ieyasu ran Japan in retirement, and a craft at Takumi-shuku to end with. Choose two or three; all four is a ten-hour day.
Much of Japan's story happened in Shizuoka, and this day follows it. Walk the tunnels of a gold mine that peaked around 1600, stand under the furnace that cast cannon at the end of the shogunate, see where Tokugawa Ieyasu ruled in retirement, and finish with your hands in a local craft. All four stops make a long day of about ten hours, so we suggest choosing two or three.
Your host's own route: Toi's gold, the Nirayama furnace, Sumpu Castle and a craft at Takumi-shuku. Choose two or three; all four is ten hours.
路線図
The route
Times are a guide; the day bends to the weather.
Start
Toi Gold Mine
土肥金山
1 h 30 min
At its height around 1600, reopened late in the Meiji era and worked until 1965. The old tunnel shows how the miners worked; afterwards, try panning for gold.
+1:30
Nirayama Reverberatory Furnace
韮山反射炉
1 h
Begun in 1854 and casting cannon by 1857: the only furnace in Japan that actually made cannon and still stands. Part of a World Heritage site since 2015.
+2:30
Sumpu Castle Park
駿府城公園
1 h 15 min
Ieyasu spent twelve years of his boyhood in Sumpu as a hostage of the Imagawa, and came back in 1607 to rule from here after handing the shogunate to his son. The grounds are a park with rebuilt gates and turrets.
+3:45Finish
Takumi-shuku craft village
駿府の工房 匠宿
1 h 15 min
Workshops in Suruga bamboo, dyeing, woodwork, lacquer and pottery in Mariko, on the edge of Shizuoka City. Most sessions take 20 to 90 minutes.
Photographs 4
We never photograph other visitors' faces.
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 at about 8:00, or the house if you travel by hire car or in your own car.
- Ages
- Ages 8 and up · Gold panning at Toi is the children's favourite part.
- 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 mapF3
Nirayama, Toi and Shizuoka City · About 11 km from the house
Sources
- 01
The Toi gold mine was at its height around 1600, reopened late in the Meiji era and closed in 1965.
Source: city.izu.shizuoka.jp (opens in a new tab) - 02
Toi Gold Mine was one of Japan's leading gold mines in the Edo period; its tourist tunnel recreates how the miners worked.
Source: kanko.city.izu.shizuoka.jp (opens in a new tab) - 03
Every gold-panning course at Toi Gold Mine takes 15 minutes.
Source: toi-gold-mine.jp (opens in a new tab) - 04
Work on the Nirayama Reverberatory Furnace began in 1854; it was completed and working in 1857, built to make cannon.
Source: pref.shizuoka.jp (opens in a new tab) - 05
Nirayama is the only surviving reverberatory furnace in Japan that actually made cannon, inscribed in July 2015 as part of the Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution.
Source: pref.shizuoka.jp (opens in a new tab) - 06
Ieyasu lived in Sumpu as a hostage for twelve years from 1549, handed the shogunate to Hidetada in 1605, moved into Sumpu Castle in 1607 and died in 1616.
Source: sumpu-castlepark.com (opens in a new tab) - 07
At Sumpu Castle Park the Tatsumi turret (1989), the Higashi-gomon gate (1996) and the Hitsujisaru turret (2014) have been rebuilt.
Source: sumpu-castlepark.com (opens in a new tab) - 08
Takumi-shuku in Mariko, Shizuoka City, offers Suruga bamboo, Japanese dyeing, woodwork, lacquer and pottery workshops.
Source: takumishuku.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.
More like this
All 41 experiences
No. 05About 2.5 hours on site; a half day from Atami
Toi Gold Mine: the Edo tunnels
No. 05Toi Gold Mine: the Edo tunnels
- Duration
- About 2.5 hours on site; a half day from Atami
- 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
- E4
The hire company bills you directly; our fee is for the guiding.
No. 073 hours, or a full day with Takumi-shuku
Sumpu: Ieyasu's last castle
No. 07Sumpu: Ieyasu's last castle
- Duration
- 3 hours, or a full day with Takumi-shuku
- Season
- Getting there
- By train
- Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
- Map
- A4
No. 17About 3 hours
A morning at Takumi-shuku
No. 17A morning at Takumi-shuku
- Duration
- About 3 hours
- Season
- Getting there
- Meet there · By train
- Price
- We book it; the partner charges you directly
- Map
- A4
