Chapter 03 · Experiences
No. 05
History and heritage
Toi Gold Mine: the Edo tunnels
土肥金山・江戸の坑道
Walk the lantern-lit tunnels of a gold mine that helped pay for the shogunate, then pan Toi's sand for flakes of your own.
時刻表Timetable
- 所要Duration
- About 2.5 hours on site; a half day from Atami
- 季節Season
- All year.
- 人数Group
- 1–12 guests
- 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
- The mine entrance, or the house as part of a longer day.
- 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
Walk the lantern-lit tunnels of a mine that once produced gold second only to Sado, past life-size miners at their work. Then pan for flakes of your own in Toi's gold sand. It works at every age, and the children always want another go.
Toi, on the west coast of Izu, was one of Japan's great gold mines in the Edo period, at its height around 1600, and worked again from the end of the Meiji era until 1965. The tourist tunnel follows the old workings, with figures showing how the miners dug, drained and carried the ore.
Afterwards, fifteen minutes with a pan in a trough of gold-bearing sand, and whatever glitters is yours to keep. It fits on the way to Dougashima, or as the first stop of the Shizuoka history day.
Lantern-lit tunnels with life-size miners at work, ore samples and the old scales, and gold panning that works at any age.
路線図
The route
Times are a guide; the day bends to the weather.
Start
The tourist tunnel
観光坑道
45 min
The Edo workings, lit by lanterns.
+0:45
The exhibition hall
資料館
30 min
Ore samples, old tools and scales: the story of Izu's gold.
+1:15Finish
Gold panning
砂金採り
30 min
Fifteen minutes with a pan; you keep what you find.
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
- The mine entrance, or the house as part of a longer day.
- Ages
- Gold panning is a hit with children of any age.
- 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 mapE4
Toi Gold Mine, West Izu · About 32 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
Toi Gold Mine offers gold panning and a gemstone hunt in the sand; every course takes 15 minutes.
Source: toi-gold-mine.jp (opens in a new tab) - 04
Toi Gold Mine is open 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30); panning tickets are sold until 15:50.
Source: toi-gold-mine.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. 20About 1 hour on site
Pan for gold, dig for gems
No. 20Pan for gold, dig for gems
- Duration
- About 1 hour on site
- Season
- Getting there
- Meet there · Licensed hire car, arranged by us
- Price
- We book it; the partner charges you directly
- Map
- E4
The hire company bills you directly; the partner bills you for the day.
No. 12About 9 hours
West Izu: the Dougashima coast
No. 12West Izu: the Dougashima coast
- Duration
- About 9 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
- D6
The hire company bills you directly; our fee is for the guiding.
No. 23About 9 hours
A West Izu food day
No. 23A West Izu food day
- Duration
- About 9 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
- D5
The hire company bills you directly; our fee is for the guiding.
