Thursday, 16 June 2022

Kunozan Toshogu, Shizuoka// My travel guide

Kunozan Toshogu Shrine, Shizuoka. This shot shows the detail on the roofs.

So there are only a couple of 'touristy' places easily accessible from Shizuoka city, and one of those is Kunozan Toshogu, a gorgeous shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu with a distinct architectural style and definitely a place I'd recommend visiting.

Access// I'd recommend going to Shimizu aand getting the bus from there. Going from Shizuoka city involves a pretty confusing change at Higashi ooya 東大谷 where one bus stop is in the wrong place on google maps. If you're going to take the bus, I'd recommend telling the bus driver you want to go to Kunozan because nothing is in English either.

So- the easiest way is to go to Shimizu city by train and take the bus from there, take one of the direct buses from Shizuoka city that run a couple of times a day, or go to Nihon Daira and take the ropeway.
Or you could even cycle if you've got the time!

Kunozan is famous for having over a thousand stone steps up the mountain, but you can avoid this if you take the ropeway from Nihon Daira. Unfortunately that's still not super accessible as there are steps to get to the ropeway.

After you're done, you can go strawberry picking, go to Nihon Daira or just chill on the beach for a bit <3 The area is famous for Ishigaki strawberries, so there are loads of yummy strawberry flavoured omiyage to pick up and snacks to eat!

But Kunozan is really relaxing and pretty and green so it's a great day trip- I'd really recommend it! The first time I went, I went by bus and went on the ropeway to Nihon Daira after. Luckily I could see Mt Fuji and I'd definitely recommend checking Shizuoka Prefecture's Mt Fuji live camera before you pay to go all the way to Nihon Daira because if it's cloudy you aren't going to see anything.

Below are some of my shots of Kunozan and Nihon Daira:

The entrance to Kunozan Toshogu shrine in Shizuoka prefecture. An imposing gate stands at the top of some stone steps.

Toro stone lantern and barrels of sake at Kunozan Toshogu, Shizuoka

A tree at Kunozan Toshogu. It looks old and sort of fern-like? I believe it was specially carried up the stone steps a long time ago...

Toro stone lanterns, a torii shrine gate and the main gate of Kunozan Toshogu in Shizuoka

Sakura, stone steps and gorgeous architecture at Kunozan Toshogu, Shizuoka

Omikuji fortunes tied up to dispel bad luck at Kunozan Toshogu, Shizuoka

Lavish gold detailing on the roof of Kunozan Toshogu, Shizuoka

Lavish gold detailing on the roof and walls of Kunozan Toshogu, Shizuoka

omikuji fortunes tied up to prevent bad luck at Kunozan Toshogu, Shizuoka

Ema prayer plaques at Kunozan Toshogu, Shizuoka

View of Kunozan Toshogu, Shizuoka. There is a window framing the photo and you can see torii, toro lanterns and the main gate.

Details of the main shrine building of Kunozan Toshogu, Shizuoka. You can see lanterns hanging from the roofs and lots of ornate gold detailing.

Paintings on the wall of Kunozan Toshogu shrine, Shizuoka. There is a lion-like creature with one eye which is blue with white polka dots on it.

Trees and toro stone lanterns at Kunozan Toshogu, Shizuoka.

Pink camelias frame a stone torii shrine gate at Kunozan Toshogu

Tokugawa Ieyasu's shrine, trees and toro stone lanterns at Kunozan Toshogu, Shizuoka.

Ropeway to Nihon Daira//
The recently opened Yume Terrace there has free entry- there's a cafe and some information about Nihon Daira's geography and- in good weather- a great view of Mount Fuji and the Izu Peninsula