I went on a solo trip to “Nihondaira Yume Terrace,” “Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine,” and “Miho no Matsubara” in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Good evening, this is Mikan.

I have just finished getting the new corona vaccine, so I thought it was time for me to travel alone. So I decided to travel alone.

However, I am still hesitant to take a plane to Hokkaido! I am still hesitant to travel far away from home, like flying to Hokkaido!

So this time, I went to “Nihondaira, Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine” and “Miho no Matsubara” in Shizuoka Prefecture.

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Nihon Plain（日本平）

What kind of place is Nihondaira?

Nihondaira is the summit of Mt. Udo (udo Yama) and its area near Suruga Bay in Shizuoka Prefecture.

At the top of the mountain are the “summit viewing platform” and the “Nihondaira Dream Terrace,” which offer panoramic views of Mount Fuji and Shimizu Port.

Kunouzan is also home to Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine, which is associated with Ieyasu Tokugawa, and can be reached by the Nihondaira ropeway from the top of Mt.

How to get to Nihondaira

By train

Take a local bus from the North Exit of JR Shizuoka Station or the South Exit of Higashi Shizuoka Station. Take the Shizutetsu Just Line Nihondaira Line bound for 42 Nihondaira Ropeway, about 45 minutes from Shizuoka Station.

By Car

Take the Tomei Expressway to the Shizuoka or Shimizu Interchange, or the Nihondaira Kunouzan Smart Interchange (ETC only).

Access to Nihondaira Summit (Yume Terrace)

Access to the summit includes

By car to the parking lot.

The Nihondaira ropeway takes you from Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine to the top of the mountain.

The Nihondaira Ropeway climbs up from Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine.

The Kunouzan Toshogu ropeway station is located at the end of the 1159 steps of the Toshogu shrine.

It takes more than 20 minutes for a normal person to get there, so it is very difficult.

There is a parking lot on the Toshogu side, but it seems that all the parking lots are managed by the public, and there are few parking spaces and stairs, so it is better to park in the parking lot managed by the prefecture (there are 140 parking spaces on the Nihondaira side).

Therefore, we recommend that you drive to Nihondaira and Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine from the Nihondaira side.

Nihondaira Yume Terrace

Nihondaira Yume Terrace is an observation corridor offering panoramic views of Mount Fuji, Shimizu Port, the Izu Peninsula, the Southern Alps, Shimizu City, and Shizuoka City.

Open 9:00-17:00 (Sat. – 21:00)

Closed on the 2nd Tuesday of the month (or the following weekday if the day falls on a national holiday).

Free admission

Impression of Nihondaira Yume Terrace

We drove from the Shizuoka IC to the east side of the city, passing along the coast.

The road on the way up is a winding mountain road, and those who get carsick easily may need to take anti-sickness medicine.

The road was paved, but the sidewalks were too narrow to climb on foot.

I parked my car in the Nihondaira Yume Terrace parking lot.

There were many parking spaces in the parking lot, and since it was a weekday, I was able to park without difficulty.

From there, we walked to Nihondaira Yume Terrace.

The Nihondaira Yume Terrace is an exhibition area on the first floor that explains the origins of Nihondaira.

The 2nd floor is a lounge where you can enjoy tea and coffee.

The third floor is an observation deck.

Admission is free, so I immediately set out to see Mt.

Unfortunately, we could not see Mt.

Shame. Fuji could not be seen due to cloud cover.

I tried for several hours, but it never seemed to clear up… I had no choice but to head for the ropeway station to go to Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine.

Originally, you can see such a beautiful Mt.

Nihondaira Ropeway

The Nihondaira Ropeway connects Nihondaira Yume Terrace and Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine.

Open from 9:10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Open all year round (closed in case of stormy weather or when the facilities are being renovated)

Fare: Adults 700 yen, round trip 1,250 yen

Children (4-12 years old) round trip: 630 yen, one way: 350 yen

Round-trip ropeway ticket + Toshogu Shrine visit + Toshogu Museum admission 3-piece set ticket available

Discounts for disabled persons and groups are available.

It is easier to buy a combined ticket with Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine, since the ticket machine for the ropeway ticket sells a combined ticket for the ropeway and Toshogu Shrine.

Ropeway round trip + Toshogu shrine visit 2-piece set ticket

Adult 1,750 yen　

Round trip ropeway + visit to Toshogu Shrine + entrance to Toshogu Museum 3-piece set ticket

Adult 1,950 yen

Red and blue ropeways decorated with Tokugawa Ieyasu’s family crest come and go alternately.

The timetable seems to be scheduled every 20 minutes, but depending on the number of passengers, the ropeway often does not run on time.

The ropeway had space for about 20 passengers, and the windows were open, perhaps to prevent coronas.

There were chairs, but only 2 to 3 people could sit on them.

The ride took about 5 minutes.

From the window of the ropeway, we could enjoy a spectacular view of Nihondaira.

Nipponhira was originally a flat area that rose up and became a mountain, with a river flowing between the mountains and the soft soil, leaving only the hard strata.

As a result, steep cliffs spread out, creating a landscape rarely seen in Japan.

Kuno-san Toshogu Shrine

The ropeway will take you to Kunouzan Toshogu Station.

Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine is located in Suruga-ku, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture.

It is said that Tokugawa Ieyasu was buried here at his bequest after his death in Genna 2.

I think I heard the same thing at Nikko Toshogu Shrine.

Whereabouts of the body of Tokugawa Ieyasu

I wonder if Ieyasu’s body was buried at Kunouzan or Nikko?

It was Ieyasu’s will that his body was buried at Kunouzan. I think it is hard to believe that Ieyasu’s vassals would ignore it….

There is also a document that says the body was moved after the completion of Nikko Toshogu Shrine.

Does this mean that he was first buried at Kunouzan but later moved to Nikko?

This is something that can be easily found out if one actually looks into it, but the truth is still in the dark because no excavation research has yet been carried out.

Well, we can’t dig up a grave that is designated as a national treasure, can we?

In December 2010, the main hall, the stone room, and the hall of worship were designated national treasures.”

Gunpla in Toshogu Shrine…?

What a surprise to find Gunpla on display inside Toshogu Shrine!

It said something like “Shizuoka is the place to go when it comes to Gunpla! It said something like “Shizuoka is famous for Gundam plastic models,” but it seemed like a mismatch.

Well, it was interesting…

Kunouzan Toshogu Access

Kunou, or take the ropeway from Nihondaira.

Admission Adult　

　　　　Shrine 500 yen　

　　　　Museum 400 yen　

　　　　Common service 800 yen

Kunoyama Toshogu Shrine Museum

Open 9:00-17:00

There is also a museum on the grounds of Toshogu Shrine.

Inside, Ieyasu’s wooden sword and hat, helmet and armor, and Japan’s first mechanical clock were on display.

There are not many exhibits, but if you are interested, please stop by.

Impressions of Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine and Museum

The view of Mt. Kunou from the ropeway was quite spectacular.

Suruga Bay was also visible and it looked like it was not a Japanese landscape.

Kunouzan Toshogu, like Nikko Toshogu, was very beautiful and solemn in its decoration of each building.

However, it is inferior to Nikko Toshogu because of its size and scale.

Also, the stairs are steep. Perhaps because they are made of stone steps, or perhaps because of the land, each step is high and the slope is steep.

Let’s have lunch at Nihondaira.

After visiting Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine, we took the ropeway back to Yume Terrace for lunch.

I had a seafood bowl.

To be honest, the vinegar in the sushi rice was too sour and not good enough.

Well, maybe it is just a matter of my taste.

There seems to be only one restaurant at Nihondaira Yume Terrace, so I recommend that you have your meals in town.

Miho no Matsubara (stage name of the Imperial regalia)

This time, since we stayed at a hotel near Miho no Matsubara, we also stopped by Miho no Matsubara.

I couldn’t see it at all on the first day due to clouds, but managed to see it on the second day.

It’s too bad there were clouds just where the snow was covering the area. ・・・・

Fuji as it should be. Part 2

Miho no Matsubara was registered as a component of the Mt. Fuji World Heritage in June 2013.

About 30,000 pine trees grow along the 7-km-long coastline and have been depicted in ukiyoe woodblock prints and other works of art.

Miho no Matsubara is home to the Hagoromo no Matsu, a pine tree known in the “Legend of the Heavenly Maiden.

The sandy beach of Miho no Matsubara is hard to walk anyway!

There is nothing to see except Mt.

Hagoromo Hotel

This time we stayed at the Hagoromo Hotel, located near Miho no Matsubara.

Rooms look like this

I stayed in a Japanese-style room for the first time as a solo traveler.

I didn’t have any particular problems, but since I usually stay at business hotels, the staff gave me a tour of the hotel and explained various things, such as laying out a futon, but I had to take care of myself.

Ryokans are like this, aren’t they?

The Japanese breakfast was also delicious. However, I would have preferred to eat as much as I wanted in a buffet style.

Thoughts on this solo trip and the process of making plans

Actually, I had other objectives for this solo trip, but I had to cancel them for various reasons.

Therefore, I decided on a hotel and destination in a very short time, and the result was a little unsatisfactory.

Well, there is nothing we can do about the weather.

Finally, the new coronas have calmed down, and I think the number of people who have been vaccinated is increasing.

Although I still feel uneasy, why don’t you go on a trip alone, avoiding as much density as possible?

Thank you for reading this far.

I would like to write about how I planned my solo trip this time. I would like to write about how I planned my solo trip.

Please refer to it.

I want to go on a solo trip → I want to do __ → Various things happened and it didn’t work out. →But I want to go somewhere.

→I was looking for a hotel and found a hotel that looked good → Let’s stay here. Is there anything nearby?

→Search with GoogleMap. Oh? There is a ropeway. I see that there is a place called Kunouzan Toshogu Shrine!

For accommodations in Japan, please visit Rakuten Travel.

Rakuten Travel’s official website