Shimizu Port

What to know

Until it merged with Shizuoka City in 2003, Shimizu was an independent city centered around its port. Shimizu Port offers several attractions, but it's best known as one of Japan's most scenic ports thanks to clear-day views of Mount Fuji.

Shimizu Port is mentioned in Japan's oldest historical texts, compiled during the Nara Period (710–784). Its importance grew after Tokugawa Ieyasu chose Sumpu Castle as his retirement residence in 1605. In the early 1900s, the port was a major hub for exporting Shizuoka tea. Today, it handles diverse cargo including raw materials, containers, natural gas, and fish.

S-Pulse Dream Plaza is a four-story waterfront shopping mall with museums, movie theaters, a food court, and a Ferris wheel. Named after the local soccer team Shimizu S-Pulse, whose stadium sits on nearby Nihondaira plateau, the mall's standout attraction is the Shimizu Sushi Museum, featuring informative displays and models about sushi (Japanese only) and several sushi restaurants.

About a kilometer north of S-Pulse Dream Plaza, near JR Shimizu Station, lies Kashi-no-Ichi Market, the local fish market selling fresh seafood. A short walk in the opposite direction from the mall is the Verkehr Museum, which exhibits the history of Shimizu Port and boats and ports in general.

Shimizu Port stretches for many kilometers along the waterfront. Access is easy from both JR Shimizu Station (a short walk from Kashi-no-Ichi Market) and Shizuoka Railway's Shin-Shimizu Station (a 15-minute walk from S-Pulse Dream Plaza). Several bus lines run along the main road parallel to the waterfront.

Another way to explore the port is by water bus. Boats run once per hour from Ejiri Pier at Kashi-no-Ichi Market to Hinode Pier beside S-Pulse Dream Plaza and Miho Pier near Miho Beach, then return to Ejiri Pier. The fare is 800 yen per ride.