Ieyasu's City: Shizuoka by Train
Eleven minutes down the line: the shogun's castle, a gold-and-vermilion shrine, and a 2,000-year-old village.
How the day runs
Clock times assume you are off the ship at the first time shown. If your ship is late, everything shifts; the order does not.
- 9:00 Depart Hinode Pier
Walk or take the shuttle to JR Shimizu Station. The Tokaido line runs frequently — you don't need to plan around a timetable.
About 11 min by JR train to Shizuoka Station
- 9:30 Sunpu Castle Park
Stay: about 1 hour
The castle where Tokugawa Ieyasu spent both his childhood and his retirement as retired shogun. Cross the moat to the reconstructed East Gate and Tatsumi turret; the park itself is free and open. A 15-minute walk from the station straight into feudal history.
What you will see here →
Photo: Akahito Yamabe / CC BY-SA 4.0 About 15 min on foot north toward Mt. Shizuhata
- 10:45 Shizuoka Sengen Shrine
Stay: about 1 hour
A dazzling complex of vermilion-and-gold halls where the young Ieyasu came of age — the two-storey main hall is one of the largest lacquered shrine buildings in Japan. Quiet, spectacular, and almost never on a cruise itinerary.
What you will see here →
Photo: 小池 隆 / CC BY 3.0 Back to Shizuoka Station (~15 min), then about 10 min by bus south
- 12:30 Lunch near Shizuoka Station + green tea
Stay: about 1 hour
Shizuoka is Japan's tea capital — pair lunch with a proper cup. The station area has easy options; ask for local Shizuoka-cha. (If your ship leaves late evening, swap this for the Aoba oden street later.)
About 10–15 min by bus to Toro
- 13:45 Toro Ruins & Museum
Stay: about 1 hour
A reconstructed Yayoi-era rice-farming village — thatched pit dwellings, raised storehouses and paddies from around 2,000 years ago, with a compact hands-on museum. A complete change of era, and a good rainy-day indoor option.
What you will see here →
Photo: Saigen Jiro / CC0 Bus to Shizuoka Station, then about 11 min by JR back to Shimizu
- 15:15 Back at Hinode Pier
Aboard with margin on a 16:00 sailing, having seen the birthplace of the shogun who unified Japan — without a single tour bus.
Most cruise passengers never leave the harbor side. Eleven minutes on the train opens up Ieyasu’s own city — three eras of Japan in one easy loop.
About this plan
How long does the Ieyasu's City: Shizuoka by Train plan take?
About 6 hours. Designed for a 7:00–16:00 call. Back on board by 15:00. Train-based — buy an IC card or day ticket at Shimizu Station.
Can I do this in Shimizu without a ship’s tour?
Yes — this is a self-guided plan for independent cruise passengers, with transport and timings laid out step by step so you get back on board with margin.
Prefer this day guided?
The same ground, with an English-speaking driver-guide and a pickup at the pier.
Mt. Fuji View Tour with a Licensed Guide
The pick for people who want to choose: a nationally licensed guide and a car for six hours, with three or four stops you select from a list.
From US$378 per person · max 7 Pickup at the pier 4.9★ · 23 reviews · 6 hours Fits and has seats on 13 of 20 calls from 27 Oct Why it's on this list →
All-About Mt. Fuji: The Short Tour with a Sweet Twist
The best short tour at this port: Mt. Fuji viewpoints plus making your own Fuji-shaped wagashi sweet, and you are back at the ship with hours to spare.
From US$129 per person · max 8 Meets at the pier 5.0★ · 23 reviews · 4 hours Fits and has seats on 4 of 20 calls from 27 Oct Why it's on this list →Tours are booked through our partners Viator (a Tripadvisor company) and GetYourGuide. If you book, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — it never decides what we recommend.