Travel Highlight - Shimizu (Miho Beach, Hagoromo-no-matsu, Ninhodaira Peak, Kakegawaga Castle, Shimizu Port, Kashi Market & Seikenji Temple)
Shizuoka is the home city of Mochan, our host in Japan. For the next seven nights, we stayed in Mochan’s house in Ishikawa, Shimizu-Ku, Shizouka city and focused our visits in the surrounding areas. Shimizu has a population of around 800,000 people.
Early in the morning, Mochan took us (Cheng, Hitomi, Artem, Van & Claire) to visit the Miho beach, Shimizu. The Miho beach is part of the Tokai long distance nature trail, which was built in 1969 by the Ministry of Environment to protect the beautiful nature and the valuable assets lie in this trail. The Tokai trail covers 1,697km in 11 prefectures (administrations) stretching from Tokyo to Shizouka, Nara, Kyoto and Osaka. The Miho beach faces the Suruga Bay. As we walked towards the beach, we saw a number of big old pine trees (looked like gigantic bonsai plants) in slanting positions and the presence of these big trees make the surrounding place very shady and cool. Mochan took us to an old pine tree with was fenced out and had a signboard in front, which reads “ Hagoromo-no-matsu (The pine tree of the Robe Hagoromo). This pine tree is 650 years old! According to the legend, the place where the celestial maiden hung her robe”. Isn’t it amazing! A small shrine was built next to the old pine tree.
We took a stroll on the beach and also touched the sea mizu (water) splashing on to the shores. The coastline has a fine stretch of grey sands and also littered with volcanic rocks. Hitomi and Artem collected some volcanic rocks as souvenir to bring back home. We took a few pictures on the beach and the Suruga Bay. On the way out, we met a group of kindergarten kids, who were picnicking at the beach. The kids enjoyed our company and started to chat with us. They were curious to know our country of origin, what we were doing etc. We took a group picture on these charming kids before leaving the place.
After the Miho beach visit, Mochan drove us to the Nihondaira Sport Park and we walked up to the Nihondaira Peak, to catch a view of Suruga Bay. This peak is also used as the observation point for Mt Fuji, due to its high ground.
Shizuoka is the home city of Mochan, our host in Japan. For the next seven nights, we stayed in Mochan’s house in Ishikawa, Shimizu-Ku, Shizouka city and focused our visits in the surrounding areas. Shimizu has a population of around 800,000 people.
Early in the morning, Mochan took us (Cheng, Hitomi, Artem, Van & Claire) to visit the Miho beach, Shimizu. The Miho beach is part of the Tokai long distance nature trail, which was built in 1969 by the Ministry of Environment to protect the beautiful nature and the valuable assets lie in this trail. The Tokai trail covers 1,697km in 11 prefectures (administrations) stretching from Tokyo to Shizouka, Nara, Kyoto and Osaka. The Miho beach faces the Suruga Bay. As we walked towards the beach, we saw a number of big old pine trees (looked like gigantic bonsai plants) in slanting positions and the presence of these big trees make the surrounding place very shady and cool. Mochan took us to an old pine tree with was fenced out and had a signboard in front, which reads “ Hagoromo-no-matsu (The pine tree of the Robe Hagoromo). This pine tree is 650 years old! According to the legend, the place where the celestial maiden hung her robe”. Isn’t it amazing! A small shrine was built next to the old pine tree.
We took a stroll on the beach and also touched the sea mizu (water) splashing on to the shores. The coastline has a fine stretch of grey sands and also littered with volcanic rocks. Hitomi and Artem collected some volcanic rocks as souvenir to bring back home. We took a few pictures on the beach and the Suruga Bay. On the way out, we met a group of kindergarten kids, who were picnicking at the beach. The kids enjoyed our company and started to chat with us. They were curious to know our country of origin, what we were doing etc. We took a group picture on these charming kids before leaving the place.
After the Miho beach visit, Mochan drove us to the Nihondaira Sport Park and we walked up to the Nihondaira Peak, to catch a view of Suruga Bay. This peak is also used as the observation point for Mt Fuji, due to its high ground.
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Our next visit was the Ninomaru Museum & Tea Room, an old historical wooden building. Not far from the museum, lies the Kakegawa castle, which was built in 1469. Perched on a hill slope, the castle looked magnificent & impressive.
On the way back to the Shimizu town, we were taken on a quick tour of the Shimizu port and also visited the Kashi fish mini market at the fisherman’s wharf area. All sort of fresh fish, shellfish and seafood were sold in this mini market, which catered to the Shimizu community. I bought a piece of fish cake for Y200 (RM6.50) and it really taste good. At the exit, I bought a pack of Japanese oranges for Y300 (RM9.50) as dessert for our dinner tonight. Next to Kasi market, you could eat at a Japanese sushi & sashimi restaurant, which serves fresh sashimi meals starting from Y950 (RM30) to 1,680 (RM54) for a combo set.
Our last visit of the day was the Seikenji Buddhist temple. We had to pass an overhead bridge before entering the temple. Underneath the bridge, I saw a dual carriage railway track and took pictures of passing JR trains ferrying passengerstatutes greeting us on both side of the passageway. The architectural design of this temple dates back to the Meiji era. Opposite the temple, we could see the s to Shimizu JR station. On the left hand side of the temple, there were hundreds of stone carving Shaolin master
On the way back to the Shimizu town, we were taken on a quick tour of the Shimizu port and also visited the Kashi fish mini market at the fisherman’s wharf area. All sort of fresh fish, shellfish and seafood were sold in this mini market, which catered to the Shimizu community. I bought a piece of fish cake for Y200 (RM6.50) and it really taste good. At the exit, I bought a pack of Japanese oranges for Y300 (RM9.50) as dessert for our dinner tonight. Next to Kasi market, you could eat at a Japanese sushi & sashimi restaurant, which serves fresh sashimi meals starting from Y950 (RM30) to 1,680 (RM54) for a combo set.
Our last visit of the day was the Seikenji Buddhist temple. We had to pass an overhead bridge before entering the temple. Underneath the bridge, I saw a dual carriage railway track and took pictures of passing JR trains ferrying passengerstatutes greeting us on both side of the passageway. The architectural design of this temple dates back to the Meiji era. Opposite the temple, we could see the s to Shimizu JR station. On the left hand side of the temple, there were hundreds of stone carving Shaolin master
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We got back to Mocha’s house at around 18.00. After a short rest, we walked to a nearby supa market to (supermarket) and visited a popular 100 Yen shop, which stocked everything from fu uku (clothing), kasa (umbrellas), stationery to house wares and food. This shop is a great place to pick up a load of souvenirs and gifts for friends at home at a uniform and yasui (cheap) price of Y100 (RM3.20) per item. At the supa maketto (supermarket), I bought a loaf of superfine bread for Y128 (RM4.10) and a tub of blueberry jam for Y138 (RM4.40). If you are a bread eater, make sure you try this superfine bread (a class of its own) topped with jam or any dairy spread! None of the Malaysian bread I had tasted so far could match this superfine bread, which were on sale in most supermarkets in Japan. Food glorious Japanese food! A coin operated laundry machine service shop in this neighborhood charged Y500 (RM16) for a 8 kilo load of dirty fu uku (clothing). We had a home cooked meal cum with steamed Japanese short grain rice tonight, thanks to Mochan. A hot clay pot steamboat style meal with a combination of chicken meat, bean curd, cabbages, mushrooms & egg thrown into it! For dessert, we had Japanese strawberries, sliced pineapple & oranges to help digest this heavy meal.
As usual after the dinner, we made use of our free time to surf the Internet, checking our emails, sending emails to your spouse or next of kin. For me, my best sleeping time is before 11.00pm – Oyasuminasai (Good night), Mochan and my CS friends, while they chatted till the wee hours!
Call your family often. Sleep well when you have local CS members giving you fresh air, clean water and suitable warmth in the house!
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