Hamamatsu Castle

Hamamatsu Castle (Hamamatsu-jo) was where the founding shogun of the Edo period (1600-1867), Tokugawa Ieyasu, lived for 17 years before he became ruler of Japan. As he lived in the castle during the time when he began a war for the purpose of uniting the whole country, it was also named the Castle of Advancement. Its predecessor was a castle built at the beginning of the 16th century, and this was subsequently repaired and expanded to make Hamamatsu Castle. The size of the castle was roughly 500 m north to south and about 450 m east to west. The existing donjon was rebuilt in 1958. It is a three-tiered, four-storied construction and the top floor is an observatory of about 50 m high, from which visitors can have a commanding view of the Pacific Ocean.

The ruins of Nirayama Castle

Nirayama Castle (Nirayama-jo) was built at the end of the 15th century by the daimyo Hojo Soun. Soun lived in this castle until his death at the age of 88. It is also well-known for the struggle that the samurai of Nirayama Castle put up by barricading themselves inside for over 100 days against an attack by the hegemon Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who ruled Japan in the latter half of the 16th century. The defense against the attack put up by the samurai protecting this castle was strong and the castle did not fall easily. When all their neighboring allies were defeated, however, they surrendered. A retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who subsequently came to rule Japan, moved into Nirayama Castle.

MOA Museum of Art

The MOA Museum of Art stands on a beautiful hilltop with commanding views of the summer resort area of Atami and the sea beyond. The museum has spacious exhibition rooms allowing easy viewing of the collection, which consists of around 3,500 works, including three National Treasures and 61 Important Cultural Properties, focused on East Asian art. Particularly famous is the National Treasure Kobai-hyakubai-byobu (Red Plum, White Plum Folding Screen) by the artist Ogata Korin, who was active from the end of the 17th century to the 18th century. The museum also has paintings by Rembrandt and Monet, and sculptures by Moore, as well as a reconstruction of a golden tea room said to have been used for the tea ceremony by military commander Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 16th century.

Shizuoka Kenritsu Bijutsukan (Art Museum)

Shizuoka Kenritsu Bijutsukan is located in the Nihondaira foothills, affording views of Mt. Fuji, the shimmering blue of Suruga Bay, and the cities of Shizuoka and Shimizu. This art museum features a collection of landscape paintings which includes Monet's Seine River in Rouen, said to be the work in which his early style was established, as well as Pissaro's Pontoise, Rye Field and Mathurins Hill. The museum also emphasizes its sculpture collection, focusing on Rodin. The Rodin Wing opened in March 1994, and many of his works, including The Gates of Hell, are displayed there. To encourage the participation of local residents, the museum admits visitors to the the exhibits in the entrance hall and the exhibit area free of charge.

Fujisan-Hongu Sengen-taisha Grand Shrine

Located in the city of Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, Fujisan-Hongu Sengen-taisha is well known as the headquarters for over 1,300 Sengen shrines nationwide. Shrine records relate how Sakanoue-no-Tamuramaro, who conquered the lands of the Emishi (present-day Kanto and Tohoku regions), built the magnificent sanctuary of the shrine in 806. The object of the worship at this shrine is Mt. Fuji itself, the highest mountain in Japan and a symbolic entity, and the shrine enshrines the princess Konohana Sakuya-Hime. Many people venerate this shrine as a guardian deity for disaster prevention, easy childbirth, navigation, fishing, agriculture, and weaving. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who established the Edo shogunate early in the 17th century to rule the whole of Japan, built the present main shrine in 1604.

Hattasan Son'ei-ji Temple

The Hattasan (Son'ei-ji Temple) is one of the "three mountains of Enshu" and has a long history. Under the edict of Emperor Shomu in 725, Priest Gyoki, seeking a site for a sanctuary to be dedicated to Maha-karuna Avalokitesvara (Bosatsu of Great Compassion), enshrined the statue of Avalokitesvara that he carved in this temple. The Avalokitesvara is believed to remove bad luck and many people visit here to pray. The Niomon Gate (Deva gate) and Kongo Goshurei Bell (set of five bells with different handles) are nationally Important Cultural Properties. The Temple is also famous for its over 700 cherry trees and the bad luck removing "dango (rice dumpling)" offered in the Edo Period (1600-1867) with a talisman to pray for "Buun chokyu (good luck to you on the battlefield)," "Tenga taihei (peace in the Emperor's realm)," and "Gokoku joju (abundant harvest of crops)."

Kuno-zan Tosho-gu Shrine

Kuno-zan Tosho-gu was built in memory of the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu, who brought decades of war to an end and established the Edo shogunate early in the 17th century and ruling over the whole of Japan. He died of illness in 1616 at Sunpu Castle, which was located in present-day Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture. Hidetada, the son of Ieyasu and the second shogun, ordered this shrine to be built in 1617. A group of buildings including a mausoleum, sanctuary, hall of sacred dances, and a drum tower for telling time have been designated Important Cultural Properties by the Japanese government. The whole of Kuno-zan has been designated a historical site.