How should you split a Shizuoka trip between Shizuoka City and Atami?
Stay near Shizuoka Station for views of Mount Fuji and Suruga Bay and ornate shrine architecture, or near Atami Station for historic villas, art exhibitions, and seaside walks. For one or two nights, focus on one city. With three or four nights, move from Shizuoka to Atami to visit both. Set your order around museum closures, ropeway suspensions, and your departure time on the final day.
Views and shrines, or villas and art museums?
First choose whether to add Kunozan Toshogu to Nihondaira views or explore Kiunkaku, museums, and the coast in Atami. Toshogu requires stairs after the ropeway ride; MOA requires escalators up to its main building after the bus. Compare fees and closures while distinguishing views and walks from paid building visits.
Itineraries by trip length
Stay near Shizuoka Station for mountain views and castle history exhibits, or divide villas, art, and coastal visits across separate days in Atami. To visit both cities, set aside a day for moving hotels by train. Adjust attractions and their order around museum exhibition dates and ropeway suspensions.
2 days, 1 night
Visit Kiunkaku’s buildings and garden in Atami, then add a coastal walk or Kinomiya Shrine. The walking routes are hilly, so reduce sightseeing if you arrive late or leave the next morning.
3 days, 2 nights
Choose museums, Toshogu, and Sunpu Castle Park in Shizuoka City, or Kiunkaku, MOA, and Sun Beach in Atami. Stay consecutive nights in one city and divide attractions across the days.
4 days, 3 nights
Compare a visit to Nihondaira and Toshogu followed by a move to Atami with staying consecutive nights in Atami. Staying in Atami lets you add Kinomiya Shrine without intercity travel; changing hotels combines mountain views and the coast.
5 days, 4 nights
Visit both Shizuoka and Atami, spending an extra day on either Kinomiya Shrine or Shizuoka City Museum of Art. The shrine option uses one night in Shizuoka and three in Atami; the city art museum option uses two nights in each, so the hotel transfer day differs.
Where to stay
Shizuoka City · 静岡市
Staying near Shizuoka Station makes meals and onward train travel convenient. Check that your Nihondaira bus continues to the summit, and distinguish it from services departing Higashi-Shizuoka Station when choosing your boarding stop.
Atami · 熱海
Staying near Atami Station makes arrival and onward train travel convenient. Walks to Kiunkaku, Kinomiya Shrine, and the coast involve hills, so check your hotel’s location and the uphill return. Before a day with large bags, confirm storage with your booked hotel. Prince Smart Inn Atami is about a three-minute walk from the station and offers lockers before check-in on the day of your stay, subject to availability; it does not store bags after checkout. These conditions do not apply to other hotels.
Prince Smart Inn Atami · プリンス スマート イン 熱海
Other trip preparations
Check opening days alongside your final departure
Check Kiunkaku’s Wednesday closures and MOA’s Thursday and exhibition changeover closures first. Holiday exceptions apply, and Monday closure rules differ between the city art museum and Sunpu Castle. If you depart in the morning on the final day, move the coast, Kiunkaku, or Sunpu Castle visit to an earlier day or skip it. Choose buses and trains using your travel date’s stops and return services.
Kiunkaku — admission and opening hoursMOA visitor informationShizuoka City Museum of Art — station accessSunpu Castle Park — fees and access
Check storage arrangements for large bags
Your hotel’s storage policies before check-in and after checkout may differ. Prince Smart Inn Atami lists lockers before check-in on the day of your stay, subject to availability, and does not offer storage after checkout. Before a hilly sightseeing walk or an intercity transfer, confirm your booked hotel’s policy and any separate storage location and fee. Storage is excluded from itinerary partial totals.
Transportation, food, and related guides
Japan transportation guide
Travel from Shizuoka Station to Nihondaira by bus, and move to Atami by train when changing hotels. Check the rail and bus arrangements separately.
Japan transportation guide →Rail pass guide
Review the conventional rail coverage of the Mt. Fuji–Shizuoka Area Tourist Pass Mini. This itinerary’s Kodama service, Nihondaira bus and ropeway, and MOA bus require separate payment. Compare the pass with regular tickets.
Rail pass guide →Restaurant and reservation information
In Shizuoka, you can pair a tea break with Nihondaira sightseeing. Set aside a separate trip toward Shimizu Station for the Shimizu fish market. In Atami, choose a lunch neighborhood before picking a seafood restaurant so the meal does not overlap with your hotel dinner. Check each restaurant’s prices and opening days on its booking page. Check the opening days, menu, and booking terms for your city and restaurant. Meals are outside the itinerary’s partial total.
Restaurant and reservation information →Regional name
Shizuoka Prefecture · 静岡県
What to see in Shizuoka City and Atami
Choose exhibitions and parks near the station in Shizuoka City, or villas, an art museum, and the coast in Atami. On the intercity transfer day, allow separate time for the train and sightseeing.
Shizuoka Station north side and city art museum
For an indoor exhibition after arriving by train, the city art museum is close to Shizuoka Station’s north side. The official guide lists about three minutes through the underground passage to Aoi Tower’s third floor. Admission varies by exhibition; ¥1,600 is the regular same-day adult ticket for the Renoir exhibition running September 22–November 15, 2026.
Shizuoka City Museum of Art — opening calendarShizuoka City Museum of Art — Renoir exhibition fees
Sunpu Castle Park and the station area
For castle history exhibits, walk about 15 minutes from the station to Sunpu Castle Park. Walking through the park differs from the paid indoor exhibits in Higashigomon Gate and Tatsumi Turret. Admission ends at 4 p.m.; on a late arrival, choose whichever outdoor walk or exhibition visit still fits.
Sunpu Castle Park — fees and accessSunpu Castle Park — areas open to visitors
Nihondaira views and Kunozan Toshogu
Choose Nihondaira Yume Terrace for views, adding Kunozan Toshogu by ropeway for shrine architecture. After leaving the ropeway, climb about 80 steps to the shrine. The terrace building requires admission from October 2026, while its outdoor observation corridor is free. Do not use the shrine connection itinerary during the scheduled December 1–21 ropeway suspension.
Nihondaira Yume Terrace — visitor informationShizutetsu Nihondaira Ropeway — visitor informationShizutetsu — December Nihondaira Ropeway suspension
Below Atami Station: Kiunkaku and Sun Beach
Choose Kiunkaku and Sun Beach to explore a former residence and garden before walking beside the sea. Each is listed as about a 20-minute walk from Atami Station. Allow time for the uphill return and train boarding. Sun Beach uses a walk across the sand and coast; waterpark admission, rentals, and parking are excluded.
Kiunkaku official tourism guide — about a 20-minute station walkSun Beach — seasonal use and station accessAtami City — Sun Beach, promenade, and seasonal swimming facilities
Kinomiya Shrine and MOA Museum of Art in Atami
Choose Kinomiya Shrine for the large camphor tree and grounds, or MOA for art exhibitions. The shrine’s official access guide lists an 18-minute station walk. MOA is a separate destination reached by bus from station stop 8. After leaving that bus, allow another roughly 10 minutes on escalators to the main building. Check closures and the return bus before visiting.
Shrine official access and worship hoursMOA visitor informationMOA — Art Street and escalator access
Directions from your hotel or station
Shizuoka Station and Atami Station are in different cities. Add waiting, transfers, and walks from stops to bus ride times, and choose the return for the same travel date. Check the starting and ending locations for walking directions, then adjust for your hotel address and on-site passage instructions. Map estimates exclude waiting and sightseeing.
| Section | How to travel | Official access or search |
|---|---|---|
| Shizuoka Station → city art museum | About three minutes through the north exit underground passage to Aoi Tower’s third floor | Different from the prefectural art museum |
| Shizuoka Station → Sunpu Castle Park | Walk about 15 minutes to the park, then continue to your chosen paid exhibit entrance | Distinguish the park from exhibit entrances |
| Shizuoka Station → Nihondaira → Shizuoka Station | Bus to Nihondaira Ropeway terminus → views and ropeway → return from the same terminus | Weekday return timetable. For weekends and public holidays, search your date’s timetable. Return fare excluded from the partial total. |
| Atami Station → Kiunkaku and Sun Beach | About a 20-minute walk to each. Add time for walking between the attractions and visiting them. | Official Kiunkaku walking guide. Allow time for the uphill station return. |
| Atami Station → Kinomiya Shrine | Official access: about 1.6 km, or an 18-minute walk | If taking a bus, check the separate route and fare |
| Atami Station → MOA Museum of Art → Atami Station | Bus from stop 8 to MOA → terminus → escalators to main building → bus back to station | Services marked M suspend on museum closure days. Check both directions. |
| Shizuoka Station → Atami Station | Tokaido Shinkansen Kodama. Purchase for your destination and seat type. | Distinguish conventional rail from Shinkansen fares and pass coverage |
Weekday return timetableShizuoka City Museum of Art — opening calendarSunpu Castle Park — fees and accessKiunkaku official tourism guide — about a 20-minute station walkSun Beach — seasonal use and station accessShrine official access and worship hoursMOA visitor informationJR Central — date-specific Kodama route and fare search
Food in Shizuoka City and Atami
First decide whether to eat on your way back to the station or stay in the sightseeing neighborhood for a meal. Menus and opening days vary by restaurant; meals are outside itinerary costs.
Shizuoka City: oden and kuro hanpen
Shizuoka oden simmers ingredients in a dark broth made with beef tendon and dark soy sauce, served with powdered stock and green laver. Kuro hanpen are fish cakes made from ground mackerel, sardines, and other fish. The official guide lists about a 15-minute walk from Shizuoka Station to Aoba Oden Street and Aoba Yokocho; check each shop’s hours. This is not a neighborhood to add directly to an Atami sightseeing day.
Shizuoka City — oden streets, food, and station walking access
Atami: dried fish and onsen manju
Consider dried fish for a meal or gift in Atami. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism material introduces dried seafood from Atami and Ajiro. Onsen manju are steamed buns to consider for a snack separate from a meal. If your stay includes dinner, avoid duplicating it at lunch. Confirm fish varieties, preparation, and prices with the shop.
Partial costs and pass coverage
Options A and B use different cities and transportation. Even for the same trip length, do not use one option’s amount unchanged as the other’s budget.
Buses to and from Nihondaira
Choose both the bus from Shizuoka Station to the summit and the return to the station. The verified outbound fare is ¥710; the return fare is separate. Itinerary costs include only the outbound fare, not the full round-trip transport cost.
Weekday outbound timetableWeekday return timetableShizutetsu — section fare search (outbound verified; return unconfirmed)
Mt. Fuji–Shizuoka Area Tourist Pass Mini
The official coverage map includes conventional Tokaido rail between Atami and Toyohashi, but excludes the Shinkansen. The pass cannot replace this itinerary’s Kodama fare, and excludes the Nihondaira and MOA buses and ropeway. Check your trip length, eligibility, and actual travel sections before comparing with regular tickets. Its validity is three consecutive days, so one pass does not cover all travel across four nights and five days.
JR Central/JR West — Mt. Fuji–Shizuoka Area Tourist Pass Mini coverage
Ropeway suspension: December 1–21, 2026
Nihondaira Ropeway is scheduled to suspend service for equipment work. The ropeway itinerary to and from Kunozan Toshogu cannot be used during this period. Even for a terrace-only viewpoint visit, check the buses and terrace opening days separately.
Frequently asked questions
Should I change hotels to visit both Shizuoka City and Atami?
For three nights and four days, stay one night in Shizuoka, then move to Atami for two nights. For four nights and five days, split the stay into one night in Shizuoka and three in Atami, or two nights in each. To avoid changing hotels, choose a two-night itinerary in either city. On the transfer day, take a Kodama service that stops at Atami and check that you can reach Kiunkaku before its admission cutoff.
JR Central basic eastbound timetableJR Central — date-specific Kodama route and fare searchKiunkaku — admission and opening hoursKiunkaku — access
Official sources and checked dates
- Hotel official access guide ·
- Luggage storage FAQ ·
- Nihondaira Yume Terrace — visitor information ·
- Shizutetsu Nihondaira Ropeway — visitor information ·
- Shizutetsu — December Nihondaira Ropeway suspension ·
- Kiunkaku — admission and opening hours ·
- Kiunkaku — access ·
- Shrine official access and worship hours ·
- Sun Beach — seasonal use and station access ·
- Atami port official English tourism guide ·
- Shizuoka City Museum of Art — Renoir exhibition fees ·
- Shizuoka City Museum of Art — station access ·
- Shizuoka City Museum of Art — opening calendar ·
- Sunpu Castle Park — fees and access ·
- Sunpu Castle Park — areas open to visitors ·
- Kiunkaku official tourism guide — about a 20-minute station walk ·
- MOA visitor information ·
- Weekday outbound timetable ·
- Weekday return timetable ·
- JR Central basic eastbound timetable ·
- Official attraction and transport information ·
- JR Central — date-specific Kodama route and fare search ·
- MOA — Art Street and escalator access ·
- Shizutetsu — section fare search (outbound verified; return unconfirmed) ·
- JR Central/JR West — Mt. Fuji–Shizuoka Area Tourist Pass Mini coverage ·
- Shizuoka City — oden streets, food, and station walking access ·
- Atami City — Sun Beach, promenade, and seasonal swimming facilities ·