Reference entry · Central Japan & the Sea of Japan coast

Shimoda 下田 · Shizuoka

Where Commodore Perry came ashore in 1854 and Japan's closure formally ended. A small Izu port with the treaty temple still standing.

What this page is, honestly. A researched reference entry — not a full guide. We have not walked Shimoda yet, and we have not verified its berth-to-town distances the way we do for our full guides, so you will find no walking times or timed plans here: we do not publish numbers we have not checked. What is here is accurate, sourced, and kept current.

RegionCentral Japan & the Sea of Japan coastMount Fuji on one side, snow country and crab on the other.

PrefectureShizuokaShimoda locally: 下田

Guide statusReferenceReader requests decide which ports we promote to full guides

Full guides near Shimoda

These Central Japan & the Sea of Japan coast ports have complete Port of Japan guides — timed shore plans for 2–3h, 4–6h and 8h+ calls, measured berth information and honest verdicts:

Shimizu — Japan's leading tuna port, with Mount Fuji across the bay — the angle that made the mountain sacred. Also, quietly, the world capital of plastic models.
Kanazawa — The richest domain in old Japan, never bombed: gold leaf, Kenroku-en, a samurai quarter, geisha districts, and winter snow crab.
Toba — Pearl country — Mikimoto cultured the first one here — and about forty minutes from Ise Grand Shrine, the most important shrine in Japan.
Niigata — Rice country, and therefore sake country. The city has a sake tasting hall at the station, and Sado Island is a ferry ride offshore.
Tsuruga — The port that received Jewish refugees travelling on Sugihara visas in 1940. Its museum tells that story properly, and Kehi Shrine has a great wooden gate.
Maizuru — A former naval port with red-brick warehouses and a repatriation museum whose records are on UNESCO's Memory of the World register. Amanohashidate is about an hour away.

Planning a call at Shimoda?

The site-wide tools work for any Japanese port day: the Shuttle & Berth Index explains how berth assignments decide your day, DIY or Book? covers the decision logic, and if Shimoda is your first Japanese port, read the immigration guide first.

Sailing to Shimoda? Tell us your ship and date — reference ports get promoted to full guides in the order readers actually need them.

Does Shimoda have a cruise port?

Yes — Shimoda (下田), in Shizuoka Prefecture, appears on Japan cruise itineraries. Where Commodore Perry came ashore in 1854 and Japan's closure formally ended. A small Izu port with the treaty temple still standing.

Is there a full Shimoda port guide on this site?

Not yet — this is a researched reference entry, clearly labelled as such: we have not walked Shimoda or verified its berth-to-town details in person. Our full guides in the same region cover Shimizu, Kanazawa, Toba, Niigata, Tsuruga, Maizuru, each with timed shore plans measured from the gangway. Reader requests decide which reference ports we promote to full guides next.

Reference entry · researched from official sources · By Takumi Yamada, Shizuoka · All 82 ports →