PORT OF JAPAN
Mt. Fuji rising over the Port of Shimizu at dusk

Home / Ports / Shimizu / Culture

Culture & history · 清水

Why Shimizu is Shimizu

The things that happened here and only here, told properly, then tied to what you can see, taste and book while your ship waits.

Plan your day →Back to the Shimizu guide
Photo: timelockz / Pexels
The deep guides

5 stories from this port

Frozen tuna lined up for auction at a Japanese fish marketThe catch

Frozen at sea

Japan's number one tuna port, and almost none of it was caught nearby

Read the story →The main shrine of Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha at FujinomiyaThe mountain

Climbing as prayer

Fuji is not a viewpoint. It is a deity, and a shrine owns the summit

Read the story →Wasabi growing in flowing waterThe root

Wasabi

Invented as a crop in a Shizuoka valley around 1600, and almost everything sold as it is not

Read the story →A scale model kit under assembly with tools and paintsThe industry

The model city

Around 90% of Japan's plastic models are made within a few kilometres of your ship

Read the story →The east gate of Sunpu Castle in ShizuokaThe shogun

The retired shogun

He gave up the title after two years, moved here, and ran the country for another decade

Read the story →
The year in Shimizu

When to come, and what you'll find

Cruise seasons run spring to autumn, but the port changes underneath them.

Jan–FebThe clearest Fuji of the year

Cold, dry air. If your call is in winter, you have the best odds of seeing the mountain.

MarchSakura ebi season opens

The spring run begins. Suruga Bay is the only commercial fishery for them in Japan.

AprilCherry blossom, Fuji still snow-capped

The postcard combination, and comfortable walking everywhere.

MayWarm and green; strawberries end

The Kunozan coast greenhouses finish their season. Good ropeway weather.

JuneRainy season — Fuji hides

Assume you will not see the mountain and plan the market and the museum instead.

July–AugHot, humid, and Fuji is climbing season

The mountain is usually hazy from sea level. Sakura ebi return in autumn, not now.

SeptemberTyphoon watch

Suruga Bay is exposed. Ships do occasionally skip this port.

OctoberThe autumn sakura ebi run; air clears

The second shrimp season, and the haze starts lifting off the mountain.

NovemberThe best month

Clear, mild, and Fuji visible on most mornings. Peak cruise season here for a reason.

DecemberCold, sharp, and very clear

Fewer ships, and the mountain at its most reliable. Go to Miho early.

Turn it into a day

Plan your hours in Shimizu

The list

Top 10 things to do

Read the culture, then plan the clock: the Shimizu day plans and the Top 10 turn all of this into a day that ends at the gangway with an hour to spare.