Shizuoka

Shizuoka is located between Tokyo and Nagoya, and is a Shinkansen (Hikari and Kodama) stop on the Tokaido Shinkansen line. It also has Tokaido line and developed bus lines so much to anywhere with Shizutetsu. It takes 1 and a half hour to come from Tokyo and 50 minutes from Nagoya with Shinkansen ride.
Shizuoka is famous for its tea (around Makinohara), Motor cycle (Suzuki and Yamaha, located in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture), piano(Yamaha and Kawai in Hamamatsu),orange, tuna and other fresh much fish(Yaizu port is the No.1 in the world) and that beautiful picture that you might have seen before somewhere that has Shinkansen mainly in front of Mt. Fuji. The beautiful sights of Mt. Fuji are seen in Shizuoka. Moreover, Shizuoka is famous for soccer. With 2 professional soccer teams and other team around it, many people play soccer. It has 40 thousands Brazilian which occupies for 50% of all foreigners in Shizuoka.
Shizuoka is a great city with mountains around, clear rivers, fresh fish. It's the best for those who got tired of much people like Tokyo. You can go for cycling to Fuji, driving, bathing to Izu.

Sightseeing:

• Granship, East Shizuoka Station (東静岡駅) on the JR Tokaido Line, You may catch a glimpse of this nautically designed building as you zip by on the Shinkansen. Although of little interest to the general traveler, on alternate years Granship is the site of the national conference of the Japan Association for Language Teaching. This conference regularly brings up to 2,000 teachers from all over Japan and the world to this corner of Kanto.
• Miho no Matsubara (三保の松原). A spot on the Miho peninsula with pine trees and views of Mount Fuji on a clear day. One of Japan's New Three Views.
• Sumpu Castle is a few blocks up the main street from the north exit of the subway station, with several arrow signs pointing the way. The castle itself has not been restored, but the restored guard house is very interesting. The original castle was started in 1585 by Ieyasu Tokugawa, one of the founders of the Edo government. In 1607 Lord Ieyasu retired as shogun and started repairing and expanding the original castle. The tower and other buildings that now exist were constructed following blueprints from the 1630's. There is a lifelike statue of Tokugawa and many small replicas of the castles and surrounding buildings, as well as a small but beautiful display of dolls. Nearby is a children's park and a garden with a tea ceremony available. Certainly a place to explore if you have a couple of hours or more to spare. Admission 200 yen.