Japan: Shimizu

 Monday, June 19, 2023, Shimizu, Japan

The ship arrived at noon in Shimizu. Another colorful Ferris wheel greeted us.


We were on our own again, having canceled a tour. It had been raining, so a covered walkway was set up for us from the ship to the port building.


Covered walkway to the port building.



We walked into town and found the “Hard-Off” shop, a Japanese second place where we bought a few souvenirs (Japanese tea cups, an obi, etc.). Next door we bought snacks at “Book Off,” a vinyl/CD/book place.

Vintage phone booth along the street!


Me in front of “Book Off”



Next we looked for a post office where we could mail postcards from Japan. On the way, we passed by the Juju-in mausoleum. As always, the postal workers were as helpful as they could be given the language barrier. One worker spoke a fair amount of English and was very interested in our trip.

Charlie with postal worker

Next stop was an ancient temple that contained many artifacts, photos, paintings and other decorations. At this point we found out about the birth place of their local hero, Jirocho. We got a map and headed there.


Art from the temple



Jirocho was the most famous gambler in Japan, and was known to have a lot of courage. He quit gambling at the age of 48 and spent the rest of his life as a social worker and contributed to the region. His home was recently renovated and is a museum containing many interesting artifacts from the past and is an example of a traditional home.  

We passed a giant tori gate at one point, and continued on to Minowa Inari-jinja, a traditional Shinto  shrine. It contained many well-preserved buildings, and many smaller tori gates to walk through while entering the shrine.

Gong at Minowa Inari-jinja Shinto shrine
Tori gates


Tori gates galore!


For lunch, we found a hole-in-the-wall sidewalk restaurant, with a table and 2 seats just outside the door. Thanks to Google translate, we were able to enjoy a meal there, with very good traditional Japanese food. There was another family eating there, and we enjoyed visiting with them. The restaurant has been in the family for generations. The owner used an abacus to add up our bill!


We had a great meal at this humble restaurant



When we got back to the ship, vendors were set up in tents selling all kinds of local crafts. Ship passengers were enthusiastically buying them, including us. They took credit cards.


The send-off party was was waving us off, and by now it was dark.

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