Exploring Japan: The Fujinomiya Survival Guide | TwoSundowners
If, like us, you will ever find yourself stuck in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture of Japan… you will need some help. You see, Fujinomiya is not, I repeat NOT like the rest of Japan. It is not shiny and touristy and exciting. Quite the opposite: It is rural, it is isolating, it is boring. But we lived there for three months anyway. Here you have it then, our survival guide to Fujinomiya. We will first tell you things to know about IN the city and afterward things you can do OUT of the city.
First things first: If you do speak Japanese, you will probably not run into any problems. Because our problems mostly resulted from Fujinomiya not having anything to do with tourists, and therefore no one speaking English. There is just no infrastructure there to help people that don’t read Japanese. But if you do, everything should be just peachy. Apart from the place still being really boring.
City Life In Fujinomiya & Things To See/Do
1. Eating Out: Difficult But Possible
Ok, so eating out. Even though there are a lot of Japanese restaurants in the city, none of them have English menus. If you have any dietary restrictions you are basically screwed. If you don’t then you can just go around and point at random things, sounds like a cool adventure. We found one amazing place just a bit outside of Fujinomiya that is vegetarian-friendly and the waiters do their best to understand your confused stammering. It is called Lotus Land, offers breakfast, lunch and early dinner (they close at 8 pm) every day except Mondays. The coffee is local, the honey is local and many meals can be made vegan.
It even comes with a cute little shop where you can buy local goods. Epic.
2. Aeon Mall: Pretty Much Like Malls Everywhere
If you are looking to do some mild shopping you can head to the Aeon Mall. Apart from Uniqlo you can’t find any chains and finding clothes in anything bigger than M will be close to impossible. But you can find kitchenware, some souvenirs, small clothes, cosmetics and such. We also found that the Aeon Supermarket in the mall has a great selection of fresh-ready-to-eat food during the day. Other than that you can find a Pata Pata Pizza (where they have one English menu), a KFC and McDonalds. You know, just in case you crave food where you want to know what is in it.
3. Movies: Japanese Only
If you don’t speak Japanese you can’t go to the movies in Fujinomiya. However, they do have a cinema. It is also in the Aeon Mall and they have movies that are kinda recent. If you want to see a movie in English you need to take the train to Numazu or Shizuoka (each around 1 hour away).
4. Groceries: Local And Foreign
One thing you should not have a huge problem with is getting groceries. I have never seen so many supermarkets per square meter anywhere else in the world. You can choose from Aeon, Valor, Potato, and Welcia (the latter being a drug store with a medium sized selection of groceries). Be warned: vegetables and fruits are really expensive in Japan. Also, all things you would consider to be “normal” are going to be very expensive, if even available. Often things are just tiny.
Like milk, cheese, canned vegetables, cereal, flour, vinegar and so on. If you are unable to find something foreign in the supermarket you can head to Aeon Mall again. In the small shop Kaldi you can find a surprisingly big variety of imported foods ranging from baking goods, sauces all the way to TimTams, chickpeas, and spices. And it is not even that much more expensive than the normal supermarkets.
5. Fujisan Sengen Shrine
Yes, there are plenty of shrines all over Japan. It is rarely necessary to go to a specific shrine to not miss something super special about it. The Fujisan Sengen Hongu Shrine is also not one of the ones you need to have seen. It is pretty big and nice, but not overly spectacular. However, if in Fujinomiya why not stop by. Especially with cherry blossoms, the area was very pretty.
6. Mt. Fuji Heritage Exhibition: Fake Climb Mt. Fuji
If you can’t make it up Mt. Fuji you might still be interested in what you can see from up there. Therefore the Fuji Heritage Exhibition was founded close to Aeon Mall. You pay 300 Yen and walk up a circular walkway that simulates views from different heights of the mountain. Apart from that, you can learn lots about Japanese history, Fujisan in art and the mountain itself.
Fujinomiya Surroundings
1. Mt. Fuji: Only In The Summer
Well, the place is called Fuji-nomiya, therefore you can already guess that it is close to Fuji. It is actually really really close and you can see the majestic mountain from almost everywhere in the city. If the weather is good that is. We have had many days when there is just a grey soup in the direction of the volcano. Fuji is closed for most of the year so if you want to climb it you need to time your visit accordingly.
2. Five Fuji Lakes: For A Weekend Trip
If you want to get away from Fujinomiya and see Fuji even closer, you can head to the 5 Fuji Lakes area. It is only around 55 km from Fujinomiya and offers a variety of activities. But we are going to go into that more in the next blog post. Just know that fun is closer than you think.
3. Shiraito Falls: Sightseeing A La Fujinomiya
Fujinomiya is not really made for sightseeing. The reason is that except for Mt. Fuji there is nothing really to see. Therefore you need to branch out a little bit within the area. The Shiraito Falls are a popular place to explore. They are about 20 minutes drive from the Train station. You can take a short walk around the two sights and stop at a small pond that is really picturesque.
4. Lake Tanuki: Picnic, Running, Fuji-Views
Lukas and I are both active runners and the area around our house is not super pleasant for long runs. Therefore we have been in Lake Tanuki countless times in our three months in Japan. The lake is around 15km out of Fujinomiya. If you are looking for a nice place to run or have a picnic, it is well worth the drive. The path around the lake is just 3 km long, but you can venture into the mountains or walk to the Jinguma falls from there too. You will also get stunning views of Mt. Fuji from Lake Tanuki since nothing is standing in the way. You can buy snacks in the little reception, rent bicycles or fishing gear, or even pitch a tent and spend the night on the campsite.
5. Outlet Shopping Gotemba
If you are into shopping and big brands you should head to Gotemba. The shopping mall is best comparable to outdoor outlets in the states. Several big brands and some Japanese brands have their shops in Gotemba. I didn’t feel like the prices were really that much cheaper but then again — I rarely go shopping ;-)
Final Words
So there you have it. If you come to Fujinomiya you should be prepared after reading this ;-) Definitely better prepared than the two of us. Always have the google translate app ready: It can scan Kanji and has a conversation mode. Good luck!
Did we forget anything cool in Fujinomiya? Tell us about it in the comments.
Originally published at Two Sundowners.