Visiting Shizuoka/Carlos Pueblo

Visiting Shizuoka/Carlos Pueblo

After 5 days at Kumamoto, We moved again to another famous Castle to visit,

Matsumoto, hidden inside of Japanese Alps. I was not sure how far it was from

the central Kyushu; therefore, I made a break at Shizuoka where I would visit if

we were on the cruise from Yokohama back to Seattle. Shimizuku would be the

second port to disembark. I have seen Mt. Fuji several times when the Shinkansen

passing through Shizuoka during clear days. We started early from Shin-Suizenji

station to Kumamoto, changed to Shinkansen eastward through north Kyushu,

Chugoku, Kansai and changed train at Shin-Osaka toward Tokyo. At Shizuoka

Station, I got a help from two ladies in the information center to get the direction

to reach our hotel at Yaizu station; how to make it to Matsumoto on the next day;

a recommendation to visit Sampu Castle Park at Shizuoka.

Yaizu City is a suburban city of Shizuoka, a good size of commercial fishing port

where I can get a better hotel rate for one night. JR Tokaido Line would take us

there in 10 minutes three stops. The scenery of the countryside in the spring is

amazingly beautiful, cherry blossom everywhere on banzai style old trunks,

slow current of creeks, and organized farms. I could see the leisure life of Japanese

rural area. After checking in, the hotel manager reassured me 10 minutes train ride

back to Shizuoka Station and 15 minute walk to Sampu Castle Park and came back

before sunset. I attempted to locate Yaizu on the Google this morning and found out

more and more interesting of my Japanese historical memory. Yaizu is on the

southwest coastal line of the Saruga Bay, keeping on northward would be Shimizuku

Port next to the famous Izu Peninsula. I remember the Nobel Laureate, Yasunari

Kawabata’s novel and movies, The Dancing girl of Izu, and again Ishikawa Sauri’s

Amagigoe, across the Amagi mountain, her top three hits in the early 70’s. Amagi is

a mountain pass of Izu Peninsula.

There is more about my good memory of Japanese drama OOku during the Tokugawa

Period. One of the legendary story was that the nurse-maid of the future third Shogun,

OFuku, rides a horse from Tokyo to Sampu Castle to seek a help from Ieyasu to solidify

the future 3^rd Shogun. This is the same Castle in history, the retire castle of the 1^st Shogun

, and now a beautiful park of Shizuoka. Blooming cherry from huge tree reach to river

surface of the moat. The keep, Tenshukaku, is gone yet there are still two lovely castles

standing. The city plans plenty cherry and plum trees to decorate the park even invites

schools in the city to maintain flowers pots. I saw the locals to sit on the ground under the cherry blossom like residents everywhere in Japan for picnic. Ieyasu’s statue is standing

there with his hunting hawk.