DRAFT — not published. Items marked PLACEHOLDER are not confirmed yet.
Fukuroi
Rows of green tea bushes on a hillside under a blue sky, with frost-protection fans on poles
Image: MaedaAkihiko / CC BY-SA 4.0

Fukuroi · Shizuoka

Old temples, green tea and melon in Fukuroi

A quiet half-day or one-day stop between Tokyo and Kyoto

See the routes
  1. Tokyo → Kakegawa: about 1.5–2 h on the Kodama Shinkansen
  2. Kakegawa → Fukuroi: about 8 min on the JR Tokaido Main Line
  3. Fukuroi Station: bus to Kasuisai about 12 min

Fukuroi has no Shinkansen station. From Nagoya, Kakegawa is about 1 h; you can also change at Hamamatsu (Hamamatsu → Fukuroi about 17 min).

Pick your route

Fukuroi is spread out. One temple is easy by bus; the other two need a taxi or car. Choose the route that fits your time.

Your day at a glance

Time
Tokyo → Fukuroi Station is about 1 h 40 min – 2 h 10 min by Shinkansen (Kodama) to Kakegawa and then the JR Tokaido Main Line, not counting your transfer time at Kakegawa. Route A takes a half day in Fukuroi, Route B a full day.
When to go
Kasuisai opens at 8:00 and the monks chant around 11:00 and 16:00. Temple halls close around 16:30, so arrive by late morning. Suggested train times from Tokyo: PLACEHOLDER
Costs
Temple entry: Kasuisai ¥700 + Yusanji ¥300 = ¥1,000 per adult. Bus Fukuroi Station → Kasuisai: PLACEHOLDER. Taxi fares: PLACEHOLDER. Shinkansen fare: PLACEHOLDER
Cash
Temple payment methods aren't confirmed yet, so bring cash. ATM: Seven Bank, inside Kakegawa Station, south side (Kakegawa Tourism Association). Coming from Shizuoka Airport? There's no ATM near Kanaya Station (airport website).

Half day · bus + one taxi ride

Route A: Zen temple, pagoda, and a shop on the way back

  1. Fukuroi Station (JR Tokaido Main Line). From North Exit, stop 1, take an Akiha Bus for Enshu-Morimachi (遠州森町) or Keta (気多) and get off at Kasuisai-iriguchi (可睡齋入口) — about 12 min.
  2. Kasuisai Temple — Zen training temple. Allow time for the halls, the famous toilet building, and the monks' chanting (around 11:00 and 16:00). Zen meditation and vegetarian lunch need a booking.
  3. Lunch or a snack near Kasuisai — PLACEHOLDERWhere to buy →
  4. Yusanji Temple — by taxi. Yusanji says it's about 10 min by car from Fukuroi Station; the Kasuisai → Yusanji time is PLACEHOLDER.
  5. One shop on the way home — melon or tea near the station before your train. PLACEHOLDERWhere to buy →
Open route in Google Maps

One day · taxi or car

Route B: all three temples, with tea and dumplings

  1. Kasuisai Temple in the morning (bus or taxi from Fukuroi Station).
  2. Yusanji Temple — pagoda, castle gate and waterfall. Taxi time from Kasuisai: PLACEHOLDER
  3. Hattasan Sonei-ji Temple — there is no bus. It's about 15 min by taxi from Fukuroi Station (JNTO). The temple also suggests taxis from Aino or Kakegawa Station (no taxi rank at Aino). Walking from Aino Station takes 30–40 min, partly without a sidewalk.
  4. Dumpling tea house at Hattasan — eat in until 16:30 (last order 16:25), take-away until 17:00.
  5. Shops at the Hattasan temple gate — PLACEHOLDERWhere to buy →
  6. One shop on the way home — Fukuroi tea or Crown Melon, then train from Aino, Fukuroi or Kakegawa. PLACEHOLDERWhere to buy →
Open route in Google Maps

PLACEHOLDER Partner shop, opening hours and payment methods to be confirmed with the shop.

PLACEHOLDER: A shared Google Maps list is planned.

The three temples

Locally they're called the Enshu Sanzan — the three great temples of the Enshu region. Each has its own reason to visit.

Kasuisai's wooden main gate with a curved tiled roof and stone steps
Somon, the main gate of Kasuisai Image: Halowand / CC BY-SA 4.0

Kasuisai Temple

Zen training temple · founded 1401

The name means “you may sleep here”: a story says Tokugawa Ieyasu let the old head priest doze off in front of him. Monks still sit in meditation here every morning at 5:00. Don't miss the Daitosu, a wooden toilet building from 1937 that is a registered cultural property and still in use.

Hours
Hall viewing 8:00–16:30
Fees
¥700 (hall viewing)
Payment
PLACEHOLDER: cash / card / IC / PayPay
Last checked

Vegetarian (shojin) lunch from ¥2,000 — 2+ people, book 1 week ahead

Open in Google Maps
Yusanji's red three-storey pagoda among trees
Three-storied pagoda at Yusanji Image: Yusanji (Wikimedia Commons user) / CC BY-SA 4.0

Yusanji Temple

Temple for eye health · Shingon Buddhism

The three-storied pagoda was donated by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1190 as thanks for his recovery from an eye illness, says the temple. The main gate once stood at Kakegawa Castle. Walk up past the Ruri Waterfall; in autumn about 1,500 maple trees turn red.

Hours
Hall viewing 9:00–16:30
Fees
¥300 adults (high-school age and under free)
Payment
PLACEHOLDER: cash / card / IC / PayPay
Last checked

Groups must book

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A plate of skewered yakuyoke dango with a cup of green tea on a red tray
Yakuyoke dango with green tea at Hattasan Image: Fomalhaut373 / CC BY-SA 3.0

Hattasan Sonei-ji Temple

Temple for warding off bad luck · founded 725

Come for the yakuyoke dango — small skewered rice dumplings sold here since the 1850s, when the shogun's household gave them their name. Buy a ticket at the machine, then collect at the counter (eat-in and take-away use different windows). Autumn leaves peak late Nov to early Dec.

Hours
Temple office: 8:30–16:30
Dumpling tea house: take-away 8:00–17:00; eat-in 8:00–16:30 (last order 16:25)
Fees
Dumpling prices: PLACEHOLDER
Payment
PLACEHOLDER: cash / card / IC / PayPay
Last checked

Parking is paid (from ¥100); no bus — taxi recommended

Open in Google Maps

Words you'll see

Zazen
seated Zen meditation
Shojin ryori
Buddhist vegetarian cooking served at temples
Somon
a temple's main outer gate
Yakuyoke dango
Hattasan's skewered rice dumplings, eaten for good luck
Kodama
the Shinkansen type that stops at Kakegawa
IC card
a tap-to-pay transport card such as Suica or TOICA

Tea, melon and the shops that sell them

Ukiyo-e print: travellers resting at a roadside tea stall at Fukuroi
Fukuroi on the old Tokaido road: Hiroshige's “Outdoor tea stall” (c. 1834) Image: Utagawa Hiroshige (The Met) / CC0

Fukuroi green tea

Mostly Yabukita tea, deep-steamed. Records from 1362 show tea from this area being sent to Kyoto — the oldest record of tea-growing in Shizuoka. Look for Kiraka, a rare white-leaf variety grown only in Fukuroi. New-tea season: late April to early May.

PLACEHOLDER Photo of a cup of Fukuroi tea at a local shop: to be added with the shop's permission.

Crown Melon

Greenhouse muskmelon grown with only one melon per plant. Fukuroi is the main production area, and the melons are available all year.

Where to buy

We will only list shops that agree to be listed and confirm their current details.

If there's a match: ECOPA Stadium

Crowds walking across a wide plaza toward the large roofed ECOPA Stadium
ECOPA Stadium on a match day (2006) Image: Shizzo / CC BY-SA 4.0

Shizuoka Stadium ECOPA hosted Japan's 19–12 win over Ireland at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. About 15 min on foot from JR Aino Station. Free stadium tours on non-event days need an application in advance. Check the event calendar before you plan around it.

ecopa.jp

Getting here and practical tips

Quick answers

Taxis between temples?

There's no bus to Hattasan. It's about 15 min by taxi from Fukuroi Station (JNTO). Aino Station has no taxi rank (Hattasan). Taxi times between temples and whether ride-hailing apps work here: PLACEHOLDER

Where can I leave my luggage?

Kakegawa Station, south side: coin lockers ¥400–800, cash or IC card, 5:30–24:20 (Kakegawa Tourism Association). Lockers at Fukuroi Station: PLACEHOLDER

Trash?

If you can't find a bin, please take your trash with you.

Can I take a melon home?

Fresh melon can't go in your luggage to Taiwan or the US mainland. For Korea it needs a Japanese export plant inspection first. Green tea (processed tea leaves) can be taken to all three without inspection (Japan Plant Protection Station, checked 2026-11-13). Other countries: check your own country's quarantine rules. Easiest: eat the melon here, take tea home.

Access

  • Train: JR Tokaido Main Line — Fukuroi Station and Aino Station.
  • Shinkansen: no station in Fukuroi. Change to the local line at Kakegawa (Aino about 3 min, Fukuroi about 8 min) or Hamamatsu (Fukuroi about 17 min). Kodama trains stop at Kakegawa; check other trains on the JR Central timetable.
  • Car: Tomei Expressway — Fukuroi IC. Shin-Tomei Expressway — nearest is Mori-Kakegawa IC.
  • Kyoto → Kakegawa travel time: PLACEHOLDER

From Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport

  • Flights to Shizuoka Airport (official timetable, checked 2026-11-13): Seoul twice daily (Jeju Air); Busan 3 round trips a week (Air Busan), 5 a week from 3 Jan to 28 Feb 2027; Hanoi 3 round trips a week (VietJet Air). There is no Taipei route on the official timetable. Schedules can change, so check the airport's official timetable.
  • Car or taxi: about 40 min to Kasuisai (temple website). To drive in Japan you need one of these:
    • a Japanese driving licence
    • an international driving permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention
    • a licence from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco or Taiwan, together with an official Japanese translation from a designated issuer
    With an international permit or a foreign licence you can drive for up to 1 year from your arrival in Japan (or until it expires, if sooner) (National Police Agency).
  • Airport bus to JR Kanaya Station: about 15 min, ¥500 (card, IC and QR accepted). From 25 Oct 2026 to 27 Mar 2027 it runs as a shared 9-seat jumbo taxi. Then take the JR Tokaido Main Line west to Fukuroi.
  • Shared shuttle taxi to JR Kakegawa Station (South Exit): about 35 min, ¥1,700 per person, cash or PayPay. Kakegawa-bound: sign up at the airport information desk on the day; airport-bound: book by 2 days before.
  • The old free bus to Kakegawa ended on 26 Oct 2025. Total time to Fukuroi: PLACEHOLDER
Shuttle taxi booking (airport-bound, Japanese)

Paying

Cash and ATMs: see Your day at a glance. Payment methods at each place: PLACEHOLDER: cash / card / IC / PayPay for each place will be added after checking.

Temple manners (from the temples)

  • At Kasuisai, take off your shoes at the reception hall — there are shoe lockers.
  • During zazen at Kasuisai, don't touch the wooden edge of the seat — monks eat from it.
  • At Hattasan, there is no free parking and no bus; plan a taxi both ways.
  • Temple hours are short — most halls close around 16:30.

Seasons

Autumn leaves at Hattasan: late November to early December (temple's English site). The summer wind-chime festival at all three temples has ended for 2026; 2027 dates: PLACEHOLDER

Make Fukuroi your stop between Tokyo and Kyoto

Get off at Kakegawa, ride one local stop or two, and spend the afternoon at a Zen temple with tea and dumplings.

Open route in Google Maps Fukuroi Tourism Association (Japanese)

On your way back, stop at a local shop for Fukuroi tea or melon. Shops will be listed here once they agree. Page operator and contact: PLACEHOLDER

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