Numazu is at the northern end of the Izu Peninsula on the opposite side to Atami and a place that I went to back in November whilst staying with my parents in law for a couple of nights. My wife was otherwise engaged so she stayed back in Itabashi at the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre (TFGOC) whilst I ventured on alone with just a lonely, solitary futon (below) to sleep on! Beloved family dog Momiji joined me though when I went to bed at 2am after the Leicester vs Manchester City game.

JR Numazu Station (above) is about an hour away from Ito and I didn’t hang about on arrival as I wanted to catch the 9:55 am bus to Numazu Port. It was only a ten minute journey from the south exit, followed by a short walk and then I could finally view what I’d come to see.

The View-O Water Gate is 30 metres high and one of the largest of its kind in Japan. It was built in order to protect the community and ward off tsunami tidal waves resulting from big earthquakes. It also serves as an observation point for tourists visiting the Numazu Port area to see this fine structure which is supposedly even more impressive at night when illuminated.

My plan beforehand was actually just to see it as I wasn’t aware that you could go up it. Entrance was a measly 100 yen so no loss either way. It was a beautiful sunny Autumn day and there were some lovely 360-degree panoramic views across Suruga Bay and the Izu Peninsula with the mountains looking splendid in the distance.

I’ve never seen it myself but I hear that this water gate featured in episode 11 of the hugely popular ‘Love Live! Sunshine!!‘ (2016 -) anime series (below). If you’re interested in locales from that show then I thoroughly recommend you read this post courtesy of Kasidis Arunruangsirilert.

It really doesn’t take so long to visit the View-O Watergate and I was actually back on a bus back at 10:34 and at Numazu Station 10 minutes later which was perfect timing for visiting a unique restaurant (below) at the opening time of 11:00am. More details here!

Half an hour proved to be sufficient time at that restaurant and so I rushed back to the station and caught the 11:35 bus to the Shizuoka Ashitaka Athletic Stadium (below) where I watched Azul Claro Numazu against FC Ryukyu. More details here!

Momiji had been waiting for me at the station on the night I arrived (like Hachiko waiting for his master!) alongside my mother in law and likewise she was anticipating my arrival home after I’d returned from Numazu. I’ll end this post with a few pictures I took of her.

Click here to read ‘Dining Out: Donguri Floating Restaurant (Including Video!)’ 

Click here to read ‘3rd and 5th Tier Japanese Football’