The western side of Shizuoka Prefecture is a long, long way from the Izu Peninsula in the east, and can take over two hours to traverse when using the local train. Wanting to see a football match at a stadium used in two World Cups combined with a trip to see the recently opened ComicCon Cafe Museum in Hamamatsu was what I initially had in mind. There was a castle and restaurant chain in the area I also wanted to see so a plan was hatched to try and do those four things in one long day.

Despite only arriving in Izu the previous night, I was off again very early the following morning to get a 6:30 am train up to Atami where I then connected to a Tokaido Line train heading west. I arrived in Shizuoka’s largest city just before 10:00 am and walked directly to the ComicCon Cafe Museum which is located in the Zara City Hamamatsu West Building, the same building as the Hamamatsu Diorama Factory I went to on my last trip to Hamamatsu a few years ago.

However, when I arrived I discovered that this was no normal day (where entry is 600 yen) as there was a cosplay event taking place in the afternoon that day. I had to be out of there by noon at the very latest which was when it was starting so was unable to wait around plus I didn’t want to pay the extra costs for taking part. I think it was around 2500 yen although it may have been a bit cheaper for non-cosplayers.

As it was, I later looked at their website (if only I’d have checked that out before embarking on a 3.5 hours train journey!!) and noticed that I have actually seen many of the exhibits at previous Tokyo ComicCon events in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

After that setback I thought I’d go and get in line for Sawayaka which opened at 11:00 am. It had only just gone 10:00 am when I went to get a ticket at this hugely popular restaurant chain which is only in this region of Shizuoka. However, I was told that I wouldn’t be able to get in till 12:30 pm which would have been ideal for lunch on any other day but not this one as I had to be leaving for the football around that time. I dejectedly walked away and headed back to the station.

Hedge cultivation outside Hamamatsu station

Things weren’t going well so I took the train back in the direction of Kakegawa. Surely the sight of Japan’s 42nd best castle perched on a grassy hill would cheer me up!

Whenever I see that a place has a castle I do actually get quite excited but I’m not really sure why! I rarely bother going inside them anymore and I have begun to think they’re not all that different from each other. This was a rather secluded one as it’s hidden from view until you enter the premises but you are free to explore the castle’s exterior without payment. For the record, it costs 410 yen for adults to enter the castle.

This one was built around 500 years ago and was fairly impressive amidst so much greenery. Of course it’s not the original as that was destroyed in the big earthquake of 1854 and finally collapsed 15 years after that. The castle tower was the first in Japan to be rebuilt with wood.

With time ticking away I had to travel one stop back but before that I felt I should get some lunch, and I knew just the place. On my walk to the castle I had passed a restaurant advertising ramen (and rice!) for just 500 yen. I could not pass up on such an offer!

Across the road from there was a bar with an interesting name!

One does not even usually notice phone boxes these days but that wasn’t the case in Kakegawa where they had a rather beautiful and distinctive look.

Maybe it says something about my humour but I was excited to get the shot of the Aino station sign just for the sake of the tweet below!

Why I didn’t take a picture of it when I was previously there in October 2019 for the Rugby World Cup I don’t know! Maybe it was just so crowded then and my mind was elsewhere that I didn’t give it a thought! That may also be why I didn’t even see the love melon sign below or maybe it wasn’t even around then! 

The day was built around seeing my first football match at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa which I originally went to for a Rugby World Cup match in October 2019. I saw South Africa destroy Italy on that occasion but it was used for another three matches with the most famous one being where Japan stunned Ireland with a 19-12 victory.

Back in 2002 it was also used for three matches in the FIFA World Cup including the Brazil vs England quarter final match where Ronaldinho lobbed Seaman from 40 yards for the winner. In the present day, things were a world away from those glorious tournament matches as I was in town to see a second tier women’s match in an almost empty stadium on a very hot afternoon. The game was a bit of a disappointment but such things never bothers me too much in Japan as I go for the match-day experience, and that was enjoyable enough.

Click here to read ‘4 Castles In 4 Different Prefectures Within 24 Hours’

Click here to read ‘The Japanese Castle Which Can Rival Himeji-jo For Appearing In Movies’

Click here to read ‘Over 5 Hours Of Local Train Travel To Shizuoka Stadium For South Africa vs Italy At The Rugby World Cup’

Click here to read ‘The Musical Instrument Museum In Hamamatsu My Wife Has Long Wanted To Visit’