# Kikugawa

Kikugawa (菊川市 kikugawa-shi) is a city located in Shizuoka prefecture. The city is known for production of green tea.

## Understand
### Tourist information site

The local tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site with integrated machine translation.

## Get in
### By plane

There are three conveniently located airports near Kikugawa, in Nagoya (Central Air), Shizuoka, and Narita (Tokyo). By car or bus, it takes 2 hours from Nagoya, 6 hours from Narita, and 40 minutes from Shizuoka to arrive in Kikugawa.

### By train

Kikugawa is on the Tokai JR train line. From Shizuoka, the train is ¥720 and takes 40 minutes. From Kakegawa, the nearest Shinkansen and major bus stop, it is ¥190 and takes 5 minutes.
The Kakegawa Shinkansen stop is on the Tokaido line. Only Kodama trains stop at this station; they run about once an hour. It is 1½ hours from Tokyo (¥7650), an hour from Nagoya (¥5130), and 2 hours from Shin-Osaka station (¥9950). The Shinkansen is the fastest way to get to Kikugawa from many major cities.

### By bus

There is a bus from Nagoya's international airport to Kakegawa, called the Entetsu E-Wing, which costs ¥3400 and takes about 2 hours. They leave about every half-hour except around lunch, when there is a bus every hour.

## Get around
### By car

* Aoi Rental Car, Shimouchida 1571-1, 0537-36-3255.
* Kikugawa taxi limited company, 053-736-2321.
* Ota Rental Car, Takahashi 2402-4, 0120-73-5661.

### By bus

There are two kinds of buses. One is
* The community bus, 0537-35-0925, costs ¥200 for all journeys. This bus does not run on Saturday, Sunday, Festivals, the New Year’s period.
* The Shizutetsu bus, 0537-86-2385, runs from Kikugawa station to the Hamaoka bus office. The last bus stop is Sakuriya Kaiyou international school entrance in Kikugawa.

## See

* Ōjika Pond (大鹿池), Tomita 2593, ☏ +81 537-35-1751. The most famous pond in Kikugawa, a popular fishing spot.

## Do

* Hikoichijuku (彦一塾), Ogasa-gun Kikugawa-cho Tomita 2593, ☏ +81 537-35-1751. They offer experiences in traditional Japanease life such as making buck wheat noodles, picking tea leaves, and splitting firewood.
* Hitsurugi Mountain, Tomita, ☏ +81 537-35-0937. There are many activities at the top of this mountain including a fine view from the look-out point, walking courses, a 70-m roller slide and a campground.
* Kikugawa Sport Ground, Nishikata 898, ☏ +81 537-35-0919. The sports ground houses a baseball stadium, sport facilities and various playground equipment. Various big tournaments are held here.

## Buy

* Blueberry no Sato (ブルーベリーの郷), Shimohirakawa 667-2, ☏ +81 537-73-6636. This place offers blueberry picking and sells pasta, wine, sweets and so on. All of the products are made from blueberries grown locally.
* Ebirado (えびら堂), Mineda 949, ☏ +81 537-73-2109. Pick up some of the local sweet, known as shiroshita-gashi.
* Ikemura Kanko Melon Farm (池村観光メロン園), Kamihirakawa 1297, ☏ +81 537-73-4317. Local melons and cantaloupe.
* JA Enshu Yumesaki (JA遠州夢咲), Hanzumi 1100, ☏ +81 537-36-4355. Direct sales of locally grown green tea.
* Tomutomu no Sato (トムトムの里), Shimouchida, ☏ +81 537-36-1630. Local tomatoes. "Tomutomu" is a new variety of tomato locally invented.

## Eat

In addition to the usual set of chain restaurants such as Coco's, Gusto, MOS burger and Sukiya, the city has many notable locations.
* Kappa Sushi (かっぱ寿司), Kamomiyanonishi 2737-1, ☏ +81 537-37-2288. 11:00-23:00.
* Obune (おぶね), Kamo 4948, ☏ +81 537-35-4030. 11:30-14:00 and 17:30-23:00, closed Mondays. Hi-end Japanese cuisine. Reservation required.
* Pony's Toy, 1217 Horinouchi (near the station), ☏ +81 537-35-2819. 10:00-22:00, closed on Tuesday. Cafe/restaurant with occasional live shows.
* Rouko (老虎), Kamo 2735-1, ☏ +81 537-36-0910. Ramen shop.
* Sawayaka (さわやか), Kamo 2636, ☏ +81 537-36-1106. M-F Su 11:00-00:00, Sa 11:00-01:00. Shizuoka's favorite hamburger steak restaurant chain originated here.
* Tawaraya (たわら屋), Kamo 5270, ☏ +81 537-37-0535. M-F 11:00-14:00, Sa Su and holidays 11:00-14:30 and 17:00-22:00. shabu shabu restaurant.
* Tawaraya (たわら屋), Kamo 2697, ☏ +81 537-35-0616, yakiniku-t@cy.tnc.ne.jp. M-Sa 17:00-03:00, Su and holidays 16:00-00:00. yakiniku restaurant.

## Sleep

* Hotel Gen Kikugawa (ホテル玄 菊川), 5452 Kamo. (updated Apr 2024)
* Business Hotel Tachibana (ビジネスホテルたちばな), Horinouchi 1335 (Two min from Kikugawa station). Check-in: 16:00, check-out: 10:00. Single ¥5670.. (updated Apr 2024)
* Hotel Route Inn Kikugawa Inter (ホテルルートイン菊川インター), Kamo 5638-1. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 10:00. Large public bath-room. There is a restaurant (updated Apr 2024)

## Go next

* Kakegawa has a fine castle and a number of other attractions.
* Oigawa Steam Locomotive, (from JR Kanaya Station, one stop east), . This old-fashioned steam locomotive travels up the scenic Oi River Valley to Lake Ikawa. There are two legs of the line; the stretch between Kanaya and Senzu costs ¥1810 each way, and the stretch between Senzu and Ikawa costs ¥1280 each way. From Senzu Station, another ¥860 will also get you a bus which runs to the famous Sumata Gorge Onsen, about 40 minutes away. The gorge has a unique and beautiful 90-m-long suspension footbridge, and offers some excellent hiking opportunities.
* Omaezaki, to the south, is a great place to hit the beach.
* Makinohara
* Iwata
* Fukuroi
* Shimada
* Yoshida
* Fujieda