Shimoda works as a rail destination because the trip from Tokyo takes about two hours and thirty minutes by train. From Izukyu-Shimoda Station, Perry Road is about a fifteen-minute walk. This guide covers the routes from Tokyo and Osaka, the walks from the platform, fees and times for the museums, the ropeway and the port cruise, lunch and bicycle rental, and two October dates.
Getting to Shimoda from Tokyo and Osaka
From Tokyo Station, the first leg is the Tokaido Shinkansen to Atami Station. At Atami Station you change to the Ito Line and the Izu Kyuko Line, which carry you the rest of the way toward Izukyu-Shimoda Station. From Osaka Station, the Tokaido Shinkansen also reaches Atami Station.
- From Tokyo Station: the Tokaido Shinkansen to Atami Station takes about 1 hour
- From Atami Station: the Ito Line and the Izu Kyuko Line take about 1 hour 30 minutes toward Izukyu-Shimoda Station
- The Odoriko and the Saphir Odoriko take about 2 hours 30 minutes between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda Station
- It takes about 2 hours 30 minutes by train from Tokyo to Shimoda
- From Osaka Station: the Tokaido Shinkansen to Atami Station takes about 2 hours 30 minutes
Whether you ride the through Odoriko or change at Atami Station, plan on about two and a half hours from Tokyo to Izukyu-Shimoda Station. From Osaka, the Shinkansen leg to Atami Station alone takes about two and a half hours. The rest of this guide starts from the Shimoda platform. To stay the night, browse places to stay in Shimoda.
From Izukyu-Shimoda Station to Perry Road
Perry Road is about fifteen minutes on foot from Izukyu-Shimoda Station, and the museum and the information center in the list are closer still. Each item gives a walking time from the same starting point, plus the length of the stone pavement on Perry Road.
- Perry Road: about a 15-minute walk from Izukyu-Shimoda Station
- The stone pavement along Perry Road is about 500 meters long
- The Museum of Black Ship (Kurohune Museum): about a 10-minute walk from Izukyu-Shimoda Station
- The Shimoda City Tourist Association Ekimae Information Center: about a 2-minute walk from Izukyu-Shimoda Station
The information center is the nearest, about two minutes on foot from Izukyu-Shimoda Station. The Museum of Black Ship is about ten minutes away on foot. Perry Road, at about fifteen minutes, is the farthest of the three. Its stone pavement runs about five hundred meters. To check the route, search Perry Road on Google Maps.
Museums Near the Station and the Uehara Closure
Two museums, the Museum of Black Ship (Kurohune Museum) and Shimoda Kaikoku Museum, are covered in the table below, with their fees and times beside those of the Harbor Museum and the JGFA Kajiki Museum. Each row gives one amount or one set of times, with last entry noted where it applies.
| Place | Hours or fee |
|---|---|
| Museum of Black Ship (Kurohune Museum) | Adults 600 yen, elementary and junior high school students 300 yen |
| Museum of Black Ship (Kurohune Museum) | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, last admission 4:40 PM |
| Museum of Black Ship (Kurohune Museum) | Closed December 24-26 |
| Shimoda Kaikoku Museum | Adults (high school age and above) 1,200 yen, children (elementary and junior high school students) 700 yen |
| Shimoda Kaikoku Museum | With a student ID 1,000 yen |
| Shimoda Kaikoku Museum | Normal opening hours 9:00-17:00, admission until 16:30 |
| Harbor Museum and JGFA Kajiki Museum | Common admission, adults 500 yen |
| Harbor Museum and JGFA Kajiki Museum | Common admission, elementary and junior high school students 250 yen |
| Harbor Museum and JGFA Kajiki Museum | 9:00-17:00, last admission 16:30 |
The Uehara Museum of Art is closed for renovation from September first this year until November second next year, and is scheduled to reopen on November third next year. At all three museums, last entry comes before the posted finishing time, so arrive with some margin.
Where to stay
Places to stay near Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan →
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Shimoda Ropeway and the Port Cruise
The Shimoda Ropeway and the Shimoda Port Sightseeing Cruise (Black Ship Susquehanna) are the two paid rides covered here, and the table below gives fares and the ropeway operating period. Fares are shown for adults and children, with the one-way ropeway fare listed separately from the round trip.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Shimoda Ropeway, round trip, adult (junior high school age and older) | 1,500 yen, tax included |
| Shimoda Ropeway, round trip, child (elementary school pupil) | 750 yen, tax included |
| Shimoda Ropeway, one way | Adult 900 yen, child 450 yen, tax included |
| Shimoda Ropeway, operating period and hours | March 16 to October 15, 8:45-17:00 |
| Shimoda Port Sightseeing Cruise (Black Ship Susquehanna) | Adults 1,500 yen, children 750 yen |
The ropeway operating hours apply to the period from March sixteenth to October fifteenth. Round-trip and one-way ropeway fares are both quoted with tax included, and the port cruise fare is listed separately for adults and children, so both rides can be budgeted together.
Lunch and Bike Rental at the Roadside Station
Lunch options with posted prices and times include the conveyor-belt sushi at Uodonya, the restaurant Sakanaya, and Shimoda Kaisen Kuriya, and the table below also lists a kinmedai (golden eye snapper) katsu-don. Last order times, where they apply, sit in the same cell as the business times.
| Place | Item | Price or hours |
|---|---|---|
| Uodonya | Conveyor-belt sushi, business hours | 11:00-15:30 and 17:30-20:30 |
| Uodonya | Local fish dishes | From 130 yen per plate |
| Sakanaya | Business hours | 10:00-15:30 (last order 15:00) |
| Shimoda Kaisen Kuriya | Lunch and dinner | Lunch 11:00-14:30 (last order), dinner 17:30-20:30 (last order) |
| Local dish | Kinmedai (golden eye snapper) katsu-don | 1,630 yen including tax |
| Rental electric-assist bicycle | Fee | 500 yen per hour per bicycle |
| Rental electric-assist bicycle | 4 hours or more | 2,000 yen if returned by 17:00 the same day |
| Rental electric-assist bicycle at Roadside Station "Kaikoku Shimoda Minato" | Rental hours | 9:00-17:00 |
Electric-assist bicycle rental at Roadside Station "Kaikoku Shimoda Minato" runs from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon. The flat rate for four hours or more applies when the bicycle is returned by five the same day. Shorter rentals are charged by the hour, per bicycle.
Autumn Dates and the Information Center
The Shimoda Whisky Fest is held over two days, October twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth. General admission to the fest is paid in cash at the door on the day. The Shirahama Shrine annual festival follows from October twenty-eighth to thirtieth, a few days later.
| Event | Date | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Shimoda Whisky Fest | October 24 and 25 | Event dates |
| Shimoda Whisky Fest | — | General admission 2,000 yen, paid in cash at the door on the day |
| Shirahama Shrine annual festival | October 28 to 30 | Festival dates |
The Shimoda City Tourist Association Ekimae Information Center is open from nine in the morning until four thirty in the afternoon. It is about a two-minute walk from Izukyu-Shimoda Station, so it can be the first stop of the day. For a second day in the area, compare places to stay in Shimoda.