Shizuoka, in Japan, needs more tourists. How does it attract them and boost its economy?
For tourists tired of cities like Tokyo or Osaka, Shizuoka offers a quieter experience of Japanese culture. But how can it market itself?
07:53
Can a new kind of hotel save Japan’s dying towns?
Chiharu Numata had a lot to celebrate when his store turned 100 in 2024. Masatoyo Knives had been in his family for four generations and had spent decades in the same location on the second floor of a commercial building in downtown Shizuoka.
“Japanese kitchen knives are truly excellent products with high quality,” he says. “But in Shizuoka, there are no other speciality shops like ours left any more.”
Unlike Japan’s world-renowned draws like Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, Shizuoka’s economy is largely dependent on customers closer to home.
“The largest customer base is people from Shizuoka city. We have a lot of customers from there,” Numata says. “The next largest is people from within Shizuoka prefecture.”
The city of Shizuoka lies just an hour south of Tokyo on the Shinkansen (bullet train), where, on a clear day, Mount Fuji is visible in picture-perfect glory. But here, the streets are often quieter and tourists are harder to come by than in major cities across the country.
“Historically, the central part of Shizuoka prefecture, including Shizuoka city, has not prioritised tourism,” says Akazawa Nobuaki, who works for CSA Real Estate that handles many of the rental listings in Shizuoka. “So it sees less tourists as a result.”