This is the Iwata City Tourism Association. Nice to meet you all!! Iwata City in Shizuoka Prefecture sits in western Shizuoka roughly midway between Tokyo and Osaka. Known as a “sports town,” it hosts professional teams such as J.League soccer club Jubilo Iwata, Nadeshiko League women’s soccer team Shizuoka SSU Bonita, and Japan Rugby League One’s Shizuoka Blue Revs. The city actively promotes community-building through sports and health initiatives centered on athletics. ◆What is Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture?◆ The population is about 160,000. The city has interchanges on both the Tomei Expressway and the Shin-Tomei Expressway, making it about a three-hour drive from Tokyo and about 1 hour 15 minutes from Nagoya. The shinkansen gateways are Hamamatsu Station or Kakegawa Station; transfer to the Tokaido Line and reach Iwata’s three city stations (Iwata Station, Toyodachou Station, Mikurigaoka Station) in 10–15 minutes. Since ancient times, Iwata has flourished as the center of Toei Province, home to the Tōtōmi Kokubun-ji and Toei Kokubu. With more than 900 kofun (ancient burial mounds) dating to the Kofun period, the city carries a long, living history. In the Edo period it prospered as Mitsuke inn (Mitsuke-juku), a post town on the Tokaido’s Fifty-Three Stations. In recent years, Iwata has developed as an industrial city with traditional textiles plus metalworking, automotive, and musical instrument industries. Its agricultural output ranks among the top in the prefecture, famous for greenhouse melons, tea, white leek, ebi-imo (taro), Chinese vegetables, and seafood such as shirasu. The city balances urban and rural development. ◆Tourist attractions in Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture◆ [Mitsuke inn] Located near the midpoint of the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido (the 28th post town), this post town still preserves small side alleys off the highway, with many shrines and temples that evoke the former atmosphere and lodging-town charm. The area also features the Former Mitsuke School, Japan’s oldest surviving wooden pseudo-Western style school building, and Iwata Bunko (both national historic sites); Mitsuke Tenjin Yanahiru Shrine, the stage of the Mitsuke Tenjin Hadaka Festival and the site of the Shippeitaro spirit legend; and the Former Akamatsu Residence Memorial Hall, designated as prefectural and municipal cultural properties. In 2022, the Former Mitsuke School and Iwata Bunko were recognized as Shizuoka Heritage sites, celebrated as ‘‘the crystallization of Shizuoka people’s passion for modern education,’’ alongside Mitsuke inn and Mitsuke Tenjin Yanahiru Shrine. [Ryuyo Marine Park] A seaside park featuring a marine center with sports facilities and a multi-purpose lawn. The expansive grounds include tennis courts, baseball fields, a playground, a roller slide, and an auto camp ground, making it family-friendly. The adjacent Shiosai Ryuyo complex at the auto camp ground sells local products and offers a restaurant, BBQ facilities, and bathing amenities. The marine center also offers hands-on experiences such as stand-up paddleboarding (SUP). [Nagisa no Koryukan and Fukuda Fishing Port area] Nagisa no Koryukan sits within Fukuda Fishing Port, looking out over the vast Enshū Sea. It has a food court where you can enjoy fresh shirasu bowls, such as raw shirasu don and kama-age shirasu don, while gazing at the ocean. The area also features the “Minna no Sunaba” sand ground for beach soccer and beach volleyball and an event plaza for outdoor gatherings. A nearby fishing spot offers easy shore fishing, and adjacent Toyohama Coast is a surfing location that has hosted national competitions thanks to its excellent waves. Fukuda Fishing Port is known for shirasu fishing and also supports recreational fishing charters, serving as a base for offshore fishing in the Enshū Sea. Within one to two minutes from the port, several shirasu processing plants line up, attracting customers from far away. [Shishigahana Park] According to legend, Kobo Daishi founded this park, which has well-maintained walking trails and athletic play areas. In spring, cherry blossoms and azaleas bloom; in early summer you can enjoy fresh greenery for forest bathing and birdwatching; in autumn the foliage is beautiful. It’s ideal for hiking and walking. From the observation deck you can see the Enshū Sea in the distance, and the park is a popular spot to watch the first sunrise on New Year’s Day. [Yamaha Stadium] [Yamaha Motor Communication Plaza] Yamaha Stadium is the home ground for Jubilo Iwata (soccer) and Shizuoka Blue Revs (rugby). It is about a 15-minute walk from JR Mikuriya Station north exit, and on match days attracts many fans from Japan and abroad. Next to the stadium, within the Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. headquarters, the Communication Plaza corporate museum showcases Yamaha Motor products and history and serves as an engaging industrial tourism spot. [Ruins of Tōtōmi Kokubunji Temple] Excavations began in 1951, and the site was designated a Special National Historic Site the following year. The kokubunji layout once centered on a main hall (kondo) and included a seven-story pagoda, lecture hall, middle gate, and cloister. Major structures, including the seven-story pagoda site, were discovered, and the site received national special historic designation in Showa 27 (1952). In fiscal 2022 work restored the wooden foundation platforms for the lecture hall and monk’s quarters on the north side of the ruins, and in fiscal 2023 the wooden foundation platform of the main hall was restored. Plans call for reconstructing cornerstone stones that supported building pillars and the stone steps placed on the front of the platform. This valuable heritage testifies to Iwata’s role as a regional center. ◆Local specialties of Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture◆ Iwata’s specialties let you taste the bounty of the land: ebi-imo, iwata tea, aroma melons, white leek, and dried persimmon rounds (koro-gaki). Locally grown ingredients are known for their freshness and flavor. Seafood such as shirasu, wild tora-fugu, and grilled white-cut eel are also popular; shirasu in particular are prized for their firm texture from swimming in the area’s swift coastal currents. These specialties are popular as souvenirs and as return gifts for hometown tax donations. ◆Festivals and events in Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture◆ [Fu Hachiman-gu Shrine Festival] Held each year in the Nakaizumi area on the first Saturday and Sunday of October. Each neighborhood parades elaborately decorated floats. The festival is full of atmosphere, with drums, flutes, and spirited calls filling the air. [Mitsuke Tenjin Hadaka Festival] The grand festival of Mitsuke Tenjin Yanahiru Shrine is designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. It takes place on the Saturday and Sunday just before the 10th day of the eighth month of the old lunar calendar. The festival’s highlight is the nighttime procession of naked participants and mikoshi (portable shrines), which runs from around 9:00 p.m. into the early hours of the next morning, reaching a peak around 1:00 a.m. Naked men, grouped into four units called teidan, parade through the old Tokaido route within the Mitsuke area and proceed to the shrine’s worship hall. Inside the worship hall, the excitement builds each time a new group joins, and intense chants and vigorous dances (oni-odori) continue. In the deep of night, all lights in the area are extinguished, plunging the scene into pitch-black darkness as the mikoshi run in a breathtaking climax. ◆Sharing information about Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture◆ In Iwata you can feel history and culture nurtured over long time. In 2022, Iwata’s Teratani water was registered as a World Irrigation Structure Heritage, adding another chapter to the city’s proud historical story. In 2023 Iwata reclaimed the top spot nationwide in a ranking of municipalities most associated with the phrase “sports town,” helping to solidify its brand as a city of sport. Yet even now this post cannot fully capture all the charms and strengths alive in Iwata’s history, culture, sea and mountain nature, industries, and people’s lifestyles. We will continue sharing recommended information via Cool Japan videos, so please stay tuned!