Matsuzaki Town, Kamo District, Shizuoka Prefecture is a town located in the southern part of the Izu Peninsula.
On Mt. Fuji Day, February 23, Heisei 24, we declared "the town where you can see Mt. Fuji the most beautiful in the world".
Please come and see the large panorama of Mt. Fuji that can be seen over Suruga Bay.
We will send out information that will make you captivated by Matsuzaki Town, Shizuoka Prefecture, so thank you!
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Meiji Merchant House Nakase Residence
The Nakase Residence was built in 1887 (Meiji 20) as the home of prosperous cloth merchant Naokichi Yoda (Yoda Naokichi Gofukuten).
Because the shop name of Yoda Naokichi Gofukuten was “Nakase,” the house is now known as the Nakase Residence.
In 1998 (Showa 63), Matsuzakicho purchased the large estate—seven buildings including the main house and storehouses—and opened the main house to the public as an ethnographic museum. The building showcases lavish craftsmanship, from its timberwork to its fine carvings and metal fittings, offering a glimpse into the life of a wealthy merchant of the era. In particular, the black-lacquered namako-style plaster wall finish of the storehouse built inside the main house can only be seen here in Matsuzakicho.
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Shizuoka Prefecture Designated Cultural Property: Former Yoda Residence
In 2010 (Heisei 22), the cluster of buildings that make up the Yoda family residence was designated as a Tangible Cultural Property (buildings) by Shizuoka Prefecture. The designation covers five structures: the main house built about 300 years ago, a detached guest room built about 200 years ago, and three storehouses erected in the late Tokugawa period—the tool storehouse, the rice storehouse, and the miso storehouse.
According to tradition, the main house was constructed over 13 years during the Genroku era. Its exterior is a namako-wall style common in Matsuzaki, but every element down to the rafters is coated in plaster, and copper-sheeted fire shutters were installed at the eaves, making it a fully fire-resistant structure. This is a large-scale folk house built for a wealthy village headman family, and among folk houses in the Izu region it ranks as the second oldest building.
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ID:1Izu has a well-preserved old mansion, and I feel that you can arrange a tour of the old mansion!This text has been automatically translated.
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Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property Iwashina School
Completed in 1880 (Meiji 13), this school features namako walls and shrine-temple–style architecture.
Blending Matsuzaki’s traditional building techniques with Western architectural elements, the structure is celebrated as a masterpiece of wooden construction and the oldest school building in the Izu region.
This two-story wooden hipped-roof building is symmetrical, and its exterior is finished in namako walls. The nameplate above the main entrance, reading “Iwashina School,” bears the calligraphy of Sanjo Sanetomi, then Lord Minister of the Interior, and the dragon carved above it is said to have been whittled by master carpenter Irie Chohachi using only a chisel he borrowed.
With its striking Western-influenced design, the building ranks among Japan’s older Western-style schools, alongside Kofu’s former Rikusawa School and Matsumoto’s former Kaichi School. It was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1975 (Showa 50). In Matsuzaki, strong local support for education raised donations to build the school; more than 40 percent of the total construction cost came from contributions.
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Chohachi Art Museum
You can see works by Irie Chohachi, a master plasterer from Matsuzaki who gained renown in the Edo period. At 23 he went to Edo, studied Kano school painting, and mastered sculpting techniques that he adapted to his plastering craft. He developed his own art of painting with plaster and trowel on stucco.
Chohachi worked actively in Edo, but many buildings there were lost to frequent fires and the remaining works were largely destroyed by earthquake and war, so only a very small number of his pieces survive outside those in Matsuzakicho.
The museum is located inside Jokanji, a branch temple of the Jodo Shinshu Nishi Honganji sect. Chohachi brought two pupils from Edo to help rebuild Jokanji in 1845 (Koka 2), leaving ceiling paintings, carvings, and stucco work in the temple that are among his preserved pieces.
In 2011 (Heisei 23), his works "Cloud Dragon" and a pair of "Flying Deities" were designated tangible cultural properties of Shizuoka Prefecture.
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ID:1It must be great to meditate here!This text has been automatically translated.
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Opened in 1984 (Showa 59) as the “Hall of Shikkui Trowel Paintings: Chohachi Art Museum of Izu,” it exhibits about 50 works by Irie Chohachi, a master plasterer from Matsuzaki who gained renown in the Edo period. Chohachi developed a unique art form called shikkui kogane-e—plaster trowel paintings—that blends plastering techniques with the Kano school methods of Japanese painting, earning high artistic acclaim.
Skilled plasterers from across Japan came together to create the building, which showcases traditional plastering craftsmanship. The museum won the Yoshida Isoo Award—often called the Akutagawa Prize of architecture—for its fusion of Edo-era and 21st-century design, and it has attracted attention as a world-class architectural work.
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A wide area of the southern Izu Peninsula, including Nishi-Izu and Minami-Izu, formed from submarine volcanoes and volcanic islands that erupted before Izu collided with the main island of Honshu. Senganmon, which lies at the end of a walking path, and Mt. Eboshi, seen to the right of Senganmon, are parts of a volcanic neck—the exposed "magma conduits" that once lay beneath submarine volcanoes.
At Senganmon, a tunnel carved by the waves cuts through the center of the rock, forming a huge gate-like opening. Locals once likened this to the gate of Kumomi Sengen Shrine at the summit of Mt. Eboshi and called it Sengenmon, but it later became known as Senganmon, meaning it is worth a thousand kanme (an old measure of value), or "a gate worth a thousand coins."
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Ishibu Rice Terraces lie at the western tip of the Izu Peninsula in Matsuzakicho, Shizuoka Prefecture. Spanning about 4.2 hectares and roughly 370 stone-walled rice paddies at elevations between 120 and 250 meters, these terraces are rare in eastern Japan. They offer sweeping views over Suruga Bay, and on clear days you can see Mount Fuji and the Southern Alps.
In 2000, the 4.2-hectare terraced area, which had been abandoned and covered in pampas grass, was restored and used as a catalyst for revitalizing the local community. In 2010, the 16th National Satoyama (Terraced Rice Fields) Summit was held there.
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Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property: Iwashina School
Completed in Meiji 13 (1880), this school features namako-style walls and shrine-temple–inspired architecture.
Blending Matsuzaki’s traditional building techniques with Western architectural elements, its design is celebrated as a masterpiece of wooden construction and is the oldest school building in the Izu region.
This two-story wooden hipped-roof structure is symmetrically laid out, and its exterior is clad in namako-style walls. The tablet reading Iwashina School above the main entrance bears the calligraphy of then-Grand Minister Sanjo Sanetomi, and local lore says the dragon carved above it was made by master carpenter Irie Chohachi using only a chisel borrowed from a colleague.
With its striking Western-influenced design, the building ranks among Japan’s older modern school structures, alongside the former Rikusawa School in Kofu and the former Kaichi School in Matsumoto. It was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1975 (Showa 50). In Matsuzaki, strong local support for education raised donations to fund construction, covering more than 40 percent of the total building cost.
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Hello everyone! Matsuzaki Tourism Association here!
Matsuzakicho, Kamo District, Shizuoka Prefecture, lies in the southern part of the Izu Peninsula, facing Nishi-Izu Town, Kawazu Town, Shimodacho, and Minami-Izu Town.
Sixty-four percent of the town is forested, and with about 6,000 residents it has the smallest population in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Matsuzaki in Shizuoka Prefecture offers a peaceful, nature-surrounded retreat. We will share recommended information about the town, so please look forward to it.
=== Top sightseeing spots in Matsuzaki, Shizuoka Prefecture ===
Matsuzaki offers many popular attractions we hope you will visit!
Experience the traditional Japanese agricultural landscape at the beautiful stone-walled terraced fields of Ishibu Rice Terraces; see works by Irie Chohachi, famed for his late-Edo period plaster paintings, at the Chohachi Art Museum; stroll along Namako Wall Street, where buildings preserve the technique of laying square roof tiles and raising the seams with plaster in a rounded pattern; relax at Matsuzaki Onsen with its day-use baths, guesthouses, and hotels; and visit Inashimo Shrine, whose ginkgo tree on the grounds is about 1,000 years old and designated a prefectural natural monument. Matsuzaki is full of recommended sightseeing spots.
The Izu Peninsula, including Matsuzaki, is designated a Japan Geopark because its landforms and geology vividly reflect earth activity such as submarine volcanoes. In Matsuzaki you can feel the power of nature at geospots like Senganmon, Muroiwa Cave, Mt. Eboshi, Ishibu Rice Terraces, and Bentenjima.
=== Recommended gourmet foods in Matsuzaki, Shizuoka Prefecture ===
When you visit Matsuzaki, don’t miss the local flavors you can only taste here.
Sakuraba-zuke (cherry leaf pickles), a traditional flavor, accounts for about 70 percent of national production and is made in Matsuzaki.
Enjoy kawano-ri (river seaweed) with its distinctive taste, grown in the clear waters near the mouth where the Nakagawa and Iwashina River meet; fresh sweetfish caught in the same rivers; Eikyuu Ponkan, a sweet, juicy citrus produced only in Matsuzaki; and Dioscorea japonica (wild yam) grown from the bounty of Matsuzaki’s nature. These delicacies will please food lovers.
They also make great souvenirs.
=== Recommended events in Matsuzaki, Shizuoka Prefecture ===
Events and festivals held throughout the year are another charm of Matsuzaki.
In the agricultural off-season (typically from mid-February to May 5), seven varieties of flowers burst into bloom across rice paddies in the Flower fields in rice paddies; about 1,200 cherry trees line the Nakagawa River and are illuminated during the bloom season along the Cherry trees along the Naka River; and the Osawa Sakura Festival showcases a magnificent cherry tree more than 80 years old in full bloom. These events captivate visitors.
On February 23, 2012—Mount Fuji Day—Matsuzaki declared itself "the town where Mount Fuji looks the most beautiful in the world."
The grand panorama of Mount Fuji across Suruga Bay is a spectacular sight you must see in person.
With seasonal natural beauty, a geopark that reveals the earth’s grandeur, deeply flavored local cuisine, and warm-hearted events, we will continue sharing information to make you fall in love with Matsuzaki, Shizuoka Prefecture.
We hope you’ll become captivated by our town!
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ID:1Nature is vivid and wonderful 😊This text has been automatically translated.
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