Welcome to Numazu Traveler.
Numazu, rests at the southern Base of Mt Fuji and Mt Ashtaka in the Shizuoka prefecture of Honshu Island. Numazu is an amazing hub for the area. For many, Numazu is a starting place for travel south down through the breath taking and onsen rich west coast of the Izu Hanto peninsular. To the towns east stretches the longest beach in the Shizuoka area. A beach that drops down into Fuji Mountain’s antithesis, Suruga Bay, a 2500 meter deep inny belly button to Fuji’s outy.
Numazu really comes alive in Summer with their Summer Festival. Three great days of fireworks, stalls, crazy floats, entertainment and fun.
Numazu features some good shopping for its size and its inner city long term redevelopment project is set to bring new life into an already vibrant town.
For the English speaking foreigner, Numazu has a small but growing range of facilities for you. From a the local bookshop with a range of English books, two cinemas (Joyland and Bivi Sunshine Cinema’s) frequently featuring English speaking movies, to some gaijin meeting places such as the Speak EZ and the Fishmarket Taproom.
The goal of this blog is to introduce travelers and new residents to what can be found in Numazu and its surrounds. I will introduce you to Numazu’s attractions, entertainment and facilities and review what food, drink and shopping that the town has to offer.
Most of the information on Numazu can be accessed through the blog page with categorical listings on the right hand side for you to quickly find what you need to know on Numaz.
If you have any suggestion for Numazu Traveller or would like to contribute to this non-profit activity feel free to contact me on numazutravelerSPLATyahoo.com.au the ‘SPLAT’ is of course ‘@’ this is done to protect from spamming.
For a more up-to-date guide of events in Numazu I recommending you check out the bi-monthly publication of City Hall’s Newsletter. Its in English here.
Cheers
Scott Garbie
Numazu, Shizuoka
To check out my blog all you have to do is click the “blog” tab at the top of this page. Alternatively, you can click on the dates or the categories on the right hand side of this page. Happy reading.
check out http://www.myspace.com/speakezbar
also, a little restaurant called Pili Pili on the side street between the 7-11 on rico dori and E-Spot & a restaurant called Ninbun no Nin near Gakuen Dori bit on a side street by the drainage ditch… it’s south of the McDonalds on Gakuen
Hi,
I’ve been enjoying your website over the past few months. I lived in Japan from 1988 to 2000 in Fuji City, Fujinomiya and Numazu. My wife is from Numazu. Thank you for all your hard work to make this site available! Your photo’s and commentary are great and bring back many memories. My wife is from Ganyudo. There is a little beach there with a decent view of Mt. Fuji. The sunset is beautiful. If you haven’t been there, check it out. Because my mother inlaw is elderly and living alone, My wife and I will be moving back to Numazu in about 4 years from now. I miss it but not the hot summers.
Looking forward to more of your adventures!
Best Wishes,
Bob Heinl
Buffalo, New York
Thanks Bob. It’s good to hear people are enjoying the blog.
I’ll be sure to check out that beach you recommended.
Cheers
Scott
Hullo! Stumbled across this site and it looks great. Thanks for posting all the info, I’m looking forward to perusing it. I am wondering if you might be able to help me out with a question. It seems like you enjoy biking; I’m living in Kannami/Mishima and looking to find local hiking trails. I’ve had a few suggestions, but not always specific enough o point me to a trailhead. Any suggestions on how to find info/ resources (preferable in English as I can’t yet read Japanese!) Thanks a bunch!
Hello, are there any goth/metal night clubs bars etc in Numazu?
Thanks
hi, I’m from Indonesia. I’m excited founding your site, cause my teenager son is going to have a cross culture event in Numazu in the last June. So, what activities would you reccomend for him in his free time ? because he’ll have 1 day free time in numazu. My son is interested with baseball and footbal (sporty type) . Thanks a lot
I like the blog and I’ve put a link to it on the Speak EZ bar website. Please add a link for Speak EZ bar. It’s the best bar in Numazu and deserves a mention.
Hi John,
I won’t be back in Japan for another 18 Months but I will add you site to my links . I hope this gets you a little more traffic. I just regret I didn’t get to write on your bar while I was there.
Cheers
Scott
Scott, thanks for that. I’ll re-do your link.
Perhaps we’ll run into each other in the future.
cheers
John
Does anyone have any information on martial art and/or watersport activities in Numazu? Many thanks.
your site has inspired me to visit Numazu on my trip to Japan next year. I’m stumped looking for a nice minshuku or ryokan though. Would you be able to advice?
TIA
Nice looking blog. I write one for just up the road in Susono. Fancy a link?
Hi Andy, sure. Sounds good.
Added to my blogroll – ALT Susono. If you can add me to yours that would be cool.
Link love brother.
I am bringing a young group of soccer players to numazu on May 22-25. We have short games on Sat. & Sun. Can you recomend inexpensive excursions for 1/2 day. Departing Numazu say 1PM and back to Numazu hotel by 7PM?
Thanks,
Sue
Hi Sue, sorry for the slow reply. The Numazu Port Festival and Kaijinsai will be on the 23 May so that should be a great cheap excursion for you and your team. I would also recommend a walk down to Senbon Beach. You can check out the location if you follow the map links on my site.
Hope you have a great time.
Scott
Greetings Mr. Garbie,
I stumbled upon your blog/site back in January 2009 and I’m happy to see you are back and active in Numazu.
I appreciate the efforts you have made in making Numazu accessible to us foreigners. Your site has helped me in my preparations for moving to Numazu in August of 2009 with my wife. This will be our first time in Japan, so we are excited. We will be teaching at Katoh Gakuen.
I was wondering if, perhaps, you could answer a few semi-random questions when you get a chance please.
-Is there anything, in particular, that you would recommend to bring to Japan that may be difficult to find? Don’t worry…I will bring an open and adventurous mind.;-)
-How far from Numazu-Shi is the nearest surf? (Eventually, I will have access to a car.)
-Do you recommend that I bring/ship my own board?
-Does anyone kitesurf or kayak on Suruga Bay?
-I’ve read that sporting goods are expensive in Japan in general. Have you found this to be true?
-I read about The Ring bike shop via your blog, but was wondering if it would be worth bringing my own high-performance bicycle (if I can afford the shipping)? Any idea how prevalent bike theft is???
-Would you happen to know how far the nearest Mexican food is from Numazu? Tokyo??? I’m from Southern California and am a bit afraid I will be missing it badly.
-Are there any Korean, Thai, or Indian restaurants in or near Numazu? Or shops where one can buy the spices necessary to prepare these cuisines?
-And lastly, bread…Is there any decent western-French style bread available?
I’m glad to hear that it’s readily available in its liquid form.
Again, thanks for your efforts and time working on the Numazu Traveler project! It is greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
Trenton Szakall
San Diego, California
Hi Trenton,
I am glad you are enjoying the blog.
It’s great to hear you and your wife are coming to Numazu. You will be just in time for the Summer Festival.
I have some friends who work at Katoh. It’s a good school to teach at.
As far as your questions are concerned:
-What to bring is a difficult one. If you two are thinking of buying a bed in the future then I would recommend you bring sheets. If you are tall or have big feet like me I recommend some extra clothes or shoes.
-From what I hear from friends there is surf in small pockets along the Izu Hanto coast. Though the surf really does not get to size you might be used to.
-As far as bringing your board along goes; I don’t know if the surf is worth it.
-I have seen a bit of kite surfing on Suruga Bay but only the odd kayak.
-Sporting goods are comparable in Japan if you do you homework.
-I brought my mountain bike over from Australia on our return to Numazu. It is difficult to get good fitting bikes for tall people so I thought it was totally worth the investment. Crime is really low and if you buy a lock that chains your bike to, say, a pole than no one generally bothers you.
-There are a few Mexican restaurants in Numazu and quite a number of ethnic restaurants in the city too. You will even be able to find things like taco shells, chilli sauce and tortillas in certain grocers.
-There are a lot of bakeries here. While the Japanese to prefer a softer crust bread, with a little bit of sourcing you will be able to find good tasting sourdough baguettes and the like.
I hope this helps,
Scott
Thanks Scott!
This is some helpful information. Just out of curiosity, what grade levels are your friends teaching?