Kikugawa (菊川市 kikugawa-shi) is a city located in Shizuoka prefecture. The city is known for production of green tea.

Understand

Tourist information site

The local tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site with integrated machine translation.

Get in

By plane

There are three conveniently located airports near Kikugawa, in Nagoya (Central Air), Shizuoka, and Narita (Tokyo). By car or bus, it takes 2 hours from Nagoya, 6 hours from Narita, and 40 minutes from Shizuoka to arrive in Kikugawa.

By train

Kikugawa is on the Tokai JR train line. From Shizuoka, the train is ¥720 and takes 40 minutes. From Kakegawa, the nearest Shinkansen and major bus stop, it is ¥190 and takes 5 minutes.

The Kakegawa Shinkansen stop is on the Tokaido line. Only Kodama trains stop at this station; they run about once an hour. It is 1½ hours from Tokyo (¥7650), an hour from Nagoya (¥5130), and 2 hours from Shin-Osaka station (¥9950). The Shinkansen is the fastest way to get to Kikugawa from many major cities.

By bus

There is a bus from Nagoya's international airport to Kakegawa, called the Entetsu E-Wing, which costs ¥3400 and takes about 2 hours. They leave about every half-hour except around lunch, when there is a bus every hour.

Get around

By car

• Aoi Rental Car, Shimouchida 1571-1, 0537-36-3255.
• Kikugawa taxi limited company, 053-736-2321.
• Ota Rental Car, Takahashi 2402-4, 0120-73-5661.

By bus

There are two kinds of buses. One is

• The community bus, 0537-35-0925, costs ¥200 for all journeys. This bus does not run on Saturday, Sunday, Festivals, the New Year’s period.
• The Shizutetsu bus, 0537-86-2385, runs from Kikugawa station to the Hamaoka bus office. The last bus stop is Sakuriya Kaiyou international school entrance in Kikugawa.

See

• Ōjika Pond (大鹿池), Tomita 2593, ☏ +81 537-35-1751. The most famous pond in Kikugawa, a popular fishing spot. 

Do

• Hikoichijuku (彦一塾), Ogasa-gun Kikugawa-cho Tomita 2593, ☏ +81 537-35-1751. They offer experiences in traditional Japanease life such as making buck wheat noodles, picking tea leaves, and splitting firewood. 
• Hitsurugi Mountain, Tomita, ☏ +81 537-35-0937. There are many activities at the top of this mountain including a fine view from the look-out point, walking courses, a 70-m roller slide and a campground. 
• Kikugawa Sport Ground, Nishikata 898, ☏ +81 537-35-0919. The sports ground houses a baseball stadium, sport facilities and various playground equipment. Various big tournaments are held here. 

Buy

• Blueberry no Sato (ブルーベリーの郷), Shimohirakawa 667-2, ☏ +81 537-73-6636. This place offers blueberry picking and sells pasta, wine, sweets and so on. All of the products are made from blueberries grown locally. 
• Ebirado (えびら堂), Mineda 949, ☏ +81 537-73-2109. Pick up some of the local sweet, known as shiroshita-gashi. 
• Ikemura Kanko Melon Farm (池村観光メロン園), Kamihirakawa 1297, ☏ +81 537-73-4317. Local melons and cantaloupe. 
• JA Enshu Yumesaki (JA遠州夢咲), Hanzumi 1100, ☏ +81 537-36-4355. Direct sales of locally grown green tea. 
• Tomutomu no Sato (トムトムの里), Shimouchida, ☏ +81 537-36-1630. Local tomatoes. "Tomutomu" is a new variety of tomato locally invented. 

Eat

In addition to the usual set of chain restaurants such as Coco's, Gusto, MOS burger and Sukiya, the city has many notable locations.

• Kappa Sushi (かっぱ寿司), Kamomiyanonishi 2737-1, ☏ +81 537-37-2288. 11:00-23:00. 
• Obune (おぶね), Kamo 4948, ☏ +81 537-35-4030. 11:30-14:00 and 17:30-23:00, closed Mondays. Hi-end Japanese cuisine. Reservation required. 
• Pony's Toy, 1217 Horinouchi (near the station), ☏ +81 537-35-2819. 10:00-22:00, closed on Tuesday. Cafe/restaurant with occasional live shows. 
• Rouko (老虎), Kamo 2735-1, ☏ +81 537-36-0910. Ramen shop. 
• Sawayaka (さわやか), Kamo 2636, ☏ +81 537-36-1106. M-F Su 11:00-00:00, Sa 11:00-01:00. Shizuoka's favorite hamburger steak restaurant chain originated here. 
• Tawaraya (たわら屋), Kamo 5270, ☏ +81 537-37-0535. M-F 11:00-14:00, Sa Su and holidays 11:00-14:30 and 17:00-22:00. shabu shabu restaurant. 
• Tawaraya (たわら屋), Kamo 2697, ☏ +81 537-35-0616, yakiniku-t@cy.tnc.ne.jp. M-Sa 17:00-03:00, Su and holidays 16:00-00:00. yakiniku restaurant. 

Sleep

• Hotel Gen Kikugawa (ホテル玄 菊川), 5452 Kamo. (updated Apr 2024)
• Business Hotel Tachibana (ビジネスホテルたちばな), Horinouchi 1335 (Two min from Kikugawa station). Check-in: 16:00, check-out: 10:00. Single ¥5670.. (updated Apr 2024)
• Hotel Route Inn Kikugawa Inter (ホテルルートイン菊川インター), Kamo 5638-1. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 10:00. Large public bath-room. There is a restaurant (updated Apr 2024)

Go next

• Kakegawa has a fine castle and a number of other attractions.
• Oigawa Steam Locomotive, (from JR Kanaya Station, one stop east), . This old-fashioned steam locomotive travels up the scenic Oi River Valley to Lake Ikawa. There are two legs of the line; the stretch between Kanaya and Senzu costs ¥1810 each way, and the stretch between Senzu and Ikawa costs ¥1280 each way. From Senzu Station, another ¥860 will also get you a bus which runs to the famous Sumata Gorge Onsen, about 40 minutes away. The gorge has a unique and beautiful 90-m-long suspension footbridge, and offers some excellent hiking opportunities.
• Omaezaki, to the south, is a great place to hit the beach.
• Makinohara
• Iwata
• Fukuroi
• Shimada
• Yoshida
• Fujieda

Routes through Kikugawa

Hamamatsu ← Kakegawa ←	W  E	→ Shizuoka → Tokyo
Hamamatsu ← Kakegawa ←	W  E	→ Yaizu → Shizuoka → Tokyo