Nihondaira plateau
About this viewpoint
Nihondaira sits 307 m above Shimizu, with neatly clipped green tea fields rolling toward Suruga Bay and Fuji rising directly across the water. It is one of the few places in Japan where you can frame all three at once, tea, sea and mountain.
Tea, bay, mountain
Shizuoka is Japan's largest tea producing prefecture and Nihondaira is the visual heart of that landscape. Add the working port of Shimizu and the snow capped peak across the bay for one of the country's defining views.
Beyond the lookout
Kunozan Toshogu, the original burial site of Tokugawa Ieyasu, is a 5 minute ropeway ride down the cliff face from the plateau, with 1159 stone steps as the walking alternative.
Photographer tips
- The observation tower (Yume Terrace) is free and has a wraparound deck.
- Take the Nihondaira ropeway down to Kunozan Toshogu shrine for an alternative descent.
- Visit during the first tea flush in late April for vivid green fields.
Getting there
Practical info
Free, ropeway ¥600 each way
Free large lot at Yume Terrace.
Yume Terrace deck and ramps are step free, very accessible.
70 to 200 mm to compress the tea fields, bay and mountain.
Where to eat nearby
- Yume Terrace cafe
Tea soft serve made with local Honyama leaf, lookout seating.
Best rail pass for Nihondaira plateau
These are the rail passes that actually reach Nihondaira plateau. Buy your pass before you fly, then collect it at any major Japanese airport or city station.
Japan Rail Pass (7 days)Recommended
Tokaido Shinkansen Kodama and Hikari to Mishima, Shin-Fuji and Shizuoka are fully covered, plus local JR Tokaido line trains along the Shizuoka coast.
Mt Fuji Shizuoka Pass
Local buses and trains around Shin-Fuji, Mishima and Shimizu. Lighter and cheaper than a national pass if Fuji is your only Shinkansen leg.
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