Gakunan Tetsudo wine train

Like its cousin beer train, the wine train (or wine densha) event put on yearly by the small private Gakunan Tetsudo train line is pretty special. Buy a ticket for about 2500 yen and ride the train to the end of the line and back (a total of about one hour) and drink all the wine you can. There are various kinds of wines on board, including a selection of nearby Yamanashi wines. And you shouldn't feel ashamed of keeping your glass full either. Everyone will be trying to get as much value for their money as possible and swaying by the end of the ride.


Like beer train, wine train is a good chance to talk with drunk locals and get your picture taken a lot and have an all round good time. It starts off and returns to JR Yoshiwara Station. Make sure to walk over to the Gakunan Tetsudo side of the station. Making a reservation for your party is very much recommended as tickets tend to sell out very quickly. While beer train takes place in summer, wine train is a winter event (February). Contact the Gakunan Tetsudo company for more information and walk with your own snacks.

Hina Cafe

Chances are you wouldn't stumble across this gem of a cafe on your own. Not only is it located in a fairly out of the way location, but it's also hidden from view from the street. I'm happy that my colleague took me to lunch here once so now I can share it with others.

One of the nicest things about Hina Cafe is the interior. It's really unique--there are random antiques strewn all over the place and cool raw wooden furniture. When the weather is nice you can eat on the patio.


The place is run entirely by a couple. Service can therefore be a bit slow at peak hours but it's worth it for the delicious food and attention to detail. It's open for lunch and dinner and there are a range of beers and cocktails as well. It's located here, close to Hina Station on the Gakunan Tetsudo line.

Tsuke Napori

This is the signature dish of the Yoshiwara section of Fuji City. It's basically a Japanese take on Neapolitan pasta. You use chopsticks to dip your pasta in the tomato sauce. It's very yummy. Many different cafes and restaurants in Yoshiwara offer their own versions of the dish. The one above has sakura ebi (tiny shrimp) in the pasta. My favorite is from Sofarii Cafe. Here, you can order onigiri (rice balls) to mix into the sauce you have left over at the end. So good!

You can find tsuke napori anywhere you see the red, green and white tomato sign in Yoshiwara.

Rafting on the Fujikawa

The Fujikawa (Fuji River) is one of the three most rapid rivers in Japan. The other two are the Magami River in Yamagata and the Kuma River in Kumamoto. This makes it ideal for white water rafting. There are a number of companies in Shizuoka that offer guided rafting and canyoning in the area. At Natural Action Outdoor Tours, we were able to get an English speaking guide who made the whole thing easy for those of us who had never been rafting before. You can call them at 0544-65-1123.


It's a fantastic thing that must be done if you're going to be living or visiting anywhere close to the Fuji River. The rafting is punctuated by little side trips to explore waterfalls and dive off cliffs. And the scenery is stunning as you go down the river looking up at Mt. Fuji, the Japanese Alps, forests, riverbank flowers and giant arches. Early fall is the perfect time to be out there as the sun isn't scorching and the water isn't too cold.






Here's a video of what it's like:

Yoshiwara Chuo Station

This rather dingy bus station is a major transportation hub in Fuji City. Here you can get buses to suburbs of the city including Fujimidai, Obuchi, Imaizumi, Sobina and others. You can also catch regular buses to Fujinomiya Station, Rose Theatre, Fuji Central Hospital and Fuji Station, as well as Shin Fuji Station, Numazu Station and JR Yoshiwara Station.

There are only a couple of buses daily to Fuji Soko Undo Park and the popular family destinations of Fuji Children's Park, Safari Park and Yeti ski park. There are three buses every morning directly to Tokyo Station. Also, shuttles to Fuji AEON Mall stop here a few times a day. Finally, you can get a taxi here at almost every time of the day or night. The Tenjinya right next door has cheap (and often greasy) breakfast and lunch.

To get the full bus schedule, simply ask the woman at the window: "Jikokyu-hyou kudasai." If you don't speak Japanese though, you'll need some help to make sense of it.

Joy Plaza recycle shop

In Japan, recycle shops are places where you can get secondhand items for good prices. This includes a lot of stuff in almost perfect condition. If you've just moved to Fuji City and need to furnish your apartment quickly, recycle shops are the way to go.

And Joyland Plaza is probably the best one in the city because of range of things you can get - bicycles, scooters, kitchen wares, furniture, appliances, electronics, musical instruments, shoes, clothes, old records and whole host of things that can only be classified as "other".

Check it out here, close to Fuji High School. The closest train station is Tatebori on the Minobu line. It's about a 20 minute walk from Fuji Station but there are also buses that go along that road. Home delivery is available.

Kappazushi restaurant

Also also called kaiten sushi or conveyor belt sushi. It's cheap and fun. Just grab whatever you want from the belt as it goes around.


You can also order exactly what you want by using the computer screen next to your table. In that case, your order will come straight to you on a plastic shinkansen :) It's very easy to use the computer screen even if you don't speak Japanese because the pictures show you what you're getting and the prices are clearly marked.

Plates at this particular restaurant are mostly between 100 and 200 yen and green tea and water are free. When you finish, the waitress will count your plates to determine your bill. In addition to sashimi and nigiri, you can get soups, desserts and fried dishes.

The restaurant is open from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm. It's about a 10 minute walk from from Fuji City Office. Click here for a map.

Horse karaage is surprisingly tender

Cannery Row Italian restaurant

This may be one of the best restaurants in Fuji City . It was certainly the one that came most highly recommended. After walking along the path lined with olive trees, rosemary and basil and glancing at the beautiful decor, I sat down to look at the menu and was shocked at how reasonably priced everything was.

First off, if you miss really good pizza, go to this place. They do pizza really well and there's a fantastic variety on the pizza menu, including Italian style and Japanese style choices.

And if you're a pasta junkie like me...again, go to this place. I recommend the spaghetti with smoked salmon cream sauce. Best of all, you can get lunch sets where you choose a main dish (pizza or pasta) and get unlimited salad bar and drink bar. And let me say that the salad bar alone is worth the price of the entire meal - rices, seafood, potatoes and a vast array of vegetables. And all of this will cost about 1200-1400 yen! I'm not sure if dinner is more expensive.

Finally, you can add TWO dessert choices to your lunch for a mere 240 yen or THREE for 340 yen. Cannery Row is well known for its great desserts. The momblan (Mont Blanc) cake is particularly good.

Cannery Row is located close to Fuji High School. See here for a map.

Jumbo Encho home center

Jumbo Encho is a huge home center in the Yoshiwara district of Fuji City. It has everything you may need for your home at reasonable prices. For example you can buy:

kitchen supplies

hardware supplies

garden supplies

a puppy (and general pet supplies)

You can also get electronic appliances, heating and air conditioning stuff, stationery, bicycles, cleaning supplies, paint and anything else you may need to turn your fetid apaato into something livable. It's about a 10 minute walk from Yoshiwara Chuo Station. See here for a map.

Land of Oz bar

In every Japanese city, there's at least one gaijin-friendly joint where foreigners go to sip familiar beer and speak English to each other. Land of Oz is Fuji City's. It's made up like a kitschy Australian bar and serves a pretty good selection of international beer and liquor, including Guinness on tap. Plus you can get food like tacos, nachos and chicken wings and meet cool people from all over Shizuoka.

It's just about a five minute walk from Fuji Station's North exit. See here for a map or here for their Facebook page with upcoming events.

Fuji Festival

There's nothing quite like a Japanese summer festival - girls draped in yukatas, delicious food and fantastic fireworks. Almost every town has its own festival and Fuji City is no exception. Fuji Festival is on the fourth Saturday in July every year. It takes place in Fujikawa, with panoramic views of the Fujikawa bridge and the Minami Alps. Against this backdrop, and with the shinkansen racing by from time to time, the fireworks were really something to behold.

Take the train to JR Fujikawa Station and follow the mob of people. It's about a ten minute walk to the festival site. The most comfortable place to view the fireworks is from a picnic spot but you have to buy a ticket that costs around 5000 yen (you can maybe fit up to ten people in each spot). This year, the fireworks started at 7:30 pm but come early to enjoy the festival mood.

Gakunan Tetsudo beer train

The Gakunan Tetsudo is a small, private train line that runs from Yoshiwara Station to Gakunan-Enoo Station in Fuji City. The area served by this train line is fairly isolated and industrial so chances are you'll never have to take it. But there's no better reason to check it out than the annual beer train!

Such a brilliant concept really - you buy a ticket (about 2200 yen) and drink all the beer you can while the train goes to the end of the line and back (one hour). Depending on how many beers you drink, it can be a pretty good deal. Snacks are provided but most Japanese people bring food with them. Chances are you'll be the only foreigner on board so be prepared to make friends! This was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had in Japan.

The beer train departs from Yoshiwara Station on Friday evenings in July and August at around 7:00 p.m. Please check at the station for more information and tickets. The Gakunan Tetsudo also has a jazz train sometimes (live jazz band on board) but I don't think it will happen again this year.



*Pics by Em

Geleeun's Coffee House

This beautifully decorated brick house turned cafe offers a nice selection of coffee, tea, dessert and light meals at reasonable prices. Opening hours are 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. It's located here, close to Fuji City Hall, so may be a good place to relax after you pick up your gaijin card.

Anmitsu and cream hotcakes

A glimpse at the menu

Yoshiwara Gion Festival

This festival is held on the second Saturday and Sunday in June every year and apparently has been taking place for the past 250 years. It's a pretty big event for Fuji City. The main street in Yoshiwara (Yoshiwarahoncho) is completely transformed as floats and mobile shrines are pulled by colorfully dressed Fuji City denizens and the sound of drums and flutes takes over. It's fantastic to see your solemn neighbors letting loose and drinking beer in the streets. And of course, the usual matsuri fare of fried foods on sticks is available for purchase.






Here's a short video of the fun. Seriously, this is the liveliest I've ever seen the locals of this city.