Shimoda — One of the First Two Ports Japan Opened

Why visit

In March 1854, with the signing of the Japan–US Treaty of Amity, Shimoda opened — and Shimoda and Hakodate became Japan's first open ports (C001). The opening of Japan is usually recounted in Tokyo or Yokohama, but the first port to receive foreign ships sits at the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula. 2024 marked the 170th anniversary (C002).

Who it is for

• Anyone interested in the end of the Edo period and the opening of Japan. The temple where the treaty was concluded still stands.
• Travellers going all the way down the Izu Peninsula: there are nine bathing beaches (C010).

What to do

Ryosenji — where the Shimoda Treaty, an appendix to the Treaty of Amity, was concluded (C005). In 1854 Perry brought seven warships into the harbour (C004).

Hofukuji — Sakamoto Ryoma left the Tosa domain in 1862 to become a pupil of Katsu Kaishu, and it was at this temple that Katsu petitioned for his pardon. It still stands as a site connected to Ryoma (C006).

Bentenjima, Kakisaki — Yoshida Shoin and his pupil Kaneko Shigenosuke tried to board a Black Ship, rowing out to about here. Statues of the two now stand on the island (C007).

Three separate stories — Perry, Ryoma, Shoin — overlap within a few kilometres. After the opening, exchange followed with foreign countries, chiefly the United States and Russia (C003). Many legends about Tojin Okichi also remain in the town (C008).

Before any of that, Edo-period Shimoda was a port of shelter and fair-wind waiting, described as seeing three thousand ships in and out (C009). Ships gathered here long before the treaties.

What to eat

Spiny lobster is served from late September to early May, with the season opening in mid-September (C011). Kinmedai is the other local seafood.

How to get there — the distance is part of the decision

Shimoda sits at the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula. The stretch beyond Atami is the long part.

From Tokyo it is about an hour to Atami by shinkansen, then a further hour and a half to Shimoda on the Ito and Izukyu lines (C014). The local-line section south of Atami takes longer than the shinkansen leg that precedes it. Travellers who think of Izu as close to Tokyo tend to misjudge Shimoda.

To avoid changing, the Odoriko or Saphir Odoriko runs direct in about 2 hours 30 minutes (C015). From Osaka: about 2 hours 30 minutes to Atami, then about 1 hour 30 minutes (C016).

Driving has the same shape. From the Tokyo direction, about 1 hour 30 minutes on the Shin-Tomei Expressway to Nagaizumi-Numazu IC — then about two hours more (C017). From Osaka, about three hours on the expressway plus the same two hours from the interchange (C018).

In town, electric-assist bicycles are rented at the Kaikoku Shimoda Minato roadside station: 9:00–17:00, 500 yen an hour, or 2,000 yen for four hours or more (C019).

Where to stay — a town that assumes a night

As the travel section shows, the stretch beyond Atami is long. Put the other way round: Shimoda is a town you plan around staying, not a day trip.

The spread of lodging says as much. The tourism association groups accommodation into three settings (C022):

• Around Shimoda Station (within five minutes' walk) — for walking the historic town
• Along the coast (Tatado, Sotoura, Iritahama) — if the sea is the point
• Inland (Rendaiji and Yokokawa Onsen) — if the hot spring is

"Staying in Shimoda" means different trips depending on which you choose. The property types run from ryokan and hotels to pensions and minshuku (C021), the mix you would expect of a coastal base.

Shimoda also has hot springs. Many of the listed properties have hot-spring baths, and several are noted for free-flowing or on-site sources (C023). The town is usually told as the story of the opening of Japan; from the lodging side, it is also a spa town.

One note: the association's ryokan listings appear in random order and rotate twice a week (C024). Their order reflects neither popularity nor ranking.

Limitations and cautions

• The Uehara Museum is due to close for extended repairs from 1 September 2026 (C012). The reopening date is unconfirmed; check before visiting.
• Gyokusenji and Townsend Harris (the first US consulate) are not mentioned on the official pages consulted, so no claim is made about them here.
• Cultural-property designations, admission and opening status for Ryosenji and Hofukuji were not obtained.
• The Black Ship Festival, seasonal information such as hydrangeas in Shimoda Park, hot springs, accommodation and Perry Road are not yet researched.
• Tojin Okichi is presented by the source as legend, and is not asserted here as established fact.