How we chose Numazu
We weighed three options for the long weekend, the same questions for each.Numazu won — closest, strongest food, and the most rain-proof for a toddler. Here's the comparison we settled it from.
Numazu & Mishima
two Tokaido towns about an hour out — Mishima's spring-water eel and Numazu's working fish port
Atami
a hot-spring town on the coast, one of the closest to Tokyo
Kurobe
a hot-spring gorge town reached by one direct shinkansen, and a high alpine route beyond it
getting there
about 1 hr 10 min
about 1 hr
about 2 hr 48 min
cost per adult
about ¥4,460
about ¥2,190
about ¥12,510
weather
Rainy season, warm and humid by Suruga Bay
Normally rainy season, warm and humid by the sea
Normally rainy season, and the mountain is cold
where to stay
Three stays, about ¥19–29k/person — an onsen hotel with a free Mishima shuttle, the suspended-sphere INN THE PARK, or onsen domes; reservable private baths.
Four stays, about ¥21–39k/person — family resorts and buffet hotels, most a short shuttle or taxi from the station.
Four ryokan in Unazuki, about ¥24–85k/person with two meals — private family baths are common, a 2–5 min walk from the station.
with a three-year-old
Easy and rain-proof — a deep-sea aquarium, an indoor play park, and animals at a spring-fed park three minutes from Mishima station.
Easy — an indoor pool, the castle play floor, and a flat seafront to stroll.
Plenty of easy things in the onsen town — free museums, footbaths, a ranch with animals. The alpine route is the optional hard day, not a must.
food
The strongest food of the three — Mishima eel shinise from 1856, Numazu-port seafood bowls, and old Showa kissaten, most of it walkable or one stop apart.
A dense, rain-proof food-walking scene by the station — seafood, himono, kissaten, pudding.
Sparse — white shrimp and the kamameshi at Kajika; the best sushi is in Toyama, on the way.
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