The capital of Shizuoka prefecture is Shizuoka shi, but the largest and the most economicaly developed city is Hamamatsu.

Hamamatsu has a population of 807,199 people with the foreign population of  22,541 people and it is constantly growing.

When Shizuoka prefecture is mainly famous for Mt.Fuji and productions of green tea and mikan (mandarin), the city of Hamamatsu is an industrial center with headquarters or offices of well renowned companies such as Suzuki and Honda (cars), Yamaha, Kawai and Roland (musical instruments), or Hamamatsu Photonics.

The first signs of human history dates back to 18,000 years ago, and the archaeological ruins of prehistoric people who lived with nature can also be found in every part of the city. The city name counts back to 1300 years ago, and this place was always populated and developed since centuries ago.

As the city is situated on the Southern part of Honshu islands in a middle way between Tokyo and Osaka. The city is protected by mountains at the North, it has a mild climate. However, you may feel colder in winter with some snow and much hotter in summer compare to Tokyo and other Kanto area.

You can get to Hamamatsu city by bullet train (shinkansen) in just 1 hour and a half. The public transportation of Hamamatsu consists of railway system ( Tokaido Shinkansen line, Tokaido main line, Entetsu railway line), city buses and taxis.

For sightseeing we would recommend visiting Air Self-Defense Force Hamamatsu Public Relations Hall Air Park, Hamamatsu castle, Hamanaka Pal Pal amusement park, or if you are a food fan, you may consider visiting a Unagi Pie Factory (pies made of eel fish) for a change. 🙂

For information about Hamamatsu, please click on the city’s official site:

https://www.city.hamamatsu.shizuoka.jp/foreign/english/