A trip to Ito brings together culture and different views of the city: museums introduce you to its hot springs and literary history, while parks, a riverside path, and shrines offer their own perspectives on the city, harbor, and bay. If you’d like to include walks and views alongside cultural attractions in your trip, Ito offers a range of ways to do so.

Museums on Hot Springs, Literature and Architectural History

The Tokaikan features exhibits on the building’s history, the history of Ito’s hot springs, and the writers and literary figures associated with the hot springs. Local history and literary connections are presented side by side. Visitors interested in Ito’s cultural heritage can explore both the history of the building and topics related to the hot springs and the literary figures associated with them.

The Kinoshita Mokutaro Memorial Museum focuses on Kinoshita Mokutaro and his circle. Exhibits include Mokutaro’s books, paintings, personal memorabilia, and photographs, as well as letters and works by literary figures with whom he was in contact. The collection also includes personal belongings of the Ōta family from Mokutaro’s childhood home and objects from everyday life at the time. An approximately 12-minute original video about Mokutaro’s life adds a cinematic perspective to the collection. The museum visit thus brings together personal artifacts, literary works, everyday objects, and the video.

The building itself is also a subject of interest: it is registered as a national-level tangible cultural property and preserves the architecture of a merchant’s residence. The combination of the collection and the building gives the memorial museum a different focus from the Tokaikan: here, biographical and literary artifacts are presented alongside the architecture of the house.

City Walks and Views

Monomizuka Park sits on a low hill beside Ito City Hall. From there, you can look out over the city and as far as Hatsushima Island. The view connects the city in the foreground with the island as a distant landmark. For a sense of Ito from an elevated vantage point, this park offers a different kind of outdoor experience from a riverside walk.

The Matsukawa flows through central Ito, with a promenade along its banks that is used for walking. Cherry trees bloom there in spring. The promenade offers both a riverside route through the city and a seasonal display of blossoms. If you’d like to include cherry blossoms in your trip, you can plan to visit this part of the city especially in spring.

Arai Shrine offers another view: it sits on a hill and looks out over Ito Harbor and Sagami Bay. The viewpoints differ in what they overlook: from Monomizuka Park, the view stretches from the city to Hatsushima, while at Arai Shrine the harbor and bay take center stage. You can choose where to go based on the view that interests you most.

Bamboo Lights and an Activity at the Shrine

As part of Ito Onsen Takeakari, around 500 bamboo lights are permanently installed along the Matsukawa Promenade, at Otonashi Shrine, and in the forecourt of JR Ito Station. The installation’s lights are spread across these three locations around the city. If you’re planning to seek them out, check their current arrangement before your visit.

As part of Ito Onsen Takeakari, visitors can also create an original heart-shaped ema at Otonashi Shrine and hang it on the shrine grounds. The activity combines the bamboo lights with a hands-on creative experience at the shrine. Since details of the activity may change, it’s a good idea to check them before planning a visit specifically for this purpose.

Discover more destinations: Atami, Yaizu, Makinohara, Nishiizu, Fuji, Midaka, Kamo District, Kakegawa.

For the regional travel overview: Shizuoka Prefecture.