Explore Atami

Situated on the northeast hillside of Atami at 170 meters above sea, this historic site has been venerated by lords and shoguns for centuries, among them Minamoto no Yoritomo, Ashikaga Takauji and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Its history goes back to 271, and the shrine has inspired many poets of various times. Today, it offers a scenic site for trekking and birdwatching.

Situated on the outskirt of Atami’s downtown, this shrine is a popular spot among the young and the old alike. Its origin is from the Nara period (8th century), as legend has it, when people enshrined an ancient oak tree near the beach by divine sign of Itakeru no Mikoto, the guardian deity of nature. Today, the oak tree on the site is more than 2,000 years old.

This former family villa, built in 1919, served several wealthy families, notably the influential businessmen Uchida Shin’ya and Nezu Kaichiro. It consists of four wings, two in the Japanese style and the other two of a more modern style with European influence. There is also a beautiful garden. The architecture retains much of the original structures and the reminiscence of the city’s golden age as the nation’s favorite spa resort.

The house, built between 1935 and 37 by a trade tycoon Hyuga Rihee, was designed by Watanabe Jin, the architect who also designed the Tokyo National Museum. It also houses a basement designed by German architect Bruno Taut, which is the only examples of his work extant in Japan, and it is designated as Important Cultural Property. The house stands on Higashiyama, a small hill by the sea.

The 20th-century writer Tsubouchi Shoyo is known for his translation of William Shakespeare’s work. The residence and garden reflect the writer’s personal values and ideas, like the weathervane with a kingfisher on top of his library wing being inspired by Shakespeare’s King Lear. Soshisya literally means a pair of persimmon trees, which used stand in the garden.

A celebrated scene in a famous serial novel Konjiki Yasha (1897-1902) made this location famous. A dramatic parting between a young man Kan’ichi and his bride-to-be Omiya under an iconic pine tree seized the nation's heart. This is the location of the scene, and bronze statues by sculptor Tateno Kosei (1916–2005) stand there as a reminder. The current pine tree was planted in 1966 as a successor of the original one.