The West Izu Area—covering Matsuzaki, Nishi-Izu, Toi, and Heda—faces Suruga Bay, a maritime corridor where dramatic seascapes, abundant fisheries, and shipbuilding traditions shaped the region’s historical identity. Along the Shogunate to Tokyo Trail, West Izu is best understood as a coastal gateway: a place where stone, people, and goods moved by sea, linking the Izu Peninsula to the wider networks that sustained Edo.
Historical Background
The historical character of the West Izu Area is inseparable from Suruga Bay. With Mount Fuji rising beyond the horizon, this coastline formed a distinctive cultural landscape where daily life was organized around the sea. Rich fishing grounds supported coastal settlements, and the cuisine of the region—rooted in fresh seafood—reflects a long continuity of maritime livelihoods.
This maritime economy also created the conditions for transport and circulation. For communities along the bay, boats were not merely tools of fishing but the infrastructure of movement itself. Vessels built and operated in these coastal towns enabled the exchange of products, travelers, and materials across Suruga Bay, connecting harbors and landing points along the peninsula and beyond. In the context of large-scale construction and regional logistics, the bay served as a practical route for moving heavy cargo—stone among them—when overland travel was difficult.
West Izu thus complements the quarry landscapes of other parts of the peninsula. Where volcanic stone was cut inland or along rugged coasts, Suruga Bay provided a navigable “blue highway” that made long-distance transport feasible. Harbors and coastal craft traditions translated raw material into mobility, turning local resources into regional systems.
At the same time, the terrain of West Izu—steep slopes descending into deep water—created compact settlements with strong ties between land and sea. Shrines, paths, and viewpoints overlooking Suruga Bay preserve the sense of a coastline shaped by both nature and labor. Today, the region’s scenic vistas, maritime heritage, and seafood culture make it possible to experience the historical logic of the trail not only through monuments, but through the living relationship between coastal communities and the bay.
Within the Shogunate to Tokyo Trail, the West Izu Area represents the maritime hinge of the Izu Peninsula: a place where the sea enabled exchange, sustained communities, and carried materials that helped build the early modern capital.