July 2020

Yaizu is not the first stop on many traveller’s lists when coming to Japan. My visits here were limited to teaching (jumping around) at a local kindergarten and a few overnight stays in a pleasant hotel in order to be able to use the Internet to watch sport.

Why didn’t I have Internet? Well, I was still scarred from my run-ins with the dreadful company that is Softbank, which lasted well over a year. If you are thinking of using any of their services, don’t.

Apart from the fish market, which enjoys some renown locally, Sapporo also runs a brewery here, where some of my students worked. The harbour is quite atmospheric on an overcast day with the backing of the green hills that separate it from Shizuoka.

Somewhere tucked away in those hills lies the little hamlet of Hanazawa. It’s worth a look if you’re after some real countryside.

Overall, a deep melancholy infuses the town, perhaps caused by the fact so many have moved to higher ground out of fear of the next great earthquake. Yaizu wouldn’t stand a chance against the ensuing tsunami.