A day in Atami from Tokyo: the plum garden, a 2,000-year-old camphor tree and the MOA Museum

See · Atami · Published 2026-10-25.

Forty minutes from Tokyo by Shinkansen: Kinomiya Shrine and its sacred camphor tree, the Atami Plum Garden, the MOA Museum of Art and an evening bath by the sea.

Tokyo → Atami

Tokaido Shinkansen, about 40–50 min (Kodama or Hikari)

Kinomiya

one stop on the JR Ito line, or about 20 min on foot

Plum festival

mid-January to early March

Atami is the gateway to Izu and the easiest day trip from Tokyo on the peninsula. The Tokaido Shinkansen reaches it in about 40 to 50 minutes, and the town packs a shrine with one of Japan's oldest trees, a plum garden, a major art museum and a seafront into a small, steep space. Here is a plan for a full day, with options for each season.

Morning: Kinomiya Shrine and the great camphor tree

Take the JR Ito line one stop from Atami to Kinomiya, or walk about 20 minutes from Atami station. The shrine is famous for its sacred camphor tree, estimated by the shrine to be more than 2,000 years old, with a trunk about 24 metres around. It has been a national natural monument since 1933. Local tradition says that walking once around the tree adds a year to your life. The shrine has become one of Atami's most popular spots, so go early to see it without crowds.

Late morning: the Atami Plum Garden

A ten-minute walk from Kinomiya station, the Atami Plum Garden (Atami Baien) has close to 500 plum trees of about 60 varieties, some more than a century old. Its plum festival runs from mid-January to early March, and because the varieties flower at different times there is usually something in bloom; February is the peak. In autumn the same garden holds a maple festival from mid-November to early December. Outside those seasons it is a quiet, shady park along a stream.

Afternoon: the MOA Museum of Art

Take a bus or taxi up the hill to the MOA Museum of Art, which owns Ogata Korin's screen Red and White Plum Blossoms, a national treasure. The screen is shown only during special exhibitions, usually from late January to March, so check the museum's programme. The rest of the collection, the gardens and the view over Sagami Bay are worth the visit at any time. Recent listings gave opening hours of 9:30 to 16:30, with closures on Thursdays.

Evening: the seafront and a bath

Back in town, walk down the shopping streets near the station to the seafront and Sun Beach, which is lit up at night. Atami holds fireworks over the bay on several dates a year, mainly in summer and winter. Many hotels sell day-use bathing plans, and the town's hot springs have been famous since the Edo period, when their water was carried to the shogun in Edo. Our guide to Izu's onsen towns compares Atami with the others.

Getting around Atami

Atami is built on a steep slope above the bay, and the distances look shorter on the map than they feel on foot. A loop bus for sightseers links the station with the main sights, and the one-day Tokai Bus pass for Atami (800 yen in 2025 listings) pays for itself in two or three rides. Taxis wait outside the station and are reasonable for short hops, such as the climb to the MOA Museum. Comfortable shoes help: many of the short cuts between streets are stairways.

A resort with a long history

Atami's hot springs were already famous in the Edo period, and after the railway arrived the town became one of the country's great resorts, a classic destination for company trips and honeymoons. It went through a long decline at the end of the twentieth century and has been revived in recent years by new cafés, renovated hotels and a younger crowd from Tokyo, which explains the mix of old and new you see on its streets today.

Atami in other seasons

The plum garden makes winter Atami's signature season, but the town works all year. In summer, Sun Beach is open for swimming and fireworks light the bay on several summer evenings. In autumn the plum garden turns red with maples. Winter weekdays are the quietest time, with clear air and views across Sagami Bay towards the islands.

Eating in Atami

The shopping streets that run down from the station are known for himono, fish split and dried in the sun, a specialty of the coast, along with fish cakes and sweets made for visitors. For a sit-down meal, seafood bowls of local fish are the classic lunch. Many places close by early evening, so plan dinner at your hotel or near the station. The small fish shops near the port sell the morning's catch, useful if you are staying in a flat with a kitchen.

Combining Atami with the east coast

If you have a second day, continue on the JR Ito line. Ito, about 25 minutes away, has the wooden Tokaikan ryokan by its river and a network of public bathhouses, and the Jogasaki coast and Mount Omuro are a short bus ride beyond. Staying a night in Ito and returning to Tokyo from Atami the next evening makes a relaxed weekend.

Practical tips

• Only Kodama and some Hikari Shinkansen services stop at Atami; Nozomi trains do not. For the Odoriko and other routes, see getting to Izu from Tokyo.
• Atami is built on a steep hillside: buses and taxis save a lot of climbing.
• For more of the east coast, continue on the JR Ito line to Ito and the Jogasaki coast; our guide to getting around Izu explains the trains and passes.
• If one day is not enough, Atami is also the most practical base for a long stay on the peninsula, with the Shinkansen on the doorstep.