Area guide · Shizuoka
Atami: a guide for your stay
By Minpaku X editorsUpdated 2 min read4 sources
The short answer
Atami is a seaside town in Shizuoka, 40–50 minutes from Tokyo by shinkansen, built on steep hills above a bay. Fireworks go up over the bay through the year, plums flower from January, and the city charges an accommodation tax of ¥200 a person a night.
The town in brief
Atami sits where the Izu peninsula meets the main island: a bay, a harbour, and hills so steep that houses look straight down onto the water. It grew as a hot-spring town and a weekend escape from Tokyo, and it is still both.
Not every bath in town is a spring. On Minpaku X a bath is called an onsen only when its hot-spring analysis is on file; Atami Umihoshi's outdoor Jacuzzi on the deck is heated tap water, not an onsen, and each guest gets a free day-use onsen ticket for a bath in town.
Sources: [1]
Through the year
What's on each month, from the organisers' own pages. Dates marked planned are the organisers' plans.
| Month | What's on |
|---|---|
| Jan | Plum festival at Atami Baien (planned dates); Atami-zakura along the Itokawa, lit 16:30–23:00 (planned dates) |
| Feb | Plum festival at Atami Baien continues |
| Mar | Last days of the plum festival (planned); Cherry at Atami Castle, late March to early April |
| Apr | Cherry at Atami Castle into early April |
| May | Jacaranda along the seafront, late May into June |
| Jun | Jacaranda in flower along the seafront |
| Jul | Kogashi Matsuri, Kinomiya Shrine's grand festival: floats on the 15th and 16th |
| Sep | Mishima Taisha's 1,200-year-old kinmokusei blooms, twice in September |
| Nov | Maple festival at Atami Baien, lit 16:30–21:00, free entry |
| Dec | Last days of the maple festival |
Sources: [4]
Fireworks over the bay
The Atami Kaijo Hanabi Taikai goes up from the harbour through the year. Shows run 20:20–20:40, from 20:15 in July and August; they go ahead in rain, but high waves can cancel them. Trains back to Tokyo are busy afterwards.
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| 8 Nov 2026 | 20:20–20:40 |
| 23 Nov 2026 | 20:20–20:40 |
| 6 Dec 2026 | 20:20–20:40 |
| 25 Dec 2026 | 20:20–20:40 |
| 21 Feb 2027 (provisional) | 20:20–20:40 |
Sources: [3]
The town's tax
Since 1 April 2025 Atami City has charged an accommodation tax of ¥200 a person a night. Children of primary-school age and younger are exempt, as are school trips. On Minpaku X it is its own line in the total, so nothing is paid at the door.
Sources: [2]
Getting there
Trains from Tokyo, Hakone and Odawara, the buses in town and the last mile are in our guide to Atami without a car.
| From | To | How | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Station | Atami Station | Shinkansen | 40–50 min (to verify) |
| Atami Station | the house | Host's free pickup | 15–20 min |
Sources: [1]
Questions
How far is Atami from Tokyo?
40–50 minutes by shinkansen from Tokyo Station, or about 1 hour 45 minutes on the JR Tokaido Line.
Is there an accommodation tax in Atami?
Yes: ¥200 a person a night since 1 April 2025, with children of primary-school age and younger exempt. On Minpaku X it's included in the total.
When are the Atami fireworks?
Through the year, on dates the Atami City Tourism Association lists; shows run 20:20–20:40, from 20:15 in July and August. This guide lists the coming dates.
When do the plums flower in Atami?
From January. Atami Baien's plum festival is planned for 9 January to 7 March 2027.
Do I need a car?
No: see our guide to Atami without a car.
Sources
How we write guides: every figure that can change names its source and the day we read it; a figure marked 'to verify' is still to check against its primary source. Nobody pays to appear in a guide.
Read next
- Guide · AtamiAtami without a car: trains, buses, pickupHow to reach Atami from Tokyo, Hakone and Odawara by train, get around its steep streets by bus, and get up the hill to your stay without a car.
- Guide · Before you stayHow to tell a legal minpaku in JapanStaying in a Japanese home, and knowing it's legal: the three permissions, the number and the sign, the 180-night rule, and what to ask before you book.