The nearest Shinkansen stops are at Kakegawa, if you're coming in from the direction of Tokyo, or Hamamatsu if you're coming from the Nagoya area. From either, you can catch a regular JR train the rest of the way to Iwata Station.
Get around
See
Iwata Museum of Fragrance (磐田香りの博物館, Iwata Kaori no Hakubutsukan), Tatsuno 2019-15, +81 53 836-8891. 09:30-17:00, closed Mondays. This unique museum explores the history and culture associated with fragrances in a variety of exhibits, including the "Experience Fragrance" exhibit which, for an additional fee of ¥2100, allows visitors to create and bottle their own fragrance. A café allows visitors to try out various fragrant herbal teas. Adults ¥300, students ¥200, children ¥100
Okegaya Marsh (桶ケ谷沼, Okegaya Numa), Iwai 315, +81 53 839-3022. 09:00-17:00, closed Mondays. An almost 2-km-long marsh and the surrounding park has abundant wildlife, including 67 species of dragonfly.
Toyooka Plum Park (豊岡梅公園, Toyooka Ume Kouen), Uenobu 1989-1, +81 53 962-2666. 09:00-17:00. Over 4000 plums trees blossom in a beautiful valley here every spring. Adults ¥500, children ¥100
Yuya Wisteria (熊野の長藤, Yuya no Nagafuji), Ikeda 330, +81 53 836-9600. Meter-long arms of wisteria hang from a frame which covers almost 600 m². Great picnic spot during the April-May bloom. A wisteria festival is held here during Golden Week as well. Free
Do
Buy
{{buy
| name=LaLa Port Iwata | alt=ららぽーと磐田 | url=http://www.lalaport-iwata.com/ (dead link: December 2020) | email=
| address=1200 Takamigaoka | lat= | long= | directions=off the Tomei Expressway north of the Iwata Interchange
| phone = +81 538-59-0100 | tollfree= | fax=
| hours=10:00-21:00 | price=
| content=The newest and largest western-style mall in the area, with a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and a Toho Cinema. One unique store, Enshu no Eki, carries a vast array of food products made, grown, or caught in the Enshu (western Shizuoka) area.
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Eat
{{eat
| name=Choupana Iwata | url=http://choupana.three-count.com/category/1378235.html (dead link: December 2020) | email=
| address=Fukudenakajima776-1 | lat= | long= | directions=on rute 43
| phone = +81 538-58-2321 | tollfree= | fax=
| hours=Sa Su 12:00-24:00 | price=¥2000-3000
| content=Popular Brazilian all-you-can-eat rodizio with salad bar, rice and beans, salgados, feijoada and a wide selection of cuts served tableside, including various beef cuts, chicken, chicken hearts, lamb, and pork. ¥2000-3000.
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Unagi no Tanaka (うなぎのたなか), Shirabane 147, +81 53 866-5252. Eel from Hamamatsu's Lake Hamana is the Enshu region's most famous regional dish. Check out their take-away menu.
Splurge
Ajishou Tenhiro (味匠天宏), Mitsuke 3884-5 (about 2 km north of JR Iwata station), +81 53-832-7078. 11:00-14:00, 17:00-21:00. Tempura served in an old-style Japanese atmosphere. The restaurant is installed in a historic house once lived in by the head of the Akamatsu clan. Beyond tempura, the restaurant also specializes in the local "three-color curry" (miiro kare). Dinner for around ¥5000