A castle town lined with fish-cake shops
Odawara, a former castle town about 35 minutes from Tokyo by shinkansen (bullet train), has made kamaboko, a smooth fish cake of steamed white fish, for more than two centuries with fish from the bay. Taste your way along the old shops near the sea, then walk to the castle and climb its keep for a view over the water. Kamaboko is mild and slightly sweet, and you can simply point to buy.
A street toward the sea from Odawara Station where about ten kamaboko makers have their shops, in what was once the town's fish market district. Each shop has its own flavors and shapes, from the classic white and pink loaves on wooden boards to fried and grilled ones, so you can compare a few and pick souvenirs. Some shops close early or on certain days.
A kamaboko maker's village where a craftsperson shows you how to shape your own kamaboko or chikuwa, a tube-shaped grilled fish cake. There is also a small museum where you watch artisans at work through glass. It is by Kazamatsuri Station, one stop from Odawara on the Hakone Tozan Railway, so it fits on the way to Hakone; classes need booking.
The castle of the Hojo, a warrior clan that ruled this region in the 1500s. Climb the rebuilt keep, a museum inside, for a view over Sagami Bay, then walk among the stone walls and moats in the park around it. It is within walking distance of both the station and the kamaboko street.