Get out of the Japanese capital and head for the greens

In the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the golf courses around Japan’s capital are swinging

WHERE 120km south of Tokyo (one hour by bullet train, plus 15-minute minibus). WHY The Kawana’s first course, Oshima, opened in the 1920s. Then followed a visit from revered course architect CH Allison, who persuaded Anglophile owner Baron Kishichiro Okura to create the Fuji Course, named for the mountain seen from the 11th fairway. Laid out through mature parkland with changes of elevation and deep bunkers, it opened in 1936. The opening tee shot is steeply downhill, begging the question, “what comes next?”. The answer is a gruelling three-hole climb. After the halfway house – a compulsory 15-minute stop – fairways cross a plateau towards the finishing stretch along spectacular cliffs. The 11th is the longest hole, while the 15th, which slopes down towards the shore, is the most dramatic. No buggies on Fuji, but Oshima allows them. Some holes have robot carts to carry players up steep inclines, an eerie taste of the automation to come.

PRICE Fuji: weekdays ¥26,000 (US$245), weekends ¥34,000 (US$320), fee includes caddie and range balls. Oshima: weekdays ¥12,300 (US$116), includes buggy with GPS and range balls; weekends ¥14,300 (US$135). Club hire ¥6,480 (US$61), Japanese brands.

HOURS Fuji: stay-and-play tee times 8am10.30am. Oshima: visitors any time from 8am until sunset.

FACILITIES Fuji: 18 holes, 6,701 yards par 72; Oshima, 5,711 yards par 70. No outdoor practice area. Underground electronic driving range. Putting green.

MAX HANDICAP 24.

FOOD AND LEISURE The Kawana Hotel, built in the 1920s, has 100 rooms and was stayed in by honeymooners Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio. Not all rooms are non-smoking, so reserve ahead. There are two grass tennis courts, swimming pools, and billiard and mahjong rooms. The restaurant serves sashimi and sushi. CONTACT 1,459, Kawana, Ito-shi, Shizuoka, 414-0044; +81 557 45 1111; princehotels.com