Walking toward Suruga Bay about two kilometers from Shizuoka Station, you will find the Toro remains. Since its official designation as a special historic site in 1952, there have been numerous local visitors as well as the people coming all the way from distant areas in the country. In 1943, a log boat was found while the place was under construction to develop a military factory site. After World War II, an official investigation proceeded to find remains of dwellings and rice paddy fields, one after another. The total area is as large as 165,000 square meters, which is identified as an internationally invaluable property to convey Yayoi (200 B.C. - A.D. 200)-style agriculture. The houses are designed to be protected from flood. The way they are built is, 1) the perimeter of the houses are dug down, and 2) the houses are encircled by double fences, which function as a bank after some mud is filled between them. In the house with a grass-thatched roof all the way down to the ground, it is said that seven or eight family members lived together, surrounding the central fireplace. The houses are densely built along the river in the village. There were rice paddies divided by footpaths of wooden strips, and grain storehouses with their floor fixed higher than usual. There also was a dense forest of cedars and oak trees. While visiting those restored houses and storehouses, and to see those excavated at the Toro remains, you will get a hint how peacefully the villagers lived in the ancient days.
