Tochigi Travel Guide

Japan's most spectacular wisteria garden — eight ancient wisteria trees, the largest over 150 years old and spanning 1,000 square metres, create tunnels and waterfalls of hanging purple and white blossoms in late April. The park also has white wisteria, yellow banksia rose, and a carpet of blue wisteria — each with its own photographic composition.

Japan's most famous waterfall — a 97-metre drop from the overflow of Lake Chuzenji into the Daiya River gorge. Lake Chuzenji itself sits in a volcanic caldera at 1,269 metres with mountain views of Nantai Volcano. In autumn, the colours of the lake's surrounding beech and maple forests rival any in Japan.

The closest large onsen resort to Tokyo — a river gorge resort 2 hours from Asakusa with riverside ryokan, outdoor baths above the Kinugawa River, and a gentle bamboo-and-maple canyon that turns orange in November. The Tobu World Square nearby has 1:25 scale replicas of 102 world heritage sites.

The village where ceramics master Hamada Shoji helped launch the Mingei (folk crafts) movement alongside Bernard Leach. Over 300 kilns and galleries cover the hills, producing Mashiko-yaki — earthy, unpretentious stoneware. The Mashiko Reference Collection Museum houses Hamada's original workshop and kiln exactly as he left it.

A volcanic highland plateau at 1,000m+ elevation where the Imperial Family has its summer villa — the scenery of Mt Chausu, active volcanic vents at Nasu-dake, and the open grazing lands of Nasu Ranch combine with over 50 hot spring inns for one of the most complete countryside retreats near Tokyo.

One of Japan's oldest national parks with trails ranging from the flat Senjogahara marshland boardwalk to the demanding ascent of Mt Nantai (2,486m). The Yuno-ko lake area connects via forest trail to Yumoto Onsen — a steaming, sulphurous alpine spring above the treeline that has been used for pilgrimage bathing since the 9th century.

Japan's most ornate shrine — built by the third Tokugawa shogun in 1634 to enshrine the deified Ieyasu. Every surface is covered in lacquer, gold leaf, and carved animals in dazzling profusion — the antithesis of Japanese minimalism. A UNESCO World Heritage site with 103 buildings in a cedar forest, including the famous sleeping cat (Nemuri-neko) carving.

Japan's largest premium outlet mall — 210 brand shops in an American village-style complex near the Tohoku Expressway. The shopping aside, the surrounding area has excellent ramen (Sano-ramen uses locally produced springwater), and the Kumagaya Uchiwa Festival in July is one of the Kanto region's top summer festivals.

A perfectly preserved Edo-period canal town nicknamed "Little Kyoto of the Kanto Region" — kura-zukuri storehouses, daidai-colored walls, and 400-year-old willow trees line the Uzuma River, still navigable by traditional flat-bottom boats. The town centre has more preserved Edo buildings per block than almost anywhere in Japan.

Japan's self-proclaimed gyoza (pan-fried dumpling) capital — the city has 200+ dedicated gyoza restaurants and holds an annual gyoza consumption record. The rivalry with Hamamatsu for the national title is passionately contested. Minmin and Masashi are the institution restaurants, but dozens of smaller joints make the Gyoza Dori (Gyoza Street) in front of the station the best dumpling crawl in Japan.