Trip to get the most out of Tochigi, the Strawberry Kingdom

At Ichigo-no-Sato Farm, you can enjoy picking ripe strawberries such as Tochi-Aika and Skyberry from December to May.

Besides strawberries， the farm offers a variety of other fruits such as cherries， grapes and blueberries depending on the season. There are cafes， an Italian buffet restaurant and shops providing a wide range of products made with freshly picked fruits. Seasonal events are held at the studio such as cake baking classes and jam making workshops.

Ichigo-no-Sato Farm also grows a rare variety of strawberries called “Tochihime,” which has soft flesh and is difficult to transport, so can only be eaten at tourist strawberry farms.
There are strawberry-picking plans available that allow you to eat Tochihime, so be sure to try the difference in taste.

Izuruhara Benten Pond, the source of the Izuru River, is designated a Prefectural Natural Treasure and was selected as one of the nation’s clearest water sources by the Ministry of Environment. Take a look down into the transparent water and you will find Koi fish with sparkling scales swimming gracefully over swaying water plants. Samples of the pristine water are available to take home from the neighbouring Ichinokan hotel.

Be sure to take a close look at the main building of Isoyama Benzaiten Shrine. Reconstructed in the Kamakura period (1185-1333)， this cultural property is constructed without nails and displays the beauty of traditional Japanese architectural methods.

Isoyama Benzaiten (nicknamed Fuzai) is a goddess of music, arts and knowledge and is one of seven lucky Sano gods built here in 948. The Benzaiten Shrine was moved here at the request of “Suisha-ko”, a group of devout local worshippers.

“Domannaka” means “the center,” and the name Domannaka Tanuma comes from the fact that it is located roughly at the center of Japan. In the farmer’s market, fresh vegetables from local producers fill the shelf every morning. You can buy vegetables that are fresh, safe, and reliable. The rice shop offers carefully selected rice such as Koshihikari. There are also an authentic Chinese restaurant and a self-service Japanese and Western food restaurant. The self-service restaurant has a rich lineup of menu items including Sano Ramen noodles and deep-fried potatoes, which are both local foods of Sano City, and Yamizo soba made with water from the Yamizo Mountains in Tochigi Prefecture. Both restaurants are spacious and have over 100 seats so that you can relax and enjoy your meal. There are also shops offering a wide variety of sweets: a gelato stand offering products made with the blessings of nature, a pancake café featuring original pancakes, and a fruit sandwich stand. You can also buy custard pudding to take home with you. On the premises, there is a foot bath filled with onsen water that leaves your skin silky smooth and massage chairs that make you feel you are receiving a massage in zero gravity.

This flower garden creates a full sense of the season and magnificence of nature with a wide range of plants and trees. The highlight of the park is the massive Japanese wisteria trellises in bloom from late April to mid-May. You will be totally stunned by four large wisteria vines and 80-metre tunnel of white wisterias,designated as a prefectural natural treasure.

In the evening the illuminated wisterias bring dream-like scenes. The park also draws large crowds during the fall and winter months, when the “Bejeweled Flower Garden” is held. It is one of the Kanto area’s top three annual illumination events. The garden welcomes over a million tourists throughout the year.

Kanahan Ryokan, located in the heart of Tochigi City, opened during the An’ei era (1772–1781). Currently, the oldest building in this inn is the one built in 1918 to accommodate officers when they came to Tochigi for large-scale army training at Tochigi Junior High School (currently Tochigi Senior High School). Kan’in-no-miya family (a branch of the Imperial Family) later stayed in this building, too. There are traditional Japanese storehouses and architecture here and there throughout the inn, allowing visitors to have a relaxing stay in the nostalgic atmosphere. The inn has guestrooms for small groups like couples, as well as rooms in an annex perfect for accommodating large groups for a long stay. Experience the atmosphere of the Edo period through the old townscape and Tochi-Edo cuisine. Tochi-Edo cuisine consists of original dishes inspired by local meals and dishes from the Edo period reproduced using copies of recipes. Culinary creativity brings out the flavor of each ingredient to give a delightful surprise to those who are accustomed to the modern taste.

Originally flourished as a post station in the 17th century， Tochigi city later developed into a merchant city on the banks of the Uzuma River. The river was an important trade route to and from Edo (Tokyo). The black merchant houses and white-walled storehouses can still be seen along the Uzuma River and on Kura-no-Machi Oh-dori (the main street). Go for a stroll and feel the classical atmosphere!

Yoshida Mura is 60 minutes away from Tokyo and is at the eastern edge of Shimotsuke City, Tochigi Prefecture, where the Kinu River runs nearby. It is a quiet area surrounded by fields. In lush green nature, Yoshida Mura produces rice, strawberries, asparagus, and onions. They have an Italian restaurant called Ristorante Italia Verace, where dishes are prepared with local agricultural ingredients to bring out the taste of nature’s blessing, and also a bakery called Yoshida Mura Bakery. At Ristorante Italia Verace, the chef who received culinary training in Italy makes dishes using plenty of ingredients freshly harvested by local partner farmers. The restaurant is the symbol of Yoshida Mura. At Yoshida Mura Bakery, Chef Numao, who practiced baking at famous bakeries such as The Standard Bakers, an authentic bakery based in Oya Town, Utsunomiya City, and Boulangerie Rire in Shimotsuke City, offers carefully crafted and baked bread.

The old mining site of Utsunomiya’s famous，Oya Stone，has now been turned into a historical museum. The exhibition features the long history of the mining since the 17^th century，with many materials on display. The underground cavern，covering 20,000 sq. metres，is large enough to fit a baseball field.

With a fantastic atmosphere reminding visitors of the ruins of Ancient Rome.It is used in various scenes such as movie shooting, music videos shooting, weddings, concert, etc. due to its mysterious scenery.

Rossa Berry is a tourist farm that offers strawberry-picking. It is located by National Route 293, halfway between the Oya area, which has been registered as a Japan Heritage Site, and the famous roadside station Romantic Village. It grows Tochigi strawberry breeds such as Tochi-Aika and has a shop and a café. The shop sells strawberries from the farm and their original processed products. After having fun picking strawberries, enjoy gelato and smoothies in the shop’s café space. At Rossa Berry, the strawberry-picking season runs from the end of December to early June the following year. Please come and experience picking beautiful jewelry-like strawberries that have ripened in abundance throughout the greenhouse.

Wakayama Farm is a family farm that has been producing chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and bamboo seedlings over three generations. The spectacular bamboo forest that extends in the 24-hectare land is also popular as a filming location for movies and commercials. Farm visitors can try bamboo shoot harvest and bamboo craft creation in addition to a walk in the bamboo forest. On weekends and holidays, you can enjoy an out-of-ordinary experience including drinking matcha from a bowl made from bamboo and seeing the illuminated bamboo forest at night. The café offers meals that feature the flavor of ingredients grown by farmers in the neighborhood and drinks that are perfect to take on a walk. The farm also has a museum where visitors can learn about the ecology and use of bamboo and a gallery showcasing Japanese bamboo handicrafts. The shop sells agricultural products including bamboo shoots, chestnuts, and blueberries, and also the chestnuts sweet “Oh Kuri” made by thoroughly kneading the nuts of carefully grown chestnuts. You will also find the farm’s original bamboo shoot products such as jars of additive-free boiled bamboo shoots harvested in spring.

The bars in Utsunomiya are run by highly skilled bartenders who have won prizes at cocktail competitions in Japan and overseas. Enjoy a special cocktail available for a limited time using the strawberries of Tochigi Prefecture which has had the largest output volume of this fruit in Japan for over half a century.

Savor the colors， flavors and aromas in Utsunomiya at night. Please enjoy Utsunomiya – city of cocktails.☆

This strawberry farm is operated by a company created through a collaboration between Kanuma City and JA.

At the farm, you can enjoy picking Tochigi’s representative strawberry varieties, Tochiotome and Tochi-Aika.
Reservations are required for strawberry picking, and you can eat as much as you want for 45 minutes.
The greenhouses are barrier-free and equipped with toilets, so anyone can pick strawberries in safety.

The shop also sells Tochihime, a strawberry that has been dubbed a phantom variety because of its soft flesh and rare availability, as well as the luxury variety Skyberry.

In 1870, Dr. James C. Hepburn, an American medical missionary, visited Nikko and stayed at the house of Zenichiro Kanaya, who was a member of Gagaku (an ancient imperial court music) orchestra of the Toshogu Shrine. Foreseeing an increase in the number of foreign tourists to Nikko, Dr. Hepburn suggested that Kanaya open a hotel for foreigners. Following Hepburn’s advice, Zenichiro remodeled his house and opened “Kanaya Cottage Inn” in 1873.

Kanaya’s house was originally a residence of samurai warriors during the Edo period. For its unique architectural characteristics, Kanaya Cottage Inn was called “Samurai House” by its foreign guests.

In 1893, Zenichiro relocated his business and opened “Kanaya Hotel” on the top of the hill that overlooks the River Daiya. It was Japan’s first full-fledged western-style resort hotel and has been in operation at the same place to date.

The Kanaya Samurai House and warehouse were registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2014 and opened to the public as the Kanaya Hotel History House in 2015.

Cottage Inn Restaurant & Bakery is a restaurant run by Kanaya Hotel Bakery, which is adjacent to the Kanaya Hotel History House. At the restaurant, you can enjoy a wide variety of combinations of bread from Kanaya Hotel Bakery and dishes prepared with fresh and high-quality ingredients hand-picked by the chef. The popular Lunch Plate offers choices of Hamburger Stew Stuffed Bread, a hearty dish of oven-baked campagne bread stuffed with a hamburger steak cooked in a demiglace sauce topped with cheese, Sautéed Yume Pork with Ginger Sauce using the Yume Pork brand produced in Tochigi Prefecture, and Beef Stew, a year-round popular dish made with the chef’s original recipe. The restaurant also has the Kanaya Hotel Bakery Shop with a rich lineup of bread and sweets such as cookies.

The most renowned shrine of “the Shrines and Temples of Nikko”-a UNESCO world heritage site where Ieyasu Tokugawa, the great Shogun who started the Edo Period, is enshrined. Most of the shrine complex you see today was rebuilt in 17th century. The shrine contains 55 buildings including 8 national treasures and 34 listed buildings. The highlights are many colorful buildings which are richly decorated with gorgeous carvings. Do not miss the symbol of peace “Sleeping Cat”, and the “Three Monkeys” with the “see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil” poses!

The history of the Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple started over 1250 years ago, when Shodo Shonin (Saint Shodo), who firstly served as the head priest of Nikko, founded the Shihonryuji Temple.
Sanbutsudo Hall is one of the largest wooden architectures in Nikkosan, and houses Buddhist statues respectively symbolizing honchibutsu (original Buddhist divinity), of the holy three mountains in Nikko, such as Senju-Kannon (Kannon with a thousand arms: honchibutsu of Mt. Nantai), Amidanyorai (Amitabha Tathagata: honchibutsu of Mt. Nyoho), and Bato-Kannon (Kannon with a horse head: honchibutsu of Mt. Taro), are 8m tall.

NIKKKO PUDDING TEI is a custard pudding specialty shop in a cute and retro-taste building decorated in the Taisho Roman style (a vintage style inspired by the Taisho period). They prepare products inside the shop using milk produced in Tochigi Prefecture and other ingredients produced in Nikko such as the premium egg brand Nikko Goyouran. They offer a wide variety of custard desserts including ‘Nikko pudding’ with a silky smooth, creamy texture, ‘Otome-pudding’ using strawberries harvested in Tochigi Prefecture, and ‘Pudding with ice cream,’ which is a custard pudding topped with a tower of vanilla soft serve ice cream. There are also seasonal products such as ‘Chestnut pudding’ and ‘Cherry blossom pudding.’ Please visit the shop and enjoy the delicious puddings!