Activity-packed family summer trip to Tochigi

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.

Kegon Falls is the most famous of Nikko’s 48 waterfalls. Water from Lake Chuzenji falls 97 metres straight down to the rocks below creating a dynamic and artistic work of nature. A special lift takes visitors to the basin where the force and roar of the water can be witnessed close up!

Kegon Falls offers stunning views every season. Deep green in early summer, red and yellow leaves in autumn.
in winter, the water freezes as it drops creating beautiful ice shapes almost like beautiful pieces of art.

This log cabin-style hotel stands amidst the Mizunara oak trees on the shores of Lake Chuzenji.
All rooms have a balcony or wooden deck, allowing you to enjoy the natural surroundings of Lake Chuzenji while feeling the seasons.
In the dining room, you can enjoy French cuisine made with locally sourced ingredients, all while gazing at the Mizunara trees.
The hot spring is also surrounded by beautiful nature in every season, and is a proud open-air bath called “Sora-buro.” You can enjoy a fantastic atmosphere as you gaze upon the morning sun filtering through the trees and the star-filled sky at night.
This is a hotel where you can luxuriously enjoy the charm of the natural surroundings of Nikko National Park.

[About the hot spring]
Water color: Milky white
Spring quality: Sulfur spring
Effective: Neuralgia, muscle pain, joint pain, bruises, chronic digestive diseases, poor circulation, fatigue recovery, etc.

You can have a kayak experience in Lake Chuzenji – the lake at the highest altitude in Japan. Being able to appreciate nature – from fresh greenery to fall leaves – from the surface of the lake in the great outdoors is a real pleasure. Why don’t you experience kayaking with your family or friends?

For over 100 years since its foundation, Sanbonmatsu Chaya has been a rest area for people who travel to, from, and through Oku-nikko. Please drop by for a rest during your trip. The restaurant serves homemade dishes using a lot of local ingredients, and the souvenir shop has a line up of items that you can buy only at Sanbonmatsu Chaya! They also offer a dessert making workshop (from around August through October): You will first harvest strawberries at Mt. Berry Okunikko in Senjogahara and then make sweets at Sanbonmatsu Chaya. You can make a reservation a week before, but they recommend you do so as early as possible. If there is a vacancy, you can even reserve your spot on the same day. Please enjoy making a dessert you like!

Having a cool average temperature from summer to fall, Oku-nikko and Senjogahara have the perfect environment for growing sweet and tasty strawberries. Mt. Berry Oku-Nikko grows special strawberries using the blessing of grand nature, taking advantage of the climate, water, and soil, and carefully selected fertilizers. From July to October, they open their field for ‘Tenku no Kogen Ichigo’ picking. It’s an all-you-can-eat (although depending on the harvest situation) strawberry picking program featuring three breeds of strawberries: Natsuotome, the breed cultivated only in Tochigi Prefecture, Yotsuboshi, and Pechika Honoka, which made its debut in 2024. Taste the difference among Natsuotome having a good balance of sweetness and acidity, Yotsuboshi with strong sweetness and aroma, and Pechika Honoka boasting its top-class sweetness among all summer-fall strawberries. Since you need a reservation and they accept only a small number of people at a time, you can enjoy picking strawberries in a relaxed atmosphere.

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.

Iizukatei, the hotel renovated from a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan, operates based on the notion that Iizukatei, a building having over 100 years of history renovated into a high quality accommodation using the latest technology and stylish equipment, together with restaurants and shops in town, make up the whole hotel stay experience. Guests are invited to try a new type of hotel stay in which they are immersed in the genuine Japanese lifestyle through interactions with town residents. Iizukatei has Hontaku (main building) and Shintaku (new buildings) and two Kura storehouses. Most of these buildings maintain what they were like at the time they were built. While equipped with items guaranteeing a pleasurable stay such as comfortable beds and a sofa as well as a modern kitchen, the accommodation still features both the new and old, allowing guests to experience the lifestyle of older times. During the stay, guests can customize their stay style by for example having meals delivered from a restaurant in town or visiting a farmer’s house to savor local food. The hotel also offers many activities including sweetfish fishing, pottery workshops, and biking.

Yana is a trap to catch sweetfish that swim down the river to lay their eggs. The trap is a screen made with finely divided and stripped bamboo placed on a bamboo scaffolding where the water flow is blocked in a V-shaped depression. Ooseyana in Motegi Town in Tochigi boasts the largest yana trap among many traps placed on the Naka River. What’s most entertaining about yana fishing is that you can catch sweetfish while feeling the powerful flow of the Naka River over your feet. The catch is largest between the second half of September and the end of October. At the restaurant, you can savor freshwater fish dishes such as grilled sweetfish with a sprinkle of salt and deep-fried sweetfish while enjoying the river view.

It was the first roadside station to be built in Tochigi prefecture.
Local specialities and agricultural products are available to purchase and there are various seasonal performances and experience events throughout the year.
Yuzu Salt Ramen from Michinoeki Motegi’s Jyukkokuya won the national roadside station gourmet competition, the Michi-1 Grand Prix for three consecutive years in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame.
On Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, visitors can see the steam locomotives running on the Moka Railway up close from Michinoeki Motegi.

Home to a number of top international races including the Moto GP, Mobility Resort Motegi also offers a year-round automotive theme park. With minibikes for kids and karts for people of all ages, everyone can experience the thrill of motor racing. The complex also has a nature parks, where you can search for local wildlife or zipline (safely clipped in harnesses) through the trees! Camping sites and other accommodation are available nearby.

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 town of Nogi is a popular tourist spot thanks to its beautiful flowers and the Nogi-machi Brick Kiln. The town hosts a summer “Sunflower Festival” in late July. Visitors can enjoy walking through 4.3 hectares of fields where two hundred thousand sunflowers are in full bloom.

The Oyama Honba Yuki Tsumugi Craft Museum offers visitors the experience of wearing an elegant kimono made from the fine silk textile “Yuki Tsumugi”. The process of refining the traditional Yuki Tsumugi silk is inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In order to allow people to fully appreciate the comfort of their garments the museum provides all-day kimono rental including kimono and obi with dressing assistance included free. Come and experience the light and warm texture of genuine Yuki Tsumugi!