200，000 azaleas over 23 hectares bloom on the hillside of the Nasu highlands， 1，100 metres above sea level. The best viewing season is mid-to-late May. The slopes of Mt.Nasu provide a full view of this incredible landscape. The fields of pink are nothing short of spectacular. A wooden walkway (accessible by disabled visitors) winds its way through flowering bushes allowing a close-up look and over a one-hour course.

Founded in 1192, Yakumo Shrine is affectionately called “Yakumo-sama” by local residents, reflecting its deep ties with the community. The shrine is dedicated to Susanoo-no-Mikoto, and visitors pray here for physical health, recovery from illness, safe travels, and protection from misfortune. Worshippers even come from afar to pay their respects. In addition to Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the shrine also enshrines Daikoreishin (Hosokawa Okimoto, the founder of the Mogi branch of the Hosokawa clan) as an associated deity. Within the shrine office and the Shushuden Hall (a resting place for parishioners), visitors can see displays of historical materials, including the armor helmet once bestowed upon the Hosokawa clan by Oda Nobunaga. Yakumo Shrine is also known as the guardian shrine of traffic safety and is closely associated with “TWIN RING MOTEGI.” During major motor races, both staff and drivers come to pray here for victory and safety.

Setsubun Season – Celebrating with “Oni” from Around the World to Pray for Good Fortune and Drive Away Evil The Kinugawa Onsen “Oni” Festival (Shōfuku Oni Matsuri) is a winter celebration that combines the “Oni” in Kinugawa’s name with Japan’s Setsubun traditions. Held annually from late January to late February, the entire Kinugawa Onsen area becomes a festive stage where people and “oni” dance together to bring good luck and ward off evil. With the theme “Demons of the World Gather in Kinugawa – Humans and Oni Join in Festive Exorcism,” the event is both a blessing ceremony and a lively, family-friendly celebration. One of the highlights is the “SL Shōfuku Oni Train,” where participants dressed as oni ride a steam locomotive and interact with adorable local mascot characters like “Kinuta,” “Kinu-chan,” and “Kawa-chan.” Visitors can also enjoy taiko drum performances, monkey shows, chainsaw wood carving, demon-themed food, cultural experiences, and stamp rally games. It’s one of Kinugawa’s most vibrant seasonal events during the Setsubun period.

March 3 is celebrated in Japan as Girls’ Day, when hina dolls dressed in luxurious kimono are displayed throughout the country. From early February until Girls’ Day, Moka City hosts the month-long “Moka Romantic Hina Doll Display.” At the Okabe Memorial Hall “Kinreisō,” a Tochigi Prefecture-designated cultural property, visitors can admire a spectacular 26-tier hina doll display—about 6 meters high—featuring imperial dolls and more. The exhibition also includes over 30 hanging hina decorations, a rare sight not to be missed. This season is also perfect for enjoying strawberry picking in the Moka area. Don’t forget to try Tochigi’s new strawberry variety, Tochiaika!  

The Usuzumi Zakura of Neo, the Jindaizakura of Yamataka, and the Miharu Takizakura are known as Japan’s Three Great Cherry Trees. These, along with the Ishiwari Zakura of Morioka, the Kosonju tree, and others, are all gathered at Tenpyo-no-Oka Park. From late March, when the Usuzumi Zakura begins to bloom, until late April, when the double cherry blossoms reach their peak, visitors can enjoy breathtaking cherry blossoms blooming throughout the park for an entire month. In addition to stalls run by local vendors, the festival features stage performances such as enka singing shows, appearances by manga characters, and rides on the “Shōnen Ressha” road train, making it a perfect spot for a family outing. The park also has a charming café called “10 Picnic Tables,” converted from an old farmhouse, offering a retro yet artsy atmosphere that contrasts with the main stage area. Visitors can enjoy delicious food while relaxing in a scenic, laid-back setting. Be sure to visit Tenpyo-no-Oka Park and experience the magic of cherry blossoms in full bloom.

The hotel is located in Motegi, a small town rich in nature. It is surrounded by forest and does not receive city lights, so at night the sky is filled with stars. At the neighboring roadside station Motegi, they sell Yuzu Shio Ramen, which won the Grand Prix at Japan's roadside station gourmet competition, as well as freshly baked Baumkuchen. Also nearby is Mobility Resort Motegi, which offers a wide range of activities such as motorsports and athletics, making it the perfect base for car enthusiasts and families.

One of "Japanese city park best 100", the famous azalea viewing place in Kanto City, North Kanto City, about 5,000 azaleas in full bloom here, and every year in May will be held “azalea festival”, swarming with many people.   From early April to mid-May (the peak season for cherry blossoms and azaleas), the park is illuminated at night, and the dreamlike flower scene makes people linger.   There are also lawn parks and amusement facilities in the park, which are suitable for family picnics. On a clear day, you can see Mt. Takahara and Mt. Nikko from the observatory in the park.

A traditional Japanese house built over 170 years ago has been relocated to the Kurobane Furusato Bussan Center. This building with a thatched roof houses Kurashi no Yakata and a restaurant. At the restaurant, ‘Oroshi Soba ― Yamizo Asagiri hand-picked soba ―’ is one of the popular menu items made with locally produced buckwheat flour. Adjacent to the restaurant is the Bussan Center. There, you can buy delicious vegetables produced by local farmers and steamed buns made with love. They also sell additive-free homemade miso called Ginjo Ichinen Miso. It is popular because miso soup made with this miso in the morning stays tasty until night.

Farm Stay Iri (Hachinosu) is a quiet, two-story Western style accommodation built 20 years ago in a farm village with an extensive view of the countryside. The owner has renovated a 55-year-old storage shed into a fermentation research laboratory “Fer-Lab.” Only one reservation is accepted at a time and guests will not see any other guests during their stay. Guests and the owner cook meals together using home-grown rice and seasonal vegetables with no commercial spices. If requested, vegan meals and gluten-free meals can be made. You can also experience vegetable harvesting. The accommodation offers a long-stay plan in which you can experience a program featuring the full process of making fermented foods such as shio koji (fermented seasoning).

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.

Located in a satoyama (woodland village) near the Naka River, Tsuki noco is a country guesthouse that runs a bakery selling wild yeast bread. The accommodation is a Japanese style house built over 120 years ago. For dinner, they serve original food menu prepared mainly with grains and seasonal vegetables. For breakfast, you will enjoy their wild yeast bread. They can modify meals into curry over rice or vegetable croquettes for children and also can prepare vegan meals. Aside from the bakery and farm stay, they also run Satoyama Gohan no Gakko, a school for learning about nature, with the ambition to acquire, with all participants, the knowledge and techniques to grow food and preserve the satoyama environment for future generations. (※Farm stay is offered from April to November and the bakery is open from December to March)

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.

All staff at Midori Nouen love farming, want to make farming more fun, and believe in the power of farming. They grow strawberries of the Tochiotome and Tochi-Aika breeds, as well as asparagus and buckwheat. They prepare the soil using fully matured compost called Midori Compost and locally produced powder bamboo compost. The temperature around the farm fluctuates a lot and sometimes goes down to -8ºC. This makes vegetables grow while increasing their sweetness and tastiness in order to withstand the cold. Midori Nouen’s Tochi-Aika received the gold prize at the First National Strawberry Awards hosted by the Japan Vegetable Sommelier Association. At the shop on the farm, you can purchase not only strawberries but also processed products including strawberry jam, strawberry puree, and popcorn.

The Ryumon Folk Crafts Museum is located near the Ryumon Falls, and the observation deck attached to the museum is the best place to see the magnificent view of the falls. In addition to displaying dragons, the museum also features animations of local folk tales and legends, and sells souvenirs from Nasukarasuyama City.   On the way to Ryumon Falls from the Ryumon Folk Crafts Museum, there is an excellent hiking trail, so you can follow it all the way to the bottom of the waterfall and experience the rapid flow of the waterfall from a close distance. The most famous feature of Ryumon Falls is the spectacle of the tram passing over the falls, and with the changes in the natural scenery during the four seasons, the composition of the tram and the waterfalls has become a famous location for photographers and railroad fans. The museum shares the estimated time when the train passes over the waterfall, so please come and take some rare and beautiful photos! ＊Please remember to stay safe when taking photos.  

Ashikaga City, the "Small Kyoto" of Tochigi Pref., tinted with fantasy colors   Most famous spots like Bannaji Temple, Ashikaga School and Ashikaga Orihime Shrine would set up lamps, making visitors feel like they are in a dreamy and mysterious world.   The site of Ashikaga School, the oldest school of Japan, would display Flower Hand Water and Wagasa (Traditional umbrella) Light Show produced by Ashikaga Flower Park, and dreamy bamboo lanterns will be displayed in the bamboo forest on the campus.   In the National Treasure “Bannaji Temple”, the lanterns are placed on the bell tower, the main hall, and the 550-year-old ginkgo tree, so that you can enjoy the lanterns while experiencing the historical atmosphere of the temple.   Ashikaga Orihime Shrine, known as a “Sacred Place for Lovers”, would display 90 Ashikaga Meisen lamps on their staircase. The gorgeous Meissen motifs are illuminated by the colorful lights.

Located on a hilltop in Nasu Onsen, Matsukawaya Nasu Kogen Hotel offers stunning panoramic views of the majestic Nasu natural landscape and the pleasure of bathing in 100% natural hot spring water.   The hot springs are sourced from two different springs: "Shika no Yu," which has a history of over 1,380 years since its discovery, and "Oku no Sawa Gensen," a mild acidic hot spring that is gentle on the skin. There are also private baths made with local stone materials, allowing you to enjoy the hot springs in a private space.   Enjoy the changing scenery throughout the seasons: fresh green leaves in spring and summer, vibrant autumn foliage, and snow-covered landscapes in winter.   【About the Hot Spring】 Water color: ・Shika-no-Yu Gensen : Milky white ・Oku-no-Sawa Gensen : Clear Spring quality: ・Shika-no-Yu Gensen : Simple acidic sulfur hot spring ・Oku-no-Sawa Gensen : Simple sulfur hot spring Therapeutic effects: Neuralgia, rheumatism, gastrointestinal diseases, gynecological diseases, dermatological diseases, fatigue recovery, etc.