A Beginner’s Travel Guide to Enjoying Fukushima

Day 1 of the model course starts from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station.
From the station, take the Aizu Bus Akabee and get off at the Iimoriyama-shita bus stop.
From there, it is a 2-minute walk to the first spot.

You can climb to the summit of 314-meter-high Iimoriyama on foot, or easily reach it by using the paid escalator.
This spiritually significant mountain, which is also associated with legends such as Yamato Takeru, is full of highlights.
In addition to the magnificent view from the summit overlooking Aizu’s castle town, there are also sacred spots dedicated to the souls of the Byakkotai, a troop of 16- to 17-year-old boys formed during the Boshin War, the civil war that broke out in 1868.
Enjoy the many attractions of the mountain and the view from the top.

Aizu Sazaedo is a Kannon hall standing halfway up Mount Iimoriyama, and its formal name is Entsu Sansodo.
Built in 1796, this three-story hexagonal Kannon hall is Approx. 16.5 meters high. It was built by Ikudo, a monk of Shomasa-ji Temple, which once stood here.
The exterior of this hall is already quite unusual, but the inside is even more extraordinary, and once you step in, you will quickly understand why it was named Sazaedo.
There are no stairs inside. Instead, there is a clockwise wooden slope that leads all the way to the top floor, and after crossing a bridge there, another slope takes you back down.
Be sure not only to look at the exterior, but also to step inside and experience its mysterious structure.

After fully enjoying Mount Iimoriyama, including Aizu Sazaedo (Entsu Sansodo), head back to the nearest bus stop, Iimoriyama-shita.
Take the Aizu Bus Akabee and ride Approx. 7 minutes to Aizu Bukeyashiki-mae.
Aizu Bukeyashiki is a large-scale historical museum park centered on a reconstructed residence of Saigo Tanomo, a chief retainer of the Aizu domain, along with restored traditional buildings and museums that were relocated to the surrounding grounds.
The chief retainer’s residence of Saigo Tanomo is a grand wooden samurai house with tatami floors, containing as many as 38 rooms, including the Onari-no-Ma used to receive the domain lord and Okuichi-no-Ma, the chief retainer’s bedroom.
With furnishings from the time and dioramas recreating daily life and historical scenes, it offers a glimpse into how people lived in those days.

After looking around, return to the Aizu Bukeyashiki-mae bus stop and head to Tsurugajo Iriguchi, the nearest bus stop to Tsuruga Castle. It is a 5-minute walk from Tsurugajo Iriguchi to the castle.
Tsuruga Castle is also known as a famous cherry blossom spot and is a symbol of Aizuwakamatsu City. Its formal name is Wakamatsu Castle, and it is also sometimes called Aizu Castle or Aizuwakamatsu Castle.
The castle tower, the only one in Japan roofed with red tiles, still conveys the beautiful appearance of the castle from the feudal era.
The current tower was rebuilt in reinforced concrete in 1965.
Inside the castle tower is the Wakamatsu Castle Tower Local Museum, where materials related to the region’s history are displayed.
From the top, you can look out over the town of Aizu and Mount Iimoriyama, where the Byakkotai took their own lives.
Take a walk around the grounds and enjoy both the history and scenery of Aizu.
Before heading to the next spot, try the local specialty sauce katsudon at a restaurant within walking distance of Tsuruga Castle.

From Tsurugajo Iriguchi, the nearest bus stop to Tsuruga Castle, it takes Approx. 10 minutes to reach Nanukamachi Ekimae bus stop.
From Nanukamachi Ekimae, it is an Approx. 3-minute walk to Nanukamachi-dori Street.
Nanukamachi-dori once flourished as the western gateway to the castle town and as the liveliest downtown street in Aizu.
Along this Approx. 800-meter street stretching from JR Nanukamachi Station to the point where it meets Noguchi Hideyo Seishun-dori Street, you will find old storehouses, Western-style buildings reminiscent of Taisho Romance, and wooden merchant houses.
If you turn right at Omachi Yotsukado from Nanukamachi-dori, it leads to Noguchi Hideyo Seishun-dori Street.
A little way south along the street stands the former Kaiyo Clinic, where Hideyo Noguchi underwent surgery for his hand burn as a boy. It is now the Noguchi Hideyo Seishunkan museum.
Enjoy visiting shops and cafes while also stopping by places connected to Hideyo Noguchi.

A short walk south from Nanukamachi-dori brings you to Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaieigura, a long-established brewery founded in 1850. Even in Aizuwakamatsu, where old storehouses are common, it stands out with exceptional dignity.
Up to the present day, it has continued making sake rooted in the region while following its three principles of local sake brewing: “1. Naturally delicious brewing water, 2. The skill of Aizu master brewers passed down through generations, 3. Sake rice grown in the same land where the brewing water springs forth, using the same water as the brewing water.”
Most of Kaieigura’s buildings are designated cultural properties, and it has been chosen as the top brewery in a national ranking of fun sake breweries to visit.
In addition to buying local sake as a souvenir, join the free brewery tour and try coffee brewed with the brewery’s spring water and chiffon cake made with daiginjo sake.

From Nanukamachi Ekimae, the nearest bus stop to Nanukamachi-dori, take the Aizu Bus Haikara-san to Higashiyama Onsen Station.
Once you get off the bus, you will arrive at Higashiyama Onsen, known as “Aizu’s inner retreat.”
Surrounded by rich nature, it is popular as a quiet hot spring area where you can forget the noise of the city.
Along the Yukawa River that runs through the hot spring town, there are still inns from the Aizu domain period designated as national cultural properties, giving the area an elegant old-world atmosphere.
For the first night, stay at Mukaitaki in the charming Higashiyama Onsen area.
As one of the representative long-established ryokan inns of Higashiyama Onsen, it is the perfect place to fully enjoy the atmosphere of a traditional Japanese hot spring inn.

On Day 2, take a bus from Higashiyama Onsen to JR Aizuwakamatsu Station.
Then board the JR Banetsu West Line and head to JR Kitakata Station. From there, it is an Approx. 10-minute walk to the next spot.

The town of Kitakata is appealing for its stately streets lined with more than 4,000 storehouses and its nostalgic atmosphere.
In particular, Otazuki Kura-dori and Retro Yokocho Shopping Street (Fureai-dori), both selected as Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings, let you feel the atmosphere from the late Edo period (1603–1868) to the Taisho period (1912–1926) almost 그대로.
Some of the storehouses have been turned into shops, so you can also enjoy shopping and food.
Take a walk around Kitakata while comparing its many different kinds of storehouses.
If you get a little hungry during your stroll, try Kitakata ramen, one of Japan’s three great ramen styles alongside Sapporo ramen and Hakata ramen.

After enjoying the Kitakata storehouse townscape and Kitakata ramen, walk back to JR Kitakata Station and transfer trains to Yunokami Onsen Station.
From Yunokami Onsen Station, take a taxi and arrive at Ouchi-juku in Approx. 10 minutes.
Ouchi-juku is lined with more than 30 thatched-roof houses and preserves the atmosphere of an Edo-period townscape almost exactly as it was.
It flourished Approx. 400 years ago as a post town along the Aizu Nishi Kaido road, and today its traditional scenery is preserved by local residents based on the three principles of their community charter: “Do not sell, do not rent out, do not destroy.”
Its precious townscape has been selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.
Many of the houses also serve as shops, with soba restaurants serving the local specialty negi soba, along with sweet shops and souvenir stores scattered throughout the area.
Be sure to try Ouchi-juku’s signature dish, negi soba.

After enjoying Ouchi-juku, take a bus to the final spot on this model course, Yunokami Onsen.
Yunokami Onsen is a quiet hot spring area next to Aizu Railway’s Yunokami Onsen Station, famous for its thatched-roof station building.
Located along the deep valley of the Okawa Gorge, it has long been lively as a hot spring retreat area.
The hot spring town lies along the Aga River and is also known for its many scenic open-air baths overlooking the river.
Relax your tired body in a footbath and hot spring, and wrap up your trip to Fukushima.