Possible as a Day Trip from Tokyo! 6 Must-Visit Spots to Fully Enjoy Sightseeing in Odawara

Spring is the best time to visit Odawara if you want to enjoy plum blossoms and cherry blossoms.
In early spring, the Odawara Plum Festival is held every year at Soga Plum Grove, where you can view Mt. Fuji and Approx. 35,000 plum trees, and at Odawara Castle Ruins Park, where you can enjoy the beautiful combination of the castle and plum blossoms.
There are also many spots that hold cherry blossom festivals in spring, including Odawara Castle Ruins Park, one of Japan’s 100 Best Cherry Blossom Spots.
Depending on the location and the weather that year, the best time to see plum blossoms is from February to early March, and cherry blossoms are best from late March to early April.

Odawara is about 35 minutes from Tokyo by shinkansen.
From Osaka, it can be reached in about 2 hours by transferring between shinkansen lines.
Not only its many sightseeing spots and local food, but also its easy access from other popular tourist destinations, is one of the reasons Odawara is such a popular travel destination.

Ishigakiyama is a castle built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590.
The name Ichiyajo, or “One-Night Castle,” comes from a legend about its construction: Hideyoshi had a fake castle framework covered with white paper built in the forest, then had the surrounding trees cut down so it suddenly came into view.
It is said that the enemy commanders and soldiers at Odawara Castle were shocked by the castle’s appearance overnight, causing their morale to drop.
The area including Ishigakiyama Ichiyajo, where stone walls made by stacking natural stones still remain, is designated as part of a national park area and a nationally designated historic site, and in 2017 it was also selected as one of Japan’s Top 100 Castles Continued.

Odawara Castle is known as the base of the Hojo clan’s rule over the Kanto region during the Warring States period, and later as the residence of the Okubo clan and others during the Edo period.
Today, it has been developed into a park centered around the restored main keep and is beloved by local residents as the symbol of Odawara.
The current main keep is a restored structure that was rebuilt in 1960 and renovated with seismic reinforcement and repairs in 2016.

This shrine was built in 1894 inside Odawara Castle Ruins Park in Odawara, the birthplace of Ninomiya Sontoku.
The enshrined deity, Ninomiya Sontoku, was known in childhood as Kinjiro, and a famous bronze statue of him walking while reading a book with firewood on his back can be seen along the approach to the shrine.
As an adult, he became a great figure who used his talents in financial reconstruction, rural revitalization, and civil engineering projects, helping many people escape poverty.

Odawara Flower Garden features the Tropical Dome Greenhouse, which measures 40 meters in diameter and 22 meters in height.
From early spring through summer, flowers such as plum blossoms, cherry blossoms, roses, hydrangeas, Japanese irises, and water lilies bloom one after another throughout the garden, showcasing the colors of Japan’s seasons.
The Tropical Dome Greenhouse is a glass greenhouse where tropical and subtropical flowering trees and fruit trees are grown, and where you can encounter vivid and unique tropical plants.

This museum is operated by Suzuhiro, a long-established kamaboko maker founded in 1865.
You can enjoy learning all kinds of things about kamaboko, from its history to its ingredients and nutritional value.
On the first floor, you can watch artisans carefully crafting kamaboko one by one through glass windows, and hands-on workshops guided by artisans are also held regularly (5 times a day by reservation, Approx. 50 minutes required).

This museum presents and explains the 4.6-billion-year history of the Earth, from its birth to the present, in an easy-to-understand way.
The permanent exhibition is themed around “The Earth, Home of Life” and consists of four exhibition rooms: “Thinking About the Earth,” “Thinking About Life,” “Thinking About Nature in Kanagawa,” and “Thinking About Living in Harmony with Nature.”
From real meteorites and ammonite fossils to tiny insects just a few millimeters long and giant dinosaurs, you can see Approx. 10,000 specimens up close.

This complex is located right in front of Odawara Station, about a 2-minute walk away.
It includes a variety of facilities such as Tenseien Odawara Station Annex, a city hotel designed with the image of an Odawara post town, and the Observation Footbath Garden, which offers sweeping views of the city, but the highlight is Odawara Shin Jokamachi, where more than 40 restaurants are gathered.
At Odawara Shin Jokamachi, you’ll find a wide variety of dining options, from Japanese and Western cuisine to sweets.
Of course, you can also enjoy Odawara specialties such as Odawara oden, as well as sashimi and fried dishes made with fresh seafood.

A popular restaurant serving Odawara oden, a local specialty of Odawara City in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Odawara oden is a relatively new dish created in 2003 as part of a local revitalization effort. Centered on long-established kamaboko shops dating back to the Edo period, local businesses including tofu shops, konnyaku shops, produce stores, and butcher shops came up with original oden ingredients. Another feature is that it is served not only with mustard or wasabi, but also with plum miso made from the local specialty plum.
The menu features more than 45 kinds of oden ingredients, including contest-winning creations. If you can’t decide, order the chef’s choice five-item assortment.

A long-established Japanese restaurant with more than 130 years of history, located about a 7-minute walk from Odawara Station.
One of its features is its historic building, which is registered as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan.
The Japanese dishes, including tempura and sushi made with fresh seafood sourced from the Odawara Fish Market, are excellent.
The tendon rice bowl, a specialty since the restaurant first opened, is especially recommended.
The savory aroma of sesame oil, the texture of the batter, and the flavor of the ingredients that spreads from the light, fluffy filling are exceptional. The tempura dipping sauce, continuously added to over many years, is another signature feature, and many people visit just for that sauce.