Ogawasuwa Shrine's Weeping Cherry Blossom

Ogawasuwa Shrine's Weeping Cherry Blossom

Selected by Iwaki City as a Natural Monument, the great weeping cherry tree is over 500 years old. The flowers bloom slightly earlier than those of Yoshino cherry trees, and are lit up by traditional Japanese lanterns in the evenings of cherry blossom season. Stretching even further down than the roots, the weeping branches of the tree give it an extremely beautiful appearance.

Venue Details

Venue Details
Websitehttps://kankou--iwaki-or-jp.translate.goog/spot/10071?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=ja
Contact

Iwaki Tourism and City Planning Bureau
(+81) 246-44-6545
https://kankou-iwaki.or.jp/ (Automatic translation into English available)

(+81) 246-44-6545

Best Season
  • Spring
ParkingAvailable (Space for 30 vehicles available)
Entrance FeeFree
Related infoBest time for seeing cherry blossoms: Early April
Access Details
AccessTakahagi Ienomae 140-1, Ogawa-machi, Iwaki City, Fukushima Pref. 979-3122
View directions
Getting there

By Car: 15 min from the Iwaki Chuo I.C. exit off the Joban Expressway

By Train: 15 min by taxi from Iwaki Station (JR Joban Line). Alternatively, take the Joban Line to Ogawago Station (JR Ban-etsu East Line), from where the shrine is just a 15 min walk away.

Nearby

The World Glassware Hall
Nature & Scenery

Nanohana Flower Fields and Mazes

A massive field of nanohana flowers that first bloomed in Spring 2012, bringing great joy to the community. Since 2013 to today, huge flower fields and mazes are organized for the public to come and enjoy entirely for free. Children can receive prizes for completing the maze and visitors of all ages are encouraged to walk through the maze and have fun. Takayuki Ueno is a local farmer and creator of the Nanohana Flower Maze, planting the first flowers here in November 2011; eight months after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Click here to read more about his inspiring story.

The World Glassware Hall
History & Culture

Aquamarine Fukushima

Aquamarine Fukushima is an ‘environmental aquarium’ that exhibits aquatic creatures in environments which closely mimic their natural habitats.As well as being an aquarium, Aquamarine Fukushima is also home to a research center and offers educational information about sustainability and conservation.The main exhibits are two gigantic tanks that extend from the second to the fourth floor, reproducing Shiome no Umi, an area of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture where the Kuroshio (Black Current) and the Oyashio (Kurile Current) meet.Visitors can enjoy walking through a transparent tunnel whilst being surrounded by the wealth of marine life found in Shiome no Umi, which includes vast schools of sardines and bonito. On the fourth floor, visitors can also visit a calming botanical garden which exhibits the various plant life of Fukushima Prefecture.In addition, guests can see over the top of the main tank, a great spot to appreciate the sheer scale of the water and the curious marine life below. There is also a touch tank where interested visitors can try touching starfish and other small sea critters.Since its establishment, Aquamarine Fukushima has conducted research into an ancient species of fish called coelacanths, and its findings are exhibited on the first floor in a corner entitled the World of Coelacanths. Here visitors can view an anatomical specimen of the rarely seen coelacanth and watch exclusive footage of living coelacanths.There are events throughout the year, with many activities for children and families to enjoy together including a fish maze, art festivals, and a fishing experience where you can catch real fish to be fried for lunch!If catching your own lunch doesn’t appeal to you, you are in luck as there is a seafood market selling fresh seafood just a 10-minute walk away!The seafood market is located within Iwaki Lalamew, a shopping center that also includes restaurants where you can dine on locally sourced, freshly caught fish.

The World Glassware Hall
Gourmet & Shopping

The Suzuki Brewery in Namie Town

The Suzuki Sake Brewery used to operate a sake brewery in Namie Town's Ukedo district, this building was located steps from the sea and was physically destroyed by the tsunami wave. This left the owner of the brewery without a home or a livelihood.They managed to evacuate with the necessities of the brewery and after the disaster, the brewery was moved to Nagai City to the mountains of Yamagata Prefecture in October 2011 (the same year as the earthquake). Since then, they’ve continued to brew sake with the hope of preserving the traditional sake brewing techniques that had been developed by generations of brewers in Namie Town.Finally, on March 20, 2021, the brewery was able to return to its hometown of Namie with the opening of a new brewery at the Namie Roadside Station. Here, visitors can watch the Suzuki brewers at work making their delicious sake. They even use locally grown rice to make some of their sake, with a focus on maintaining their hometown flavor.At the Namie Roadside Station, you can visit the sake brewery and taste their freshly brewed sake. For visitors who don't drink sake, there is also a sake flavored soft serve ice cream that is absolutely delicious. The soft serve comes in a traditional wooden sake cup!

The World Glassware Hall
Nature & Scenery

Nijuisseiki-no-Mori Park (21st Century Forest Park)

Stretching over more than 80 hectares, Nijuisseiki-no-Mori Park (二十一世紀の森公園) is a true haven for recreation; complete with a tennis court, a baseball stadium, a skateboard park, and a family sports garden, as well as a variety of flower fields, trees and shrubs.21st Century Forest Park is also a popular cherry blossom spot: it has both early-blooming Kawazu-sakura (which mostly bloom mid-February to mid-March) as well as Somei Yoshino cherry blossom trees (which typically bloom sometime between early to mid-April).During winter each year illumination events are held in the park, and, during autumn, the bright colored leaves attract plenty of visitors. During the summer, sunflowers and rapeseed flowers bloom, so the park truly offers ways to enjoy nature all year round.

You might also like

Kunitama Shrine
History & Culture

Kunitama Shrine

Kunitama Shrine (國魂神社) is located in Iwaki City, in the coastal area of Fukushima. Three deities are enshrined at Kunitama Shrine: Okuninushi (the god of nation-building, said to be the founder of Japan); Suserihime-no-Mikoto (the wife of Okuninushi) and Shohikono. The shrine is said to have been built in the year 806, and was renovated in 1942. The temple bell was designated as a tangible cultural property of the city of Iwaki in 1982. There is also a preserved cedar tree.Several events are celebrated in the shrine, such as a New Year’s Day Festival, a Rice Planting Festival, and other prayer festivals. During the summer, the shrine is beautifully decorated with colorful wind chimes. Photos: Iwaki Tourism & Community Development Bureau (一社)いわき観光まちづくりビューロー

Aquamarine Fukushima
History & Culture

Aquamarine Fukushima

Aquamarine Fukushima is an ‘environmental aquarium’ that exhibits aquatic creatures in environments which closely mimic their natural habitats.As well as being an aquarium, Aquamarine Fukushima is also home to a research center and offers educational information about sustainability and conservation.The main exhibits are two gigantic tanks that extend from the second to the fourth floor, reproducing Shiome no Umi, an area of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture where the Kuroshio (Black Current) and the Oyashio (Kurile Current) meet.Visitors can enjoy walking through a transparent tunnel whilst being surrounded by the wealth of marine life found in Shiome no Umi, which includes vast schools of sardines and bonito. On the fourth floor, visitors can also visit a calming botanical garden which exhibits the various plant life of Fukushima Prefecture.In addition, guests can see over the top of the main tank, a great spot to appreciate the sheer scale of the water and the curious marine life below. There is also a touch tank where interested visitors can try touching starfish and other small sea critters.Since its establishment, Aquamarine Fukushima has conducted research into an ancient species of fish called coelacanths, and its findings are exhibited on the first floor in a corner entitled the World of Coelacanths. Here visitors can view an anatomical specimen of the rarely seen coelacanth and watch exclusive footage of living coelacanths.There are events throughout the year, with many activities for children and families to enjoy together including a fish maze, art festivals, and a fishing experience where you can catch real fish to be fried for lunch!If catching your own lunch doesn’t appeal to you, you are in luck as there is a seafood market selling fresh seafood just a 10-minute walk away!The seafood market is located within Iwaki Lalamew, a shopping center that also includes restaurants where you can dine on locally sourced, freshly caught fish.

Daihisan Stone Buddhas (Daihisan no Sekibutsu)
History & Culture

Daihisan Stone Buddhas (Daihisan no Sekibutsu)

Estimated to have been carved over 1,000 years ago, the Daihisan Stone Buddhas (大悲山の石仏) are a group of stone-carved Buddhas in Odaka, Minamisoma City, in the coastal area of Fukushima prefecture.The Daihisan Stone Buddhas are made up of three groups of statues: the Yakushido Buddhas (薬師堂石仏), the Amidado Buddha (阿弥陀堂石仏), and the Kannondo Buddha (観音堂石仏). The statues are enshrined in a forest area with many smaller Buddha statues.They are the biggest and oldest stone Buddha statues in the Tohoku area of Japan, and have been designated as a National Historical Site. Their origins, and much of their history, however, remain unknown, although they are presumed to have been built sometime during the Heian period of Japanese history, which goes from 794 to 1185.In front of the entrance to the Yakushido Buddhas is a 45 meter high cedar tree known as Daihisan’s Giant Japanese Cedar Tree. The tree has a circumference of 8.4 meters at eye level, and is one of the largest trees in Fukushima prefecture, also estimated to be over 1,000 years old. It is designated as a Natural Monument of Fukushima Prefecture.

Top