Oyaku-en was used approximately 600 years ago as a villa for the then lord of the Aizu Domain. Subsequently, in the mid-17th century, the lord of the Aizu Domain started growing medicinal herbs within the grounds which he developed to protect the citizenry from epidemics. This lead to the garden gaining the name "Oyaku-en", which literally means "medicinal garden."
The traditional garden has been preserved as it was long ago, and Oyaku-en has now been designated as an important national asset. The buildings within the grounds were used by the lord as a place of relaxation and for entertainment. Accordingly, Oyaku-en still contains buildings devoted to Japanese tea.
Many visitors choose to drink green tea, served by the staff, on the benches by the pavilion, looking out over the still waters and the flocks of ducks that make their home here.
Oyaku-en is also well-known as a popular autumn colour spot, with several trees turning a vibrant yellow in mid-November. The garden is a short distance from Tsurugajo Castle, making for an excellent combination for visitors wanting to learn more about Aizu's rich samurai history. The two sites also happen to be the grounds for one of the Aizu region's best winter sights, the Aizu Painted Candle Festival.
| Website | https://www.tsurugajo.com/oyakuen/(Japanese) |
|---|---|
| Contact | Oyaku-en Garden (+81) 242-27-2472 |
| Best Season | All Year |
| Opening Hours | 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM (Last entrance at 4:30 PM)<br> Open all year |
| Parking | Free (61 cars) |
| Entrance Fee | Adults: 330 yen | High school students: 270 yen | Junior high and elementary school students: 160 yen |
| Access | 8-1 Hanaharumachi, Aizu-Wakamatsu City, Fukushima Pref. 965-0804 View directions |
|---|---|
| Getting there | By Car: 15 min drive from the Aizu-Wakamatsu I.C. exit off the Ban-etsu Expressway By Bus: Take the Haikara-san or Akabe sightseeing loop bus from Aizuwakamatsu Station (JR Ban-etsu West Line) and get off at Oyakuen Bus Stop. From there, walk for 3 min. The gardens are a 15 min walk from Tsurugajo Castle |
In keeping with the architecture of Ouchi-juku, Misawaya soba restaurant was constructed with traditional thatched roofs. The Misawaya premises include three stores: a soba restaurant, a Japanese sake shop, and a teahouse. Misawaya soba restaurant is famous is their grated daikon soba, called Takato Soba, otherwise known as Negi-Soba (or "green onion soba"). Your chopsticks are replaced with a long onion!
Aizu Hanko Nisshinkan was the highest-level learning institution of its time. It was established in 1803 by the Aizu Domain to foster Japan's next generation of talented samurais.Children of samurai families entered this school at the age of ten and worked on academic studies and physical exercises to instill both physical and mental discipline.The property, covering about 26,500 square meters in area, used to house such facilities as a martial arts training hall, an astronomical observatory, and Suiren-Suiba Ike, Japan's oldest swimming pool.During the late Edo Period, the school turned out a great deal of excellent talent, including the legendary group of young warriors, the Byakkotai. The facilities, which were burned down during the Boshin War, have been rebuilt faithful to their original design. They now function as a hands-on museum that features exhibits of the magnificent architecture of the Edo Period and dioramas of school life as it used to be.Visitors can enjoy practicing some of the essential disciplines of the samurai, including tea ceremony, Japanese archery, meditation, and horseback riding, as well as experiencing hand painting an akabeko (red cow), a traditional good-luck charm of Aizu.Make a reservation : https://nisshinkan.jp/reservation*Since the website is in Japanese, we recommend that you use Google Translate or other translation functions to make reservations.
Tokusa Onsen derives its name from the tokusa (common horsetail plant) which is abundant in the region. It was discovered as a hot spring source approximately 1000 years ago, and has long been known as "Aizu's hidden hot spring". In the public stone outdoor bath, where the hot spring rises directly from the riverbed, you can heal your heart and body while listening to the soft murmuring of the clear stream, which has been unchanged for ages. There are more than 16 ryokan inns and pensions dispersed throughout the Tokusa Onsen region, and it is widely known as the "hamlet of the hidden hot spring". You can take a tip in the stone public bath 24 hours a day, but please be mindful that onsen use is not segregated by gender, nor is it shut off from public view! Not for the faint of heart.
Experience a simulation of the 1888 Mt. Bandai Eruption in 3D! Mt. Bandai 3D World is a theater developed by Sony, situated right across the road from the Mt. Bandai Eruption Memorial Museum. The circular walls inside the building are covered with a large, panoramic 3D screen - measuring 4.5 m in height, and 42 m around. The powerful acoustics transport visitors to the Urabandai area of 1888, and allow them to feel as if they were there during the great eruption of the same year. The theater's 3D graphics simulate this event, portraying the fleeing of animals that sense the eruption in advance, and the disarray of huge boulders and intense volcanic mud splashes being flung in the air due to the eruption.There is also a simulation of a "walk in the sky" around Mt. Bandai, where visitors can experience a panoramic bird's-eye view of Mt. Bandai's across the four seasons. Take in alpine plants such as skunk cabbages and Nikko-kisoge flowers as you pass over the Oguninuma Wetlands. Shows usually start twice an hour (the first on the hour, and the second at 30 minutes past.)
Aizu momen (Aizu cotton) products are still greatly valued for their high quality and their traditional manufacturing techniques. The Yamada Momen Orimoto Company dates back to the start of the Edo Period (1603-1868). Aizu momen (cotton) has been produced here for over 400 years.Everything produced at Yamada Momen is made using the same techniques that have been practiced here for over 100 years, and the machinery is also old. Visitors are free to take a look around the cotton mill floor. The establishment also includes a small shop in the main office building.
Be transported back to the elegant Taisho Period at Kitakata’s Mitsuya District. Kitakata is famous as being a town of charming red brick kura (Japanese warehouses). The rich texture and distinctive color of the warehouse bricks are an integral part of Kitakata’s townscape. In the year Meiji 23 (1890), the connecting kilns of Mitsuya District were opened. As well as roof tiles, bricks made here were also painted a deep red color, giving the area a unique atmosphere and classic scenery. The area was registered as an Industrial Modernization Heritage Site by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The large red brick climbing kiln, located inside the Wakana Family's home, is truly a sight to behold. This district has even been written about on the Michelin Travel website.
This honjin served as a rest house used by daimyo lords when they traveled to Edo (Tokyo) as part of the Sankin-kōtai system of alternate attendance, or when they conducted inspection tours. During the Boshin War, Domain Lord Matsudaira Katamori took command and the Byakkotai defended their city. The building still has sword marks and bullet holes from the war. The Former Takizawa Honjin is recognized as a nationally-designated Important Cultural Property.
Established in 1993, Kitakata Kura no Sato is a base for passing down the cultural tradition of building kura (traditional warehouses) and magariya (L-shaped houses), which are valuable parts of the lifestyle heritage of the Kitakata area.Ten traditional-style buildings stand within this 4,500 square-meter area. These include a mise-gura (a kura used as a shop), a miso-gura (kura for preserving miso paste), a kokumotsu-gura (a kura for storing grain), and a kura-zashiki (a kura used as a residence), as well as the residences of local officials (Go-gashira and Kimoiri) constructed around a courtyard.The landscape with its old warehouses and residences induces a sense of nostalgia in the minds of Japanese people. Each of the warehouses also serves as an exhibition space for various resources on different themes: stencils for Aizu dyeing; a photo gallery exhibiting the works of Minoru Kaneda, who introduced Kitakata to outsiders as the town of kura; Iwako Uryu, a social worker during the Meiji Period; Monzo Hasunuma, the leader of a youth movement group called Shuyodan; and the Kitakata Incident, which took place in the midst of the democratic movement during the Meiji Period. Visitors can also acquire background knowledge here before going on a tour to see the many kura that are dotted around the city of Kitakata.