Tenzan Bunko

Tenzan Bunko

Tenzan Bunko is a quaint old-fashioned house stood in beautiful Kawauchi Village, which has been opened up as a museum. This house was presented by the village to the famous Japanese poet Kusano Shinpei. Kusano found inspiration to create many of his works at Tenzan Bunko, and this house now serves as the venue for the annual Tenzan Poetry Festival, which gives local people and poets a place to meet and network.

Venue Details

Venue Details
Websitehttp://www.kawauchimura.jp/page/page000108.html(Japanese)
Best SeasonAll Year
Opening Hours

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Closed: Mondays (Open if Monday falls on a National Holiday)

ParkingAvailable (Space for 5 cars)
Entrance FeeAdults: 300 yen | High school & college students: 250 yen | Elementary & Junior high school students: 150 yen<br> Discount available for group visits of 20 people or more.
Access Details
AccessHayawata-513, Kamikawauchi, Kawauchi Village, Futaba District, Fukushima Pref. 979-1201
View directions
Getting there

By Car: 20 min from Joban Tomioka I.C. exit (Joban Expressway). Or 40 min from Funehiki Miharu I.C. exit (Ban-etsu Expressway)

Nearby

The World Glassware Hall
Museums & Galleries

Shoko Kanazawa Art Museum

This museum, located in sunny Iwaki City, exhibits the moving calligraphy of Shoko Kanazawa. The whole museum has been constructed while keeping in mind traditional Japanese architectural styles. As well as the calligraphy exhibition, Shoko Kanazawa Art Museum also has a Japanese tea room café on site, where you can take a rest with beautiful Japanese garden viewing. The same building also houses a kimono exhibition, while features one of the world's biggest kimono!

The World Glassware Hall
History & Culture

Soma Nakamura Shrine

Soma Nakamura Shrine, long revered for enshrining the patron deity of the Soma clan, is built on a small hill in the western area of the Nakamura Castle grounds by Baryo Park.The shrine was erected in 1643 by Soma Yoshitsune, the 18th head of the Soma family.The main shrine is a an example of Gongen Shinto architecture, in which the main hall and worship hall are connected by a passageway, and the lacquer, painting, and metal fixtures are authentic representations of its Kan'ei era construction.The shrine was designated as a national important cultural property in 1984.

The World Glassware Hall
Gourmet & Shopping

Full House Book Cafe

Full House is a stylish bookstore and cafe run by the critically-acclaimed novelist Yu Miri. It is located near the JR Odaka Station in Minamisoma City, in the coastal area of Fukushima prefecture.Full House is located on the ground floor of a refurbished house. The interior is wooden and elegant, and there is a selection of books in Japanese chosen by the author. The cafe serves meals like pasta and doria, as well as desserts and drinks with seasonal options.Yu Miri is famously known for her novel Tokyo Ueno Station (translated into English by Morgan Giles), which won the U.S. National Book Award in the Translated Literature category in 2019.Following 3.11, Ms. Miri has worked extensively to communicate the stories of residents of evacuated towns and villages in Fukushima’s coastal area, and has been living in Minamisoma City since 2015.When Ms. Miri moved to Minamisoma, there were no other bookstores open in the area —the few bookstores that had been there before 3.11 had closed following the evacuation—, so she decided to open her own in 2018, and named it ‘Full House’ after one of her novels.But something was missing. She quickly realized that people who traveled all the way to visit the store wanted to sit down with a warm drink, and there weren’t many restaurants or cafes nearby yet, so she decided to turn Full House into a book cafe the following year.Today, Full House is a lively and cozy hub where locals and visitors can bond over their love of coffee and literature.

You might also like

Yamatsumi Shrine
History & Culture

Yamatsumi Shrine

Deep in Iitate Village on Mt. Toratori, Yamatsumi Shrine is the rare Japanese shrine based on wolves, instead of the more common foxes or 'lion dog' shisas. The ceiling of the main building, layered with dozens of traditional paintings of wolves, was damaged in a fire in 2013 but was faithfully repainted by students from the Tokyo University of the Arts utilising old photos.This is a good spot for buying an omamori good luck charm from a vending machine, or reading your fortune - there are both fortunes for general luck and for one's love life, at 50 yen and 100 yen respectively.There is ample parking near the shrine and toilets on site.

Hozoji Temple
History & Culture

Hozoji Temple

Hozoji Temple is one of the oldest and most historically significant temples in the Soma region, known for its vivid autumn colours. According to tradition, it was founded in 801 AD by the military commander Sakanoue no Tamuramaro as a place to pray for success in his eastern campaigns.Although detailed records from its earliest centuries have largely been lost, the temple’s existence is attested in a few surviving documents from the 10th to 13th centuries, indicating its long-standing presence in the area. Over time, Hozoji Temple became closely tied to the spiritual life of the region and continued to develop through periods of reconstruction and renewal.The temple grounds are known for their natural beauty, especially the large fir trees - some over 400 years old - and numerous maple trees that grow throughout the property. These maples have long been admired for their striking autumn colors, and historical accounts suggest that generations of Soma clan lords once visited the temple to enjoy the seasonal foliage.In addition to its autumn scenery, the temple is also home to several varieties of cherry blossoms that bloom even during the colder months, offering visitors a chance to experience seasonal landscapes throughout the year.Architecturally, Hozoji Temple reflects the layers of its long history. The Niomon Gate, constructed in 1647 by Soma Yoshitane, the second-generation leader of the Soma clan, is one of the site’s most notable surviving structures.Today, Hozoji continues to attract visitors, photographers, and locals who come to enjoy both its historical atmosphere and its natural surroundings. In recent years, an evening illumination event held during the autumn foliage season has become a popular way to experience the temple’s grounds in a different light. The illuminations are typically held across one weekend in late November (for reference, the 2025 illuminations took place on the three-day weekend of 22-24 November.)

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.

Ogawasuwa Shrine's Weeping Cherry Blossom
History & Culture

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.Illuminations run throughout cherry blossom season; please be aware the shrine can get crowded in the evenings.

Top