The Nasu/Shiobara area has a strong image as a hot spring resort due to the abundance and quality of its hot springs. Many villas, including the Imperial Villa in Nasu, are located here, and the area is also famous as a summer resort, attracting many tourists in summer.
Nasu/Shiobara offers tourist attractions such as Nasu Kogen, Nasu Onsen, and Shiobara Onsen; tourist events such as the Nishinasuno Fureai Festival, Nasuno Makigari Festival, and Nasu Kuoh Festival; and local delicacies such as cheesecake, Kenchin Jiru, and herb tea.
Nasu Town is located in the northeastern part of Tochigi Prefecture, with the Naka River flowing southwest of the town and the Yamizo Mountains to the east. The Kurokawa River flows through the northeastern part of the town, and the border with Fukushima Prefecture is located in the middle of the river.
Chausu, Asahi, and Shirasasan, and at the foot of these mountains is Nasu Highlands, a major tourist zone. Nasu Kogen is the name given to the southern foothills of Mt. Nasu in northern Tochigi Prefecture, where gentle slopes spread out.
Nasu Kogen has long been a tourist destination known for its Nasu Onsen-kyo hot springs, and is also famous for the Nasu Imperial Villa, which was opened in 1926. Nasu, with its mountain climbing and hiking trails, ranches and amusement parks at the foot of the mountain, hotels and pensions, museums, resort facilities, shopping facilities, and even a zoo and campgrounds, it can be said to be a great place for sightseeing.
For sightseeing in the larger sense, there is the Nasu area. The Nasu Highlands, a highland area at the foot of Mt. Chausu, the main peak of the Nasu Mountain range, is dotted with museums and ranches, and is especially popular among female tourists for its many chic restaurants.
In addition to the Nasu Hot Springs, which are popular for their sulfur spring water, the area is dotted with hidden hot spring bathhouses. The autumn colors of Chausudake (Mt. Chausu), which can be reached by a ropeway, are also magnificent.
At Nasu Safari Park, located in the rich natural environment of Nasu, visitors can get up close and personal with 700 animals of about 70 species, including rare white lions, and even feed them. The park also offers safari walks and petting zones, and night safaris are also popular.
Nasushiobara City is located in the northernmost part of Tochigi Prefecture and has the largest population in northern Tochigi Prefecture. The Nishinasuno area, where Nishinasuno Station is located, is the gateway to Shiobara Onsen and Otawara City, and as the gateway to the resort area of Nasu Kogen, it is the transportation hub of the northern part of the prefecture.
The Numatsubara Marsh is one of the most famous sightseeing spots in Nasushiobara City. The marshland, which is 1,200 meters above sea level, is filled with a variety of highland plants throughout the four seasons, and the marshland is especially beautiful in early summer when it is covered with the yellow color of the Nikkoukisuge. A promenade has been maintained, so it takes about one hour to walk around the marsh.
Nasu Senbonmatsu Farm in Hourai is a dairy farm with a reputation for freshly squeezed milk, soft-serve ice cream, and other dairy products. It also has hot air balloons where visitors can enjoy a panoramic view, tennis, cycling, horseback riding, and other sports, and strawberry picking is also popular among tourists.
This is a water and greenery experience zone where visitors can come into contact with the nature of Naka River and the fish that live there. Here, fish that live in Naka River, freshwater fish from around the world, and fish from tropical rain forests and coral reefs are exhibited. Freshwater fish are the main exhibits, with many rare species. In all, there are 330 species of creatures and 20,00...»
A magnificent building and a lovely garden welcome you to this museum, where you will feel as if you were in England. The majestic stone-built medieval nobleman's pavilion stands in a lush garden that recreates the rural landscape of the Cotswolds region in England, and you will be completely enchanted by the scenery. Everything about the building, from the materials to the construction methods,...»
Killing Stone is a rocky, desolate landscape that is also known as a historical site where the legend of the nine-tailed fox remains. This lava flow near Nasu Yumoto Onsen (hot spring) creates a unique atmosphere with the smell of sulfur surrounding the area. This place is known as the place where the nine-tailed fox, disguised as the immensely beautiful "Tamamo no Mae," approached the Emperor T...»
Suiton is a kind of wheat flour dumpling dish which used to be served as a daily meal when rice was scarce. It is also known as Hatto-jiru, Dango-jiru or Tocchanagimochi in some regions. Depending on the season, rice flour may be used to make the dumplings instead of wheat flour....»
About 350 years ago during the Edo era, Sukekiyo Fukuhara, the lord of Sakuyama Domain (in current day Tochigi Prefecture), had an unforgettable bowl of udon noodles in a flavourful broth made from dried ayu sweetfish while he was away from his domain on duty. He loved the dish so much that after coming back to Sakuyama he himself dried sweetfish caught in a nearby river, and made his people cook ...»
The dish which boiled pulse, potatoes or pumpkin and adzuki beans together and cooked it by soy sauce and fermented soybean paste. Because the material is between the similar things, it's said that they came to be called "cousin boiling"....»
Shioara area has a number of soba buckwheat noodle restaurants that offer their own soba prepared according to their own recipe and cooking method, such as using home-made buckwheat and spring water, and grounding buckwheat on traditional stone mills. Soba noodles made with natural spring water have distinctive flavour and smooth texture. At some restaurants, you can make a reservation to learn ho...»
One of the confectionary companies based in Shiobara hot spring village worked in collaboration with local restaurants to develop the casual snack, Chinese-style steamed buns of various flavours. Each restaurant offers its special filling for the bun, from adzuki bean and sweet chestnut paste to ramen noodles seasoned with home-made miso paste, beef steak and curry-and-cheese sauce....»
The 320 meter long suspension bridge spans the Shiobara Dam Lake. From the bridge, visitors can enjoy a 360-degree view of the spectacular natural scenery of Shiobara Valley. Especially during the season of autumn leaves, the colors of the mountains reflected on the lake surface create an even more beautiful scene. This suspension bridge is a non-reinforced girder pedestrian suspension bridge tha...»
This is a nature-rich ranch with a history of more than 100 years, located on a vast site surrounded by the nature of Nasunogahara. The site covers an area of 831 hectares, which is 178 times the size of the Tokyo Dome. The ranch has been designated as a "bird and animal sanctuary," preserving the natural beauty of the area. The soft-serve ice cream made from 100% raw milk of the cows raised here ...»