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Tochigi · Capital · Core city

Utsunomiya

宇都宮市うつのみやしUtsunomiya-shi

Tochigi's capital of gyoza, Oya stone and cycling

Utsunomiya is the capital and largest city of Tochigi Prefecture, a Shinkansen stop about 50 minutes north of Tokyo. Known nationally for its gyoza, it grew around the Futarayama Shrine and a castle, and today is the main rail gateway to Nikko.

Overview

Utsunomiya lies in the centre of Tochigi on a terrace between the Kinu and Tagawa rivers, where the old highways to Nikko and to the far north (Oshu Kaido) divided. The town grew up below the Futarayama Shrine, chief shrine of Shimotsuke province, and was for five centuries the seat of the Utsunomiya clan, one of the great warrior houses of eastern Japan.

The modern city is Tochigi's administrative, commercial and service centre and one of the largest cities of northern Kanto. Industrial parks on its eastern side, the Tohoku Shinkansen and the Tohoku Expressway tie it into the Tokyo economy, and its light-rail line, opened in 2023, was the first entirely new tram line in Japan in decades.

For visitors, Utsunomiya is known for its gyoza shops, for the Oya district with its vast underground stone quarry and eighth-century rock-cut Buddhas, and for a lively scene of bars, jazz and professional cycling. It is also the transfer point from the Shinkansen to the JR Nikko Line.

Landmarks

  • Utsunomiya Futarayama Shrine

    宇都宮二荒山神社Utsunomiya Futaarayama Jinja

    The city's founding shrine on a hill in the centre, reached by a long stone stairway from the main street.

  • Oya-ji

    大谷寺Ōya-ji

    Temple built into a tuff cliff, sheltering a Senju Kannon and other Buddhas carved into the rock from the Heian period, a Special Historic Site.

  • Oya History Museum

    大谷資料館Ōya Shiryōkan

    A former underground quarry of Oya stone, a cathedral-like cavern some 30 m deep used for concerts, film shoots and exhibitions.

  • Heiwa Kannon

    平和観音Heiwa Kannon

    A 27-metre figure of Kannon carved into the rock face at Oya after the Second World War as a memorial for the war dead.

  • Utsunomiya Castle Site Park

    宇都宮城址公園Utsunomiya-jōshi Kōen

    Partly reconstructed earthworks with two wooden turrets and a connecting wall.

  • Utsunomiya Museum of Art

    宇都宮美術館Utsunomiya Bijutsukan

    Museum in a wooded park with a collection of modern art and design, including works by Magritte and Chagall.

Districts

  • City centre

    オリオン通りOrion-dōri

    The covered Orion-dori shopping arcade and the streets below Futarayama Shrine, full of gyoza shops and bars.

  • Station east

    Newer district east of JR Utsunomiya Station, starting point of the light-rail line towards the industrial parks and Haga.

  • Oya

    大谷Ōya

    Rural quarter north-west of the centre with tuff cliffs, quarries, the Oya-ji temple and the Heiwa Kannon.

  • Kiyohara

    清原Kiyohara

    One of Japan's largest inland industrial parks, on the eastern edge of the city.

History

The Futarayama Shrine on Mount Usuga is said to have been founded in the fourth century and became the ichinomiya, the foremost shrine, of Shimotsuke. From the late eleventh century the Utsunomiya clan, hereditary shrine custodians and warlords, ruled the area until Toyotomi Hideyoshi dispossessed them in 1597.

Under the Tokugawa, Utsunomiya was a castle town and a post station at the junction of the Nikko Kaido and Oshu Kaido, crowded with processions on their way to the shogun's mausoleum at Nikko. Its castle was destroyed in the Boshin War of 1868. The city became the prefectural capital in 1884 and a garrison town for the army's 14th Division in 1907. An air raid in July 1945 burned most of the centre, which was rebuilt after the war.

  1. c. 11th century

    The Utsunomiya clan establishes itself as custodian of Futarayama Shrine and lord of the area.

  2. 1597

    Toyotomi Hideyoshi dispossesses the Utsunomiya clan.

  3. 1619

    Honda Masazumi becomes lord of Utsunomiya and enlarges the castle and town.

  4. 1868

    Utsunomiya Castle and much of the town burn in fighting during the Boshin War.

  5. 1884

    The Tochigi prefectural office moves from Tochigi town to Utsunomiya.

  6. 1896

    Utsunomiya is granted city status.

  7. 1945

    An air raid on 12 July destroys most of the city centre.

  8. 1982

    The Tohoku Shinkansen begins serving Utsunomiya.

  9. 2023

    The Utsunomiya Light Rail opens east of the station.

Culture

Utsunomiya likes to call itself the city of gyoza, jazz and cocktails. The saxophonist Sadao Watanabe was born here, and jazz clubs and bars fill the centre. Cycling is a local passion: the Japan Cup Cycle Road Race, an international professional race, is held in the city's northern hills each autumn, and the city supports a professional road-racing team. The city is also nicknamed Raito, 'city of thunder', for its summer thunderstorms.

Festivals

  • Miya Matsuri

    ふるさと宮まつりFurusato Miya Matsuri

    The city's big summer festival in early August, with portable shrines and dancing on the main street.

  • Japan Cup Cycle Road Race

    ジャパンカップサイクルロードレースJapan Kappu Saikuru Rōdo Rēsu

    A UCI-ranked road race held each October on a hilly circuit in the north of the city.

  • Utsunomiya Gyoza Festival

    宇都宮餃子祭りUtsunomiya Gyōza Matsuri

    Held in autumn in the city centre, with dozens of gyoza shops serving side by side.

Food

  • Gyoza

    宇都宮餃子Utsunomiya gyōza

    Pan-fried (yaki), boiled (sui) and deep-fried dumplings; many shops serve little else.

  • Cocktails

    カクテルkakuteru

    The city has a dense scene of cocktail bars, many run by prize-winning bartenders.

  • Kanpyo

    かんぴょうkanpyō

    Dried gourd strips from the surrounding farmland, served simmered or in rolls.

  • Shimotsukare

    しもつかれshimotsukare

    Tochigi's rustic salmon-head and soybean stew, eaten in February.

Getting around

  • The Tohoku Shinkansen reaches JR Utsunomiya Station from Tokyo in about 50 minutes; the JR Utsunomiya Line offers a slower, cheaper route from Ueno and Shinjuku.
  • The JR Nikko Line runs from Utsunomiya to Nikko in about 45 minutes; the Karasuyama Line branches off to the east.
  • Tobu Utsunomiya Station, a short walk from the centre, connects to Tochigi and the Tobu network.
  • The Utsunomiya Light Rail runs from the east side of JR Utsunomiya Station to the industrial parks and neighbouring Haga.
  • City buses serve Oya and the suburbs from both the JR and Tobu stations.

Day trips

  • Nikko

    The Toshogu, Futarasan Shrine and Rinnoji, about 45 minutes by the JR Nikko Line.

  • Mashiko

    益子Mashiko

    Pottery town with hundreds of kilns and the Hamada Shoji memorial museum, about an hour east by bus.

  • Kinugawa Onsen

    鬼怒川温泉Kinugawa Onsen

    Hot-spring resort in the Kinu River gorge, north of Nikko.

  • Nikko National Park

    Lake Chuzenji, Kegon Falls and the Senjogahara marsh above Nikko.

Other cities in the prefecture

CityNikkoNikkō-shiThe shoguns' sanctuary in the mountains of Tochigi

Frequently asked questions

Why is Utsunomiya famous for gyoza?

The army's 14th Division was based in Utsunomiya and served in Manchuria, and returning soldiers brought the taste for dumplings home. In the 1990s the city made its many gyoza shops a deliberate hallmark.

How long is the trip from Tokyo to Utsunomiya?

About 50 minutes by Tohoku Shinkansen from Tokyo Station, or around 1 hour 40 minutes by the JR Utsunomiya Line from Ueno.

What is Oya stone?

A soft, porous green tuff quarried in the Oya district. It was used for storehouses, walls and famously for Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.

Is Utsunomiya a good base for Nikko?

Yes. Trains on the JR Nikko Line run directly from Utsunomiya Station to Nikko, and the city has a wide choice of hotels.

Related

Sources

  1. 1.宇都宮市ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 宇都宮市 (Utsunomiya City)
  2. 2.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — 総務省統計局 (Statistics Bureau of Japan)
  3. 3.栃木県ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 栃木県 (Tochigi Prefecture)
  4. 4.Japan National Tourism Organization (opens in a new tab) — JNTO

Editorial team · Published: