Tochigi Prefecture Specialty Products, Souvenirs, Shrines and Temples, and Travel | 47 Prefecture Guide

Tochigi is There is no other prefecture that has held the national No. 1 position for so long with a single fruit.

Specialties

For strawberry harvest volume, it has remained No. 1 in Japan for more than half a century. Tochiotome, Skyberry, Tochiaika -- a major reason is that the prefecture itself has continued developing its own varieties.

Strawberries land with plenty of winter sunshine and cool evenings prefer this. Its location at the northern edge of the Kanto Plain is itself the right condition.

Kanpyo Most of Japan’s production comes from Tochigi. It is made by shaving bottle gourd fruit into strips and drying them. That brown filling in rolled sushi is mostly from this prefecture.

Nikko’s Yuba is a soy food that spread from Buddhist vegetarian cuisine at temples.

Souvenirs

The focus is on strawberry sweets. Also Nikko yokan and dried yuba.

Lemon Milk is a milk drink that has long been called by this name even though it contains no lemon juice. It is an example of something long enjoyed locally that later became a souvenir.

Shrines and Temples

The Shrines and Temples of Nikko were registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1999. Toshogu Shrine, Futarasan Shrine, and Rinnoji Temple, comprising 103 buildings, are included.

What makes Nikko special is that its shrines and temples stand side by side without being separated. During the Meiji-period separation of Shinto and Buddhism, many sites across Japan were divided, but here the three remained next to one another, and the three are registered together as a single heritage site. Futarasan Shrine is a mountain-worship shrine that venerates Mount Nantai as its sacred body, and it is far older than Toshogu. First there was mountain worship, and later a shrine dedicated to Ieyasu was established. Knowing the order changes how that mountain appears to you.

Craftspeople from across Japan were gathered for the construction of Toshogu. Where those people settled, Nikko-bori carving in Tochigi, Suruga hina doll fittings in Shizuoka, and Iwatsuki dolls in Saitama were born. In other words, one major construction project created crafts in three prefectures.

Sightseeing

Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls, Kinugawa Onsen, and the Nasu Highlands.

Senjogahara is a wetland in Oku-Nikko, a wetland registered under the Ramsar Convention. Ashikaga School is regarded as one of Japan’s oldest schools, and it too has been selected as a Japan Heritage site.

Traditional Crafts

Nationally designated items are Mashiko ware, and Yuki-tsumugi silk pongee, making 2 items.

Mashiko ware was originally everyday pottery sent to Tokyo. It became known nationwide when Shoji Hamada and others in the Mingei movement rediscovered it as “the beauty of anonymous craftspeople” and brought it to wider recognition.

For details, see [VILLAGE Report vol.39] The Production Region Behind the Word “Mingei”

Articles About This Prefecture

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References: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, “Crop Statistics Survey”; Tochigi Prefecture; Nikko City; Mashiko Town; Agency for Cultural Affairs; Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries -- Value Village Editorial Team