An excursion to make your dreams come true by collecting “dream balls (=yumetama）” that will bring you good luck at shrines, temples, and famous places in Tochigi City.
Please use the collected “Yumetama” as a talisman. You can also enjoy it as an accessory.
■Yumetama 1 「Tukada Rekishi Densetu-kan」
(Tsukada History and Legend Museum） 2-16 Wa-cho, Tochigi City
Regular holiday is Mondays(open if Monday is a holiday, closed the next day)
☆A place to pray ⇒ Bishamon Heaven and Inari Shrine
☆Yumetama ⇒ Tiger’s eye
☆Benefits of this ⇒ Luck of the game,Good luck with money
This is the residence of a wealthy merchant who has been running a lumber wholesaler since the late Edo period. It is said that at that time, wood was transported from the Banagawa River in front of the area to Edo via the Tone River. Currently, it is used as a museum where Tochigi’s history and festivals are introduced in the storehouse, and the “Uzuma River Tragedy Story” performed by a robot is popular. There are also 200 exhibits, a garden and a villa such as Suikinkutsu.
The approximately 120 meter long black walls and white-walled storehouses along the Banami River are a sight to behold, and their reflection on the surface of the Banami River is one of Tochigi City’s most representative landscapes.
Inari Shrine is located in the garden.
■Yumetama 2 「Shinmeiguu shrine」
26-3 Asahi-cho, Tochigi City
☆A place to pray ⇒ Chigi in the main shrine
☆Yumetama ⇒ Aventurine
☆Benefits of this ⇒ Good fortune,Good health
Located in the center of Tochigi City, this shrine is dedicated to Amaterasu Omikami, and is also known as Tochigi’s Ise-sama. It is said that the name Tochigi comes from the 10 Chigi trees on the roof of this area. Founded in 1403, it was moved to its current location in 1589 when Hiroteru Minagawa built Tochigi Castle, and is a valuable shrine that was involved in the establishment of Tochigi Town. The existing main shrine was rebuilt in 1883, but it is an authentic Shinmei-zukuri shrine architecture that preserves the ancient style and retains its original appearance.
■Yumetama 3 「Abuden Miso」
5-27 Kaemon-cho, Tochigi City
Regular holiday is Tuesdays, Wednesdays (open on public holidays) *New Year holidays
☆A place to pray ⇒ Japan’s No. 1 roof tiles
☆Yumetama ⇒ Citrine
☆Benefits of this ⇒ Good luck with money,Good health
Founded as an oil shop in the mid-Edo period, this long-established store has been making richly flavored miso using domestic soybeans since the end of the Edo period. Additive-free miso that is naturally aged in wooden barrels that have been used in the brewery since the Meiji era is popular. At the attached teahouse, you can enjoy dengaku made with homemade miso.
At the back of the store, there is a residence and four earthen storehouses from the mid-Meiji period, on the other side there is an outbuilding at the back of the teahouse, and further back there is a miso factory built in a storehouse.
If you find the roof tiles of “Yamatoichi”, which means the best in Japan, you will benefit from a prosperous business.
■Yumetama 4 「Hirayanagi hoshinomiya shrine」
1-23-26 Hirayanagi-machi, Tochigi City
☆A place to pray ⇒ Monument to the “Stroking Eel”
☆Yumetama ⇒ Sodalite
☆Benefits of this ⇒ Luck goes up
This is an old shrine founded in 1430. Although it is a small shrine located in a residential area, it is a popular shrine visited by worshippers from outside the prefecture as well.
The messenger of the deity enshrined here is the “eel.” For this reason, the priests serving at this shrine do not eat eels and treat them with great care. Eels possess strong vitality, capable of overcoming any difficulties or obstacles in pursuit of water. The monument for this is the “Yumetama Wish Spot.” Visitors first stroke the animal of their own zodiac sign and then the eel, praying for good health, family safety, and business prosperity.
■Yumetama 5 「Ohirasan shrine」
659 Hirai-cho, Tochigi City
☆A place to pray ⇒ 80 hearts in the shrine grounds
☆Yumetama ⇒ Garnet
☆Benefits of this ⇒ Matchmaking,Pregnancy,Good health
It is said to have been founded by Jikaku Daishi Ennin in the 827.
Ohirasan Shrine is a shrine that has been watching over Tochigi City from the top of Mt. Ohira since ancient times, and is located at the top of the approximately 1,000 long stone steps of Omotesando. It enshrines many gods, including Ninigi no Mikoto, Amaterasu Omikami, and Toyoukehime no Okami. Additionally, this Ohirasan area is known as the old battlefield where the Hojo clan and the Minagawa clan fought in 1584. At the end of the Edo period, the Mito Tengu Party raised the banner of sonno-joi and established its headquarters at Ohirasan Tamon-in Temple.
Find the 80 hearts on the shrine grounds and receive the benefits of love.
■Yumetama 6 「Seisuiji temple」
3427 Nishiyamada, Ohira-cho, Tochigi City
☆A place to pray ⇒ Guanyin Bodhisattva of the Waterfall
☆Yumetama ⇒ Turquoise
☆Benefits of this ⇒ Diseases cure,Good health
It is a Tendai sect temple founded in the Nara period, and has been selected as the 26th temple of the Shimotsuke 33 Kannon Sacred Sites. The eleven-faced thousand-armed Kannon Bodhisattva statue created in the Kamakura period, which is enshrined as the principal image, is also known as the “Waterfall Kannon” because of the waterfall beside the Kannon-do hall, and is designated as an important cultural property by Tochigi Prefecture. Masu.
Also, because you can enjoy beautiful flowers throughout the year, it has been selected as one of the 100 Flower Temples of Eastern Japan, and is also a famous spot for weeping cherry blossoms and Japanese daisies. There are tourist vineyards nearby.
※Waterfalls can be dry.
■Yumetama 7 「Koushouji temple」
3 Shizuka, Iwafune-cho, Tochigi City
☆A place to pray ⇒ Jizo in the flesh
☆Yumetama ⇒ Rose Quartz
☆Benefits of this ⇒ Safe delivery and pregnancy
This is a Tendai sect temple that is said to have been founded by Kouseibo Myogan during the Nara period. Iwafuneyama was a place where the souls of the dead gathered, and it was called the Koyasan of the Kanto region and flourished as a major sacred site. Koshoji Temple has been worshiped there since ancient times. In addition, Jizo is the principal image, and as one of Japan’s three greatest child-giving and child-rearing Jizos, many people come to pray for child-giving, child-rearing, and safe childbirth.
The precincts include a three-storied pagoda and a Sanmon gate that were built in the mid-Edo period and are designated tangible cultural properties by the prefecture. The Sanmon gate is said to be the largest in the prefecture, and Niomon Naranobu Kongo and Wajozukaba are enshrined in the fences on both sides.
※Jizoson is associated with the main hall.
■Yumetama 8 「Watarase yuusuichi」
Place to award is “Michi no eki Kazo Watarase”(Roadside station’s Kazo Watarase) 1737 Onofukuro,Kazo City,Saitama
※This place is not only Tochigi City.
☆A place to pray ⇒ Lover’s Sanctuary
☆Yumetama ⇒ Amethyst
☆Benefits of this ⇒ Fulfillment in love,Matchmaking
It is one of the largest water play areas in Japan, spanning four prefectures: Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, and Ibaraki. The vast site of 33 km2 is the size of approximately 700 Tokyo Domes, and can store up to 178.6 million m3 of water, and has the ability to adjust the amount of water flowing downstream in the event of a flood. In addition, the heart-shaped Lake Yanaka serves as a reservoir to supply water during times of drought.
Watarase Reservoir, which was registered as a Ramsar wetland in July 2012, is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, mainly reed beds, and you can enjoy interacting with the rich nature through plant observation and bird watching.
In addition, a variety of leisure sports are enjoyed, including cycling through nature, hot air ballooning and skydiving in the wide open space, and canoeing and sailing on Lake Yanaka.
“Michi no eki Kazo Watarase”(Roadside station’s Kazo Watarase)
A facility that sells fresh local produce and processed products.
“Yumetama” is sold at a store called “Saigunto” on the premises.
In the observation deck located on the second floor, there is a monument to the sacred place of lovers.
■Yumetama 9「Ibukiyama zenouji temple & Sashimogusa」
Ibukiyama Zenouji temple ： 281 Fukiage-machi,Tochigi City
Place to award is “Fukiage Kouminkan”： 782-1 Fukiage-machi,Tochigi City
☆A place to pray ⇒ Zenouji temple and “Sashimo-gusa”
☆Yumetama ⇒ Carnelian
☆Benefits of this ⇒ Fulfillment in love,Matchmaking,Good health
Zen’ō-ji, the 23rd temple of the Shimotsuke Kannon Pilgrimage, is located on Mount Ibuki, said to be the setting of love poems featured in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
During the Heian period, mugwort harvested here appears in love poems included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. Mount Ibuki is famous as a producer of medicinally valuable mugwort, and its reputation seems to have reached as far as the capital in Kyoto.
A love poem was composed by Fujiwara no Sanekata, who is also said to have been a lover of Sei Shonagon. Could his passionate feelings have been directed toward her? Let us visit and reflect on the romance from over a thousand years ago.
The “Sashimogusa,” which expresses feelings of love, can be seen in the flowerbed in front of the entrance to the Fukiage Community Center, where the Fukiage District Community Development Council office is located.
The Fukiage Community Center, which handles the distribution of the Yume-dama, is located at 782-1 Fukiage-cho, Tochigi City, and is open on weekdays only. On weekends and holidays, it is available at the Tochigi Kura no Machi Tourist Center, located at 4-1 Bancho, Tochigi City.
■Yumetama 10 「Higashizenkouji temple」
Higashi Zenkouji temple ： 1033-1 Kinoji-machi,Tochigi City
Place to award is “Fukiage Kouminkan”： 782-1 Fukiage-machi,Tochigi City
☆A place to pray ⇒ Miraculous bell
☆Yumetama ⇒ Eye Agate
☆Benefits of this ⇒ Calamity prevention,Good fortune,Good health
Higashi-Zenko-ji Temple was founded in the late Heian period, around 1122 (3rd year of the Heian era), when Hotoku-ni, a native of Shirakawa, Oshu, lost her parents at an early age, became a priest at the age of 21, deeply believed in Amida Nyorai, and founded Zenko-ji Temple in Shinano. After repeatedly practicing ascetic practices, in the spring of 1127, he learned that there was a sacred mountain near Mt. Ibuki in Shimotsuke Province, and he enshrined Amida Nyorai and Tenmangu Shrine here on Mt. Tenjin, and named it “Tenjinzan, Hotokuin, and Higashi Zenkoji Temple.” It has been reported.
The temple bell, which is a designated cultural property of the prefecture, was donated by Ichibe Uchiki in 1690 (Genroku 3). It disappeared during the Pacific War, but it was discovered in a temple in Ishikawa Prefecture in 1991, and it was returned to the temple.
It is a miraculous bell that survived the war and returned home.
The Fukiage Community Center, which handles the distribution of the Yume-dama, is located at 782-1 Fukiage-cho, Tochigi City, and is open on weekdays only. On weekends and holidays, it is available at the Tochigi Kura no Machi Tourist Center, located at 4-1 Bancho, Tochigi City.
■Yumetama 11 「Tsuga no sato」
325 Usukubo,Tuga-cho,Tochigi City
Place to award is “Tsuganosato Furusato Center”
Regular holiday is Every Monday and Tuesday,Year-end and New Year holidays
☆A place to pray ⇒ Tsugano Satozakura（wild cherry tree）
☆Yumetama ⇒ Aragonite
☆Benefits of this ⇒ Purification of body and mind,Good health
Tsuganosato opened in 1993 as a tourist base in Tsuga Town with the catchphrase of flowers and historical romance. The park has a hometown center, family park, family park plaza, sacred place park, experience exchange center, Fureai no Mori, wild bird forest, etc., and has a total area of 23.4 hectares. The park, which is located in a blessed natural environment, is home to approximately 1,000 cherry blossoms of several varieties, as well as hydrangeas and azaleas, as well as a scenic pond and lotus pond in the vast lawn, making it a paradise of flowers and greenery. In particular, the symbolic tree, the wild cherry tree, is in full bloom every April, attracting many visitors. In addition, the adjacent family park has children’s play equipment and a barbecue area, where you can constantly hear the sounds of children having fun. “Tsuga no Sato” changes its appearance with the seasons, and is a relaxing park where you can spend a relaxing time.
■Yumetama 12 「Obikuni-dou temple」
Obikunidou temple： 1893 Manago,Nishikata-machi,Tochigi City
Place to award is “Michi no eki Nishikata”（Roadside station’s Nishikata）
369-1 Moto,Nishikata-machi,Tochigi City
Regular holiday is 3rd Tuesday of every month January 1st to January 3rd
☆A place to pray ⇒ Obikuni’s legend
☆ Yumetama ⇒ Aragonite
☆Benefits of this ⇒ Beauty Benefits,Longevity and prosperity
The legend of Obikuni, passed down in Manago, Nishikata, is that Princess Yae, who became immortal while still looking beautiful at the age of 18, became a nun, traveled around helping people in need, and lived for more than 800 years. This is a park established in a place with connections to the area.
Inside the park is Obikuni Hall, where the statue of Obikuni, which is said to have been carved by Yaehime as a nun, is enshrined, and the ceiling is decorated with colorful paintings of plants and animals. There is a solemn atmosphere. There is also a pond with a full-length mirror that is said to reflect Manago Yasui’s image, which has remained unchanged even after 800 years, so you can enjoy the seasonal scenery.
※The obikuni statue is currently closed to the public.
Roadside Station Nishikata is adjacent to National Route 293 and close to the Kita-Kanto Expressway Tsuga Interchange, making it convenient for transportation to Utsunomiya to the north and Sano/Ashikaga to the south. Fresh agricultural products and local products such as Nishikata-cho’s special products, “Strawberries” and Koshihikari “Sakura Otome” are sold at the farm’s direct sales store “Fureai no Sato” and the product center “Sakura”, and at the rural restaurant “Furusato Ichiban”. You can enjoy dishes made with plenty of local ingredients.