Fish and Onsen: Golden Week in Fukushima

Summary

2 days in Fukushima city: Onsen, parks, mountains, and trains

**Has parking**Tohoku (2 hours from Tokyo via Shinkansen) **Any Age OK**Weekend Activity**High Cost**rainy day ok**

Website

Fukushima prefecture official site (English available)

Location/Access


大きな地図で見る

By train: 2 hours+ from Ueno or Tokyo, via Shinkansen （東北新幹線 Tohokushinkansen). Head for Fukushima Station 福島駅.

By car: 3-5 hours via the Highway 東北自動車道 Tohoku Expressway. Aim for Fukushima Interchange.

Hotels

The Sun Route Plaza is your best stop first off the train. The staff are friendly and English speaking and the hotel is close to the station, as well as being reasonably priced with average facilities.

If you are feeling adventurous, staying overnight at a Japanese Onsen in "Izaka Onsen", 30 minutes from the Fukushima city center, (and described in more detail below), is a definite recommendation. The best hotel is Yoshikawaya. The baths are incredible and the place is very family friendly; for example, they have facilities in the women's baths for babies, to allow you to wash while the baby rests on a specially designed baby seat.

Activities

Fukushima has a fantastic range of family friendly activities. In the first of our two days, we visited 四季の里　Shiki no sato, where there is a large park with an unbelievably friendly atmosphere, and nearby facilities such as local craft's shops, bakery, and a beer garden where you can eat "Genghis Khan Hotpot" and drink Asahi beer. website (Japanese Only). Access is via bus from the east side of Fukushima station but you might be better using a taxi if you are not comfortable tackling the lack of English support around the station area.　If the weather is good enough, you can easily spend a whole day around this area. Entrance to the park is free, and the activities and food are all very reasonably priced and of good quality.

On our second day, we headed to Fukushima station, and bought the 飯坂温泉日帰りきっぷ Iizaka Onsen higaeri kippu. The station is actually located a little to the left of the main Fukushima station east exit, as the Izaka line is a small private service which is not owned by JR.

The ticket is 1500 yen for adults, and 750 for children over 3 years. It allows you to use the Izaka train line as much as you like for one day, as well as use the bath for free at any of the participating ryokan in Izaka onsen resort. Our son loves trains, so if you have children with a similar interest, they are sure to enjoy the experience. Also, the view of the mountains and countryside is very beautiful on the way.

Izaka is located around 30 minutes away from Fukushima station, and upon arrival we headed to straight to Yoshikawaya (mentioned above, in the hotels section). Yoshikawaya ryokan is a little far from the station, so unless you fancy a long walk through the town it is best to take a taxi there. (If you have booked lunch/ a stay overnight then consider informing them of your expected time of arrival in advance and they may send someone to pick you up).

Although there are many participating ryokan, we chose Yoshikawaya because the baths are top quality; the facilities are large, clean, and best of all are the range of luxury soaps that are free to use in the shower area. Use of the bath alone is usually 1000 yen per adult, so this also maximizes the value of the previously mentioned higaeri kippu purchased at Fukushima station.

If you have the time, I would heartily recommend at least enjoying lunch at Yoshikawaya. However, if you want to do this you will have to book in advance (you are not required to book for the bath alone). Ideally you should stay the night here, and enjoy a walk through Izaka town wearing your Yukata and maybe some geta wooden shoes!

Izaka is a beautiful resort town in which you could easily idle away one or more days. Also, whether this is good or bad depends on the individual, but there are not many foreign tourists who make it to this part of Japan, so you will be able to enjoy a much more "authentic Japanese experience" than in some of the more famous resorts. You'll need at least a sprinkling of Japanese ability to get the best out of the experience, however.

Food

At Shiki-no-sato, the recommendation would be for the aforementioned "Genghis Khan Hotpot", enjoyed with some Asahi beer, in the Asahi beer garden. They give each person a large paper bib, and in the middle of your table will be a hot plate on which you will cook the assortment of vegetables and lamb which are brought raw to the table.

Please be sure to make use of the bib if you are wearing nice clothes; the fat really does come flying!

The beer garden is reasonably priced, especially if you select one of the all you can eat/all you can drink courses that will allow you to drink and eat to your hearts content for 2 hours all for a set price.

At Yoshikawaya it will largely depend on the season you visit as to what dish you will be served. The food is very similar that which you may have eaten at other traditional Japansese ryokan: mountain vegetables, sashimi, tempura, shell fish, fruits, pickled vegetables etc. each of these may well make an appearance.

Expect lunch to cost upwards of 5000 yen per adult, although this will include use of all of the hotel's facilities, including the bath and swimming pool.

Cost

A family of four should budget around 80,000-100,000 yen, including hotels, taxis, shinkansen, meals train fare etc, to enjoy Fukushima for 2-3 days.

Rating

Here you can experience a very different Japan than the one you are used to in Tokyo. The atmosphere, scenery, people and places are all very different in Fukushima; you may find people here to be much more friendly than those back in Tokyo.

Overall, fresh county air, a taste of old Japan, and the friendly population give Fukushima a well deserved 9/10.