5 recommended sightseeing spots in Aizuwakamatsu that can be enjoyed even on rainy days
Aizu Wakamatsu, which prospered as the castle town of the Aizu clan, has many places where you can experience history and culture, and there are plenty of Properties where you can spend a rainy day in peace and quiet. From art galleries and museums to sake breweries and craft museums, here are some recommended spots you can enjoy without worrying about the weather.
1Hideyo Noguchi Youth Museum
A historical place filled with Hideyo Noguchi's origins
The museum is housed in the building of the former Kaiyo Clinic, where Hideyo Noguchi, a world-renowned medical scientist from Fukushima Prefecture, underwent surgery on his badly burned hand. It is a historical place where Hideyo Noguchi learned the wonders of medicine and took his first steps as a medical scientist by becoming an apprentice to a doctor at the Kaiyo Clinic after graduating from high school and elementary school.
In the museum, an animation summarizing the story of Hideyo Noguchi from his childhood to becoming a medical doctor and his brilliant achievements are introduced. Exhibits related to his hobbies of chess and ronikyoku, as well as many of his favorite articles, such as hats, are also on display, giving visitors a glimpse into his personality.
After visiting the Seishunkan, take a break with a cup of home-brewed coffee.
On the first floor is a coffee shop called "Aizu Ichibankan," where you can enjoy coffee made from home-roasted beans and other ingredients from countries associated with Hideyo Noguchi. To accompany the coffee, homemade cakes are recommended. The simple flavors of "Sake Kasu Pudding" and "Rare Cheese Cake" are sure to please your taste buds.
Coffee cups and mugs with illustrations of Hideyo Noguchi are used in the store and are popular as souvenirs. This is a relaxing spot to stop by in combination with Seishunkan.
- Hideyo Noguchi Youth Museum
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4-18 Naka-machi, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture MAP
5 min. drive from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station
Take a bus from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station and get off at "Hideyo Noguchi Seishunkan-mae".
8:00 - 20:00 (Cafe L.O. 19:30)
No holidays
0242-27-3750（Aizu Ichibankan)
Free of charge
2Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura
A brewery that preserves the old-fashioned Yamahai brewing method
Aizu Sake Brewery, founded in 1850, is one of the representative breweries in Aizu. Kinichiro Kagi, the founder of the Yamahai brewing method for sake, started experimental brewing at the Suehiro Sake Brewery in the early Taisho period (1912-1926). The brewery offers tours by the hour, with guided tours by Staff/staff members who provide easy-to-understand explanations of the sake brewing process. Visitors can see the brewery and the tools used for sake brewing in the past. There is also a well on the premises from which brewing water springs, so it is recommended to bring a plastic bottle or water bottle.
There is also a direct sales shop and a café where you can enjoy tastings.
At the brewery's direct sales counter, you will find Suehiro Shuzo's representative brand "Densetsu Yamahai Junmai Suehiro," Junmai Daiginjo made from Fukushima Prefecture's sake rice "Kaori Yume no Kaori," and rare sake exclusively sold at the Kaei Brewery. At the tasting corner, five kinds of sake and ume (plum) wine are always available. Visitors can compare and find their favorites.
At the "Sake Brewery Cafe Anzu," which was renovated from the oldest brewery, coffee made with brewing water, chiffon cake made with daiginjyo, and other dishes unique to the brewery are offered. It is the perfect place to relax before or after a tour of the brewery.
- Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura
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- 12-38 Nisshinmachi, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture MAP
- 6 minutes drive from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station
- Take a bus from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station, get off at Yamato-cho and walk about 1 minute.
- 9:00-17:00 (last admission 16:00), Cafe 10:00-17:30
- Sake brewery: 2nd Wed. Dec. 31, Jan. 1, Cafe: Wed.
- 0242-27-0002
- Free of charge
3Aizu Nuri Heritage Museum Suzuzen
Tour the brewery and experience the charm of Aizu lacquerware
This Property is a complex of warehouses of the Suzuzen Lacquerware Store, which was founded in 1832. Visitors can experience the charm of Aizu lacquerware in six storehouses with different themes. the Aizu Lacquer Ware Lore Storehouse, which opened in April 2019, introduces the history and techniques of Aizu lacquerware. The Aizu Lacquerware Lore Storehouse, which opened in April 2019, introduces the history and techniques of Aizu lacquerware. Visitors can experience the traditional beauty of Aizu lacquerware, where specialized craftsmen divide the work of making the base of the wood, painting, and decorating the lacquerware.
The Bijutsu-kura (art storehouse) exhibits artistic works by Aizu's representative maki-e (gold-relief lacquerware) artists and traditional craftsmen. In the "Experience Storehouse," visitors can try their hand at maki-e maki-e on Aizu lacquerware and take home their finished pieces.
Aizu Lacquerware, a souvenir of the craftsmanship of Aizu Lacquerware
The Lacquer Ware Storehouse sells a wide variety of Aizu lacquerware items, from chopsticks and bowls to hand mirrors and accessories. Many items can be personalized, making them popular gifts. The "Jizake Kura" sells a wide variety of Aizu's representative local sake. The Aizu lacquerware sake cups are soft to the palate, making the sake even more delicious. If you get hungry, head to Kura-no-chaya. You can enjoy "Tori Zhonghua," a buckwheat noodle dish made with Aizu chicken, or "Manju no Tempura," a specialty of Aizu. This is a spot where you can play regardless of the weather.
- Aizu Lacquer Traditions Museum Suzuzen
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- 1-3-28 Chuo, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture MAP
- 10-minute walk from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station
- Take a bus from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station, get off at the "Post Office Mae" stop, and walk about 2 minutes.
- Aizu Lacquer Ware Storehouse and Art Storehouse 9:00-17:00, Lacquerware Storehouse and Sake Storehouse-17:30, Experience Storehouse 10:00-16:00, Storehouse Tea House 11:00-14:00
- Closed on weekends and holidays
Admission free, Maki-e Experience 1,900 yen (approx. 60 min., min. 2 people)- 0242-22-0680
- Free of charge
Maki-e Experience: 6 years old and up
4Kagetsutei Garden Museum
A secluded garden that has not been open to the public until now
The Japanese garden and storehouse of Nabesan Honten, a sake brewery dating back to the Edo period, were developed and opened in 2018. The garden is said to have been created by the painter Jotei Meguro, the same artist as the Oyakuen Garden and Aizu Matsudaira Clan Garden in Aizu Wakamatsu, which is designated as a national place of scenic beauty.
The garden, which covers an area of about 1,000 tsubo (approximately 1,000 m2), is composed of two small and large artificial hills and a pond called Shinji-ike, where visitors can enjoy the changing seasonal scenery of weeping cherry blossoms in spring and autumn leaves in fall. Other highlights of the garden are the creeping pine trees with branches that seem to grow out of the ground. On rainy days, visitors can take a stroll through the garden under the umbrella, which is available for rent at the reception desk.
Enjoy tea time with a view of the garden
The "Former Nabesan Honten (Hoshino Family Residence) Storehouse," a registered national tangible cultural property, on the premises has been converted into a small art museum. Special exhibitions are held seasonally.
The guest room facing the garden is open as a cafe. Visitors can enjoy cakes made by a confectionery store in Aizuwakamatsu, along with domestic black tea and other specialty drinks. The garden can be viewed from every seat, and the cafe has earned a good reputation as a place to relax and forget about time. Antique glasses and sake cups from the storehouse are displayed in the room and are also available for purchase. The garden, museum, and café can be used independently as a hidden healing spot.
- Kagetsutei Garden Museum
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- 2-5-7 Zaimoku-cho, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture MAP
- 5 min. walk from JR Nishi-Wakamatsu Stn.
- Take a bus from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station, get off at "Nishi-Wakamatsu Station West" and walk about 4 minutes.
- 10:00-17:00, Jan-Mar 10:30-16:30
- Mon.
- Garden and museum: 200 yen, garden: 200 yen, museum: 350 yen (half-price for visitors under 18) *depends on the exhibition
- 0242-27-2857
- Free of charge
5Fukushima Prefectural Museum
Cultural assets and tangible and intangible cultural heritages of the prefecture gathered in one place
The museum has a reputation for its unique exhibition methods, such as introducing the history and culture of Fukushima Prefecture by period. The entrance to the exhibition rooms is a time tunnel, allowing visitors to explore the museum as if they were stepping back in time. The general exhibition room focuses on "people's lives" from the Paleolithic Age to the modern and contemporary periods. More than 3,000 items, including iron swords and bronze mirrors excavated from the "Aizu Otsukayama Tumulus," are on display, as well as models.
In addition, there is a hands-on learning room where visitors can experience dressing up in costumes from various periods, such as Muromachi period armor, which is popular among families.
A powerful dragon on display
The museum is also famous for its fossil exhibits, such as the "Futabasuzukiryu," the first elasmosaur fossil found in Japan (Fukushima Prefecture), and a reconstruction of the "Paleoparadoxia," a mammal that lived approximately 16 million years ago.
The "Kenpaku Highlight Tour" is usually held on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Each exhibition interpreter creates an original course and guides visitors through the highlights of the General Exhibition Room of the Permanent Exhibition in about 30 minutes. Reservations and participation fees are not required, so first-time visitors to the museum are recommended to join the tour first to get the main points of interest.
- Fukushima Prefectural Museum
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- 1-25 Jotomachi, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture MAP
- 10 minutes drive from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station
- Take a bus from JR Aizuwakamatsu Stn. and get off at "Tsurugajo San-no-maru-guchi".
- 9:30-17:00 (last admission at 16:30), Kenpaku Highlight Tour: Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays from 10:30 and 14:00 in principle.
- Mondays (open if Monday is a national holiday, closed the next day), the day after a national holiday (except Sat. and Sun.), Dec. 28-Jan. 4 *Open all year round during G.W. and Obon holidays.
- Admission: Adults 280 yen, Free for elementary, junior high, and high school students (varies for special exhibitions depending on the exhibition)
- 0242-28-6000
- Free of charge
Local Guide who was in charge of this article
- Kaisei Goto Ramen Boys in Aizu
