Q: Where in the world is Nakagawa Town? A: in *, about 2 hours northeast of 3 reasons

3 reasons (*there’s another Nakagawa in Fukuoka on Kyushu Island—that’s not us!) NAKAGAWA NAKAGAWA RIVER

Nishinasuno- Hwy Nat’l 294 Nasu Shiobara Stn Shiobara IC GETTING TO NAKAGAWA many travelers a few lucky Nishinasuno Stn By Car ・from south: Tohoku Exp. to Yaita n’t IC, south on National Hwy 4 (1 do visit Yaita IC min), east on Prefectural Hwy 161 travelers do Hwy 52 Hwy 48 ➡48➡52 (30 min), Nakagawa ・from north: Tohoku Exp. to Nakagawa Nishinasuno-Shiobara IC, Ujiie Station Town southeast on Natl Hwy 400 `The Nat’l Hwy 293 Rice Line`(40 min)

1. The nearest train Nikko Stn 1. The nearest train Nat’l Hwy Nat’l 294 By Train+ Bus Hoshakuji Stn Karasuyama ・Easy Route: JR Line Stn station is more than station is more than Utsunomiya-Ujiie (16 min), Toya Bus Ujiie – Nakagawa (50 min) Utsunomiya IC a half hour away by JR ・Scenic Route: a half hour away by Utsunomiya-Hoshakuji (10-13 min), JR Karasuyama Line bus. bus. Expressway/Highways Hoshakuji-Karasuyama (35-45 Bus (Toya/Community) min), Community Bus Karasuyama Tohoku (Bullet Train) – Nakagawa (35 min) Tokyo JR Utsunomiya Line ・from north: JR Utsunomiya Line 2. Nakagawa is not 2. Nakagawa is not JR Nikko / JR Karasuyama Line Nishinasuno – Nakagawa (45 min) Tokyo Stn. Toya Bus listed in overseas listed in overseas GETTING AROUND NAKAGAWA guidebooks. guidebooks.

5 Pref Hwy 224 3. People in Nakagawa 3. People in Nakagawa

4 6 Natl aren’t used to Pref aren’t used to Pref Hwy 52 2 7

Hwy international

international Hwy

travelers. 8 travelers. Natl Natl

1 27

461 Michi no EkiBato Michi

BUS STOP

KitaMukata

BUS STOP

A few more reasons Hwy

3

hotspringsKoisago

Natl Hwy 293

Nakagawa River Nakagawa

294 PotterytheBato BUS STOP HiroshigeMuseumofArt 12 11 9 Muromachi BUS STOP Nasu Yoshida NAKAGAWA small town Michi no Eki TOWN HALL 10 Rest Area Nakagawa Town ★ Tourism Association Japanwildboaronlyin Tourism 0287-92-5757 Association Japanese-language Nakagawashopping inquiries

There’s no doubt it is easiest to get around Nakagawa if you have your own wheels, but you can get around by  for more reasons, see inside public transport with some careful planning. You can reach the Michi no Eki Rest Area (Restaurant Bato (11), Mumo Ice Cream (12), Tourism Center,) Asuka Sushi (9) and the Bato Hiroshige Museum (3) by either Toya or Community Nakagawa’s Koisago District Bus. The Community Bus also stops by Cucina toto (10) on its way to and from JR Karasuyama Station. From the Michi no Eki bus stop, Kirigatake (7) and the MOB Museum (4) would be a 2.3 km. slightly uphill walk, Fujita was selected as one of the Nakagawa Town’s Mascot ‘Naka-chan’ Ceramics (6) 5.5 km. If you have plans to stay overnight, Isami-kan (2) may be able to pick you up at the Michi no Eki. ‘most beautiful villages in ’ is sorry these reasons have kept you We are working on new ideas to help you get around, in the meanwhile the Tourism Association will do all it can to help! from visiting us... until now…? Too much to do in ♨ Nakagawa? Really!   Fujita Ceramics Center & We aren’t only known as a hot springs Mahoroba no Yu ① (number in map on back) Sushi Asuka ⑨ Toyukan Hands-on Pottery Classes ⑥ town, but we have two different kinds www.geocities.co.jp/SilkRoad-Ocean/2586/ 0287-92-0550 of hot springs waters percolating up for Taps a hot spring aquafer on the west koisagoyaki.co.jp Oka-san single-handedly keeps up with us at nearly a dozen day visit hot springs side of the Nakagawa River for Unlike the pottery of some of its more sushi orders from the sushi bar, party and overnight inns. continuously running hot springs water at famous neighbors, Koisago Pottery is rooms and dining tables, and he is this day use hot springs center. made exclusively experienced at making sushi for first- We aren’t only known as a museum of local pottery timers and vegetarians! Give him a couple town, yet we have top museums in Isami-kan ② soil. Shop at of days’ notice and he can even serve you Japan in three different genre—ukiyo-e Fujitas’ for direct Nakagawa’s premium-branded hot springs www.isamikan.com/ art, alternative art, and children’s from the artist pufferfish (poison not included!). In the Bato Hot Springs district over- storybook art. prices, or fashion looking the Nakagawa River for great your own pottery at ⑩ sunset views from the east bank. For Cucina toto We can offer two different hands-on Toyukan next door. atmosphere, local food and drink and mangiatoto.exblog.jp experiences with Japanese culture— hospitality, start or end your trip to For those who know that Italian you can roll Japanese buckwheat Kirigatake Local Mtn. Culture Center ⑦ Nakagawa with a night’s stay HERE! food is more than tomatoes and noodles (soba) from scratch and eat your www.tochigiji.or.jp/spot/4390/ cheese. The owners prepare hard work, and you can make your own Gozen-Iwa Souvenir Ctr & Restaurant ⑧ fresh, local and often organic pottery—even both within an easy- www.gozeniwa.com/ ingredients with Italian cuisine’s going couple of hours of activity.  Both places serve great soba noodles in care for bringing out the best in restaurants open to the outdoors, but can each ingredient’s flavour. The whole town opens up to welcome Bato Hiroshige Museum of Art ③ teach you to make your own! visitors during the Hana no Kaze – www.hiroshige.bato.tochigi.jp/english Michi no Eki Restaurant Bato ⑪ festival in the Spring, or you can join in A museum that’s as famous as the http://michinoeki-guide.ciao.jp/bato2.html rice planting/harvesting in the Spring and woodblock prints & traditional artwork it Located in the Michi no Eki Highway Autumn at our Homestay Weekend.  houses! Designed by world-renowned Rest Area, this restaurant is the easiest

architect Kuma Kengo to host the best of place to try out the town’s Shishimaru- Are you a fan of local Japanese cuisine? Hana no Kaze Matsuri Hiroshige’s brand wild boar meat, buckwheat Try to find hot springs pufferfish, wild http://hana-kaze.net/event.html ukiyo-e art, noodles and other local delicacies. boar noodles and cherry blossom ice April 29 – May 5 including his cream (yum, yum!) anywhere else, let A truly homemade Nakagawa festival. extremely Michi no Eki – alone in the same town! Special events sponsored by residents in rare hand Mumo no Sato Ice Cream Kobo ⑫ more than 50 (!!) locations throughout paintings. Just want a sit down meal? How about town. Concerts, food tastings, local craft In the Tourism Association building next to sushi by a former New York City sushi displays, hands-on crafts and sales. Get the restaurant, Mumo no Sato serves up MOB museum of alternative art ④ chef, or Italian food by a young couple to know our people and culture up close. more than a dozen unique and amazingly who gained their culinary experience in www.mobmuseum.org delicious ice cream flavours such as tomato, both Sienna and Parma, Italy? Our The artwork here makes you realize a Homestay Weekend in Nakagawa Japanese mugwort, and the extra-popular Restaurant Bato serves local fare and has handicap can be a gift. Incredibly innovative cherry blossom (in the spring), as well as [email protected] a menu in English, while Mumo no Sato work from around the world displayed in an yummy standards chocolate chip, vanilla, offers those wonderful ice cream flavors. old Japanese elementary schoolhouse! one Saturday each in early May/October cookies and cream, and matcha (green tea). Our homestay weekend Iwamura Kazuo Picture Book Museum ⑤ is primarily for foreign This is only a sampler of things to do in residents of Tochigi, but Nakagawa. For more info, we have limited www.ehonnooka.com copies available of the 64-page English- The infectiously warm and fuzzy artwork you may be able to join language guide to Nakagawa, Nakagawa – of Eric Carle’s Japanese friend set in the the daytime spring rice Town, Tochigi A Guide to our World- natural scenery of his top-selling children’s planting or autumn rice Class Art and Small Town Heart. E-mail the Nakagawa Tourism Association books. His works include the unique, harvest. Applications ac- cepted the previous ([email protected]) or the bilingual Doko iku no –To see my friend, Nakagawa Town Tourism Section co-authored/illustrated with Carle! month. E-mail for info. ([email protected])