A must-see course when visiting Aizu. Course 1

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• ①Ouchi Juku

  This is the highlight of Shimogo Town, which is adjacent to the south of Aizu Wakamatsu City. The town was once a bustling post town on the Aizu Nishi Kaido, the main road from Aizu Wakamatsu to Imaizumi City in Tochigi Prefecture. The town's streets have been carefully preserved to this day.
  It retains the atmosphere of an Edo-period inn, with thatched houses that are hundreds of years old lining the streets, reminding us of the old days.
  In 1981, the area was selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings by the Japanese government.

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• ②Tō-no-Hetsuri

  In the local dialect, "hetsuri" means a steep cliff. About 100 meters of shore along the mountain stream has been eroded into a strip by the flow of the river and wind and rain over a period of about one million years, and strange rocks dot the landscape. Walking across the suspension bridge was a thrill and a treat. A national natural monument that is most crowded during the season of autumn leaves. It is also known as Fujimi Park, and the view when the Fuji (wisteria) flowers are in bloom is also recommended.

A must-see course when visiting Aizu. Course 2

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• ①Tsurugajo Castle

  The chalk-white Aizuwakamatsu Castle, with a history of more than 600 years since its construction, is affectionately known as ”Tsurugajo Castle”
  It is located south of the center of Aizu Wakamatsu City, and its history began when the Ashina clan built a castle there during the Warring States period. Since then, the Uesugi, Gamo, Kato, Hoshina, and Matsudaira clans have come and gone, and the castle has undergone many changes and renovations as it entered the turbulent period at the end of the Edo period.
  Aizu Matsudaira, which fought on the side of the Shogunate, finally became a castle battle in the Boshin War, leaving various sad and lamentable stories here and there in the castle town.
  The castle tower, which was destroyed in the Meiji era (1868-1912), was rebuilt in 1965 and is now open to the public as a local museum.

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• ②Oyakuen

  In the Muromachi period (1336-1573), the lord Ashina Morihisa built a villa here, and in 1670, the second Matsudaira clan member Hoshina Masatsune established a medicinal herb garden. In 1696, Matsudaira Masanobu, the third lord of the domain, built a full-scale garden that uses the natural scenery as the background for the landscaping of the garden in Enshu style. The garden is surrounded by a pond in the shape of a heart, and on an island in the center of the pond stands the Sukiya-style Rakujyuen. The garden is home to over 500 years old aloes-wood trees and Japanese umbrella pine trees. and the medicinal herb garden has over 300 species of medicinal plants, showing the beauty of the four seasons.
  In 1932, the garden was designated as a national scenic beauty spot as a landscape garden in the style of the Tokugawa feudal lords, and is open to the public every day of the year.

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• ③Mount Iimori

  ■ Tomb of the Nineteen Soldiers of the Byakkotai.
  The Byakkotai were 16 to 17 year old boys who fought in the Boshin War, and their graves are located on the hillside of Mount Iimori, northeast of Tsurugajo Castle. The boys scattered their young lives as they looked out over the castle, which was engulfed in fire. If you look up at the castle town from Mount Iimori, you can feel the thoughts of the Byakkotai.
  
  ■ Aizu Sazaedo (National Important Cultural Property)
  This 16.5-meter high, hexagonal, three-story hall was built in 1796 on Mount Iimori in Aizuwakamatsu City. It is a rare architectural style in the world, where the ascending and descending passages are completely separate, allowing worshippers to worship safely without passing each other. It was designated as a National Important Cultural Property in 1996 as it is a rare architectural style in the world.