"The City of Gyoza" Utsunomiya by traveldream

Located approximately 3-hour ride north off Tokyo, in Tochigi Prefecture, Utsunomiya is famous throughout Japan for its gyoza, a kind of meat and vegetable dumpling. There are many gyoza shops and restaurants scattered in the city. Utsunomiya is not a big city but to me it's just a nice place. The city is clean and neat, unlike big cities. The outdoors along the river uptown are parks, fishing spots, and other outdoor recreational activity spots. Big companies such as Canon has its factory in Utsunomiya. Even the industrial zone is neat and clean. Downtown there are department stores, restaurants and cafes. JR Utsunomiya Station is located in the city center, where rapid trains and shinkansen operate on Utsunomiya Line.

Utsunomiya is passed by River Kinu (Kinugawa), which comes from Nikko, a place that has onsen (hot spring), national park with lake and falls (such as Lake Chuzenji, Kegon Falls, Ryuzu Falls) and historical buildings including Toshogu Shrine where the tomb of the shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa is located. Uptown Utsunomiya there is a place which used to be the location of a castle called Tobiyama. It's now a park open free for public. Located up hill, we can see the view to Utsunomiya city with River Kinu in front and Mt. Nantai in the background.

• Pros:Nice place, nice air
• Cons:It's Japan...expensive