Tochigi Food Guide: Utsunomiya Gyoza, Nikko Yuba & Strawberries

Tochigi is a treasure trove of local specialties famous across Japan. Led by the gyoza city of Utsunomiya, the region offers yuba born from the temple cuisine of Nikko, and strawberries that top the nation in production, a lineup that satisfies every visitor. Pair sightseeing with a food stroll that only Tochigi can offer.

Utsunomiya Gyoza

Famous nationwide as the city of gyoza, Utsunomiya is packed with countless dumpling shops competing in many styles, pan fried, boiled, and deep fried. Light and full of vegetables, the dumplings are said to be endlessly easy to eat. Renowned shops gather around JR Utsunomiya Station, and Kirasse, run by the Utsunomiya Gyoza Association, lets you compare the flavors of several shops at once. The Paseo branch in front of the station ticket gates is easy to drop into even during a wait for a train.

Nikko Yuba

A specialty of the Nikko and Kinugawa area is yuba, made from soy milk. Long enjoyed as part of the temple cuisine of Mount Nikko, it is thicker and more substantial than the Kyoto style. Served as sashimi, simmered dishes, and fried dishes, its healthy, refined flavor draws many fans. Specialty restaurants line the main approach from Tobu Nikko Station toward the shrines and temple, so you can enjoy it alongside a tour of the sites.

Tochiotome and Strawberries

Tochigi has topped Japan in strawberry production for over half a century, a true strawberry kingdom. Alongside its flagship tochiotome, it offers a rich variety including the large Skyberry, the new Tochiaika, and the white Milkyberry. From winter into spring, strawberry picking is available across the prefecture, letting you savor sweet, large, freshly picked berries.

More Local Specialties

Tochigi gourmet is not only gyoza, yuba, and strawberries. Sano City Sano ramen is prized for its flat green bamboo made noodles and light soy sauce soup. In Nikko, fragrant hand cut soba is also a specialty. In the Nasu highlands you can enjoy pudding made with branded eggs, farm cheese, and wood fired bread. Sweets made from the locally loved lemon milk, the summer only chitake soba, and the winter regional dish shimotsukare are seasonal and regional flavors not to be missed.

Best Season and Access

Strawberry picking runs from winter into early spring, while gyoza and yuba can be enjoyed year round. Timing a visit with the fresh greenery or autumn foliage seasons is also recommended. Access is by JR and Tobu lines to Utsunomiya and Nikko. From Tokyo, the Shinkansen reaches Utsunomiya in roughly an hour, close enough to enjoy a gourmet trip even in a day. Sano pairs with the Sano Premium Outlets and Nasu with its highland resort, letting you combine food and sightseeing in a way unique to Tochigi. Combine the flavors with popular spots such as Nikko Toshogu, Lake Chuzenji, and the Nasu highlands, and enjoy the pride of Tochigi to your heart content alongside World Heritage touring and a hot spring trip.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Strawberry credentials: Tochigi Prefecture has shipped more strawberries than any other prefecture in Japan every year since the 1968 (Showa 43) crop. The main varieties are "Tochiaika" for home consumption, the all-rounder "Tochiotome" which is also used commercially, the large-fruited "Skyberry", the white strawberry "Milky Berry", the summer strawberry "Natsuotome", and "Tochihime", a variety grown exclusively at pick-your-own strawberry farms
• Kirasse Main Store: Basement floor 1, MEGA Don Quijote LaPark Utsunomiya, 2-3-12 Babadori, Utsunomiya City. Open 11:00-20:30 on weekdays (last order 20:00) and 11:00-21:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (last order 20:30); the souvenir corner is open 10:00-21:00. Open all year round. There is no dedicated car park, so use an affiliated car park or a coin-operated one
• Kirasse Paseo Store: Inside Tochigi Grand Marche in "Utsunomiya Paseo" on the second floor of JR Utsunomiya Station, 1-23 Kawamukai-cho, Utsunomiya City. Open 8:00-21:00. Closing days follow those of Utsunomiya Paseo
• Nikko yuba: The film that forms when soy milk is simmered is lifted out folded in two in Nikko (in Kyoto, yuba is lifted out as a single sheet). This difference in method gives Nikko yuba its thickness and satisfying texture
• Sano ramen: Characterised by irregular, wavy noodles rolled out with a green bamboo pole and a light soy sauce broth made with Sano's water. The noodles contain many air bubbles and conduct heat well, so they boil in a short time
• Points to note (allergies): Gyoza, ramen and hand-cut soba use wheat or buckwheat, and yuba uses soybeans. Please take care if you have any of these allergies

Note: Opening hours and prices at individual shops, and the periods during which strawberry picking is available, differ from one establishment to another.

(Sources: Tochigi Prefecture official website; Utsunomiya Gyoza Association official website; Sano City official website)