5 Photogenic Buildings and Streetscapes in Tochigi | Recommended Instagrammable Retro Architecture and Castles

In Tochigi Prefecture, where history and nature live and breathe, there are plenty of buildings and streetscapes that make you want to point your camera. This time, we carefully introduce "photogenic spots" whose attention is rapidly rising on Instagram!

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1. Utsunomiya Castle Ruins Park (Utsunomiya City)

The contrast of the white castle walls and the blue sky is spectacular! The restored earthen ramparts and the Seimeidai and Fujimi turrets make for a powerful shot when looked up at from a low angle. In spring, the collaboration with cherry blossoms is a spectacular view, and the combination of pink and white is truly a dreamlike landscape. For shooting, the soft light of the morning beautifully illuminates the walls, so it is recommended. The extraordinary feel of being right in the middle of the city is also one of the photogenic points.

📍 About a 15-minute walk from the west exit of Utsunomiya Station

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2. Tochigi City's Kura (Storehouse) Streetscape (Tochigi City)

In the center of Tochigi City, also called "Little Edo," black-painted kura-zukuri (storehouse-style) buildings from the Edo to Meiji periods line up. If you shoot with the storehouses in the background from the promenade along the Uzuma River, the reflection on the river surface is added too, and the photogenic level rises all at once! At dusk in autumn, orange light strikes the storehouses, and you can take a photo as if you have time-slipped. A composition placing a willow tree in the foreground is also recommended.

📍 About a 10-minute walk from Tobu Tochigi Station

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3. Former Shinohara Family Residence (Tochigi City)

A wealthy merchant's mansion remaining in Tochigi City, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. The massive black-plaster exterior walls and the design elaborate down to the details radiate an overwhelming presence. Shooting with a symmetrical composition straight from the front makes its prestigious beauty stand out. On cloudy days the shadows become even and the texture of the plaster appears richer, so it is the target. Many people also visit in Japanese attire, making it a perfect location for cosplay photography too.

📍 About a 15-minute walk from Tobu Tochigi Station

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4. Nikko Toshogu (Nikko City)

It is a well-known World Heritage Site, but from a photogenic viewpoint it is also the strongest spot! The polychrome Yomeimon Gate is beautiful no matter where you crop, and its gorgeous gold and vermilion ornamentation gets a great response on social media. Right after the gates open first thing in the morning, there are few people and you can aim for the best shot. In the autumn-leaf season of October to November, you can enjoy a miraculous color palette where red, orange, and gold overlap. A shot capturing the five-story pagoda in portrait orientation is also popular.

📍 About 10 minutes by bus from JR and Tobu Nikko Station

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5. Former Aoki Villa in Nasu Highlands (Nasu Town)

A Western-style wooden building constructed in the Meiji period stands quietly in the green of Nasu, a hidden photogenic spot. The red roof and white exterior walls stand out against the green of the trees, full of an atmosphere reminiscent of somewhere in Europe. In the deep-green period of early summer to summer, a bokeh composition pulling the building to the back while putting flowers and grasses in the foreground is exquisite. A cloudy sky increases the atmosphere and is rather welcome!

📍 About 20 minutes by bus and walking from Nasu-Shiobara Station

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Tochigi has plenty of photogenic spots still unknown. Do head out, camera in hand, to search for a shot all your own.