Where to stay in Ashikaga

Ashikaga (足利市, Ashikaga-shi) is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture of Honshu, Japan. As of 1 June 2023, the city had an estimated population of 140,036, in 62,123 households and a population density of 788 persons per km2.

The Ashikaga clan was an offshoot of the Minamoto clan who conquered Honshu and dominated the Kamakura Shogunate (1185-1333). Ashikaga Takauji overthrew the Kamakura shoguns and installed himself in the Muromachi district of Kyoto. The Ashikaga shoguns did not just help beautify Kamakura and Kyoto, they also built temples, gardens, and retirement villas in their hometown, which has been called a Little Kyoto and calls Kamakura one of its sister cities.

Getting in

Travelers coming from Narita airport should note that bus may be cheaper, faster and more convenient than taking train. The nearest Shinkansen (bullet train) stations are Oyama on the Tōhoku Shinkansen and Takasaki on the Jōetsu Shinkansen, both of which are connected to Ashikaga by the JR Ryōmō Line (両毛線), which has about 30 trains daily running in each direction between about 5AM and 11PM. JR Ashikaga station is on the north bank of the Watarase River, in the older, more walkable section of town.

Getting around

The Ashikaga City Bus runs 4 times a day each way through Ashikaga on a long route that runs far up the mountain valleys that flank the city. It costs ¥200 each way. The old downtown of Ashikaga north of the Watarase River is very walkable, while the riverbank is very bikeable (and walkable). A bicycle trail runs along the levees for the full length of Ashikaga city, sometimes along the north levee, sometimes along the south. The levees were raised and flood control measures were improved after severe flooding in the wake of Typhoon Kathleen in 1947.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.