Where to stay in Kōriyama

Kōriyama is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 August 2023, the city had an estimated population of 321,938 people in 141,760 households, and a population density of 425 persons per km2.

Kōriyama originated as a regional governmental center in the Nara period, when the area was on the frontier of Yamato settlement of the Tohoku region. The surrounding area developed into shōen controlled by various samurai clans in the Heian and Kamakura periods. Nearby centers, such as Nihonmatsu developed into castle towns, Kōriyama remained as a commercial center and thrived as a post town because of its importance as a traffic focal point into the Edo period. As a major military equipment production center, Koriyama was subject to three large-scale air raids during WW2.

Getting in

Koriyama is the largest city in Fukushima Prefecture and has good rail, road and bus networks linking it to Tokyo in the south and other parts of Tohoku to the north and west. The Tohoku Shinkansen is the fastest way to get to and from Tokyo (80 minutes, ¥7970), as well as other major cities in Tohoku, such as Fukushima and Sendai (40 minutes, ¥5240). The Tohoku Main Line follows a similar route to the Shinkansen, and though cheaper, it is much slower and trains run far less regularly. The West Ban'etsu Line connects Koriyama with Niigata in the west, travelling via the Mount Bandai region.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.