A guide to Fujioka City, Gunma Prefecture, where hot springs and beautiful flowers are the highlights

What is Fujioka City?

Fujioka City is a warm and green city located in the southwestern part of Gunma Prefecture. The city is home to the Takayamasha Shrine Ruins, one of the components of the World Heritage Site "Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites," as well as many historical sites from the Stone Age and Kofun periods.

Fujioka City is also a transportation hub where several expressways intersect, making it about an hour away from Tokyo, and it also has excellent access to Nagano, Niigata, northern Kanto, and the Tohoku region.

Takayamasha Shrine Ruins, one of the components of the World Heritage Site "Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Silk Industry Heritage Sites"

Fujioka City is located at the junction of a high-speed transportation network that connects the central part of Japan.

Check out the spectacular views of cherry blossoms and wisteria! Recommended cherry blossom viewing spots

We will introduce recommended cherry blossom viewing spots in Fujioka City.

Fuji Hill is a place where spring flowers bloom gracefully. In April, about 120 Yoshino cherry trees bloom, as well as moss phlox and tulips, allowing you to enjoy the spring flowers. Fuji Hill is also a park themed around Fujioka City's flower, wisteria. Within the park's 2.3 hectares, there is a wisteria trellis with a total length of about 350 meters, and a sample garden of 45 types of wisteria, where you can see wisteria flowers of various colors and shapes, including purple, white, and pink.

This is a sample garden with 45 varieties of wisteria planted. You can encounter wisteria flowers of various shapes and colors, including purple, white, pink, and double-flowered.

Sakurayama Park is one of Japan's top 100 cherry blossom viewing spots. There are about 7,000 winter cherry trees in the park, which bloom twice, and in spring, 10,000 cherry trees bloom together with Yoshino cherry trees. In addition to cherry blossoms, Sakurayama Park is also home to camellias, azaleas, crape myrtles, wintersweets, and adonis flowers, allowing you to enjoy a variety of flowers and plants throughout the year.

In April, the entire mountain is dyed pink with cherry blossoms.

"Winter cherry blossoms" that bloom cute pale pink flowers

3 recommended sweets to try when you come to Fujioka City

Here are three recommended sweets that you definitely want to try or buy when you visit Fujioka City, Gunma Prefecture.

"Egg Manju" filled with a whole seasoned egg

When you think of Naritaya, you think of "Tamago Manju." A whole egg seasoned with soy sauce is stuffed inside the manju. With a fluffy skin and a satisfying egg filling, the manju is the perfect snack.

"Oni Sable" with a traditional onigawara motif

Oni Sable is made by stuffing sable dough into a mochi shell with a motif of an onigawara (rice cake tile). It has an excellent balance of the fragrant mochi, the buttery flavor of the sable, and the light and crispy texture. If you are visiting Fujioka City, why not pick up some as a souvenir?

Nagaiya Manju, founded over 100 years ago

Founded in 1918, this bun is made with homemade koshian (smooth bean paste) and wrapped in a skin of selected brown sugar using 100% Gunma-grown wheat. It boasts a chewy texture and a lightly salty, refreshing aftertaste.

If you come to Fujioka City, you should definitely visit these hot springs!

We introduce two recommended hot spring resorts in Fujioka City, Gunma Prefecture, which are easily accessible from the city center.

Yashio Onsen

This hot spring area on the banks of the Kanagawa River is also known for the Sanbashiki Gorge, a natural monument, and for its winter cherry blossoms. The hot springs are rich in salt, warming you to the core and leaving you feeling warm for a long time. The spring is also a bicarbonate spring, which leaves your skin smooth and conditioned.

The source temperature is cold mineral spring, and some accommodations have baths with cold spring water.

Yashiokan

Address: 127 Joboji, Fujioka City Telephone: 0274-52-2651

An inn located in a mountain village in Gunma Prefecture. The inn takes pride in its cuisine made with local ingredients and its rock baths made with Sanba stones.

Onishi Tourist Hotel

Address: 105 Joboji, Fujioka City Telephone: 0274-52-4143

Our hotel is a hot spring inn located on a hill. The large hot spring bath is open 24 hours a day. We also have rooms where you can stay with your pet. You can reach the scenic cherry blossom spot "Sakurayama Forest Park" in about 20 minutes.

Shinsuikan

Address: 6 Joboji, Fujioka City Telephone: 0274-52-2641

This inn was founded in 1931 on the banks of the Kanagawa River. The interior of the inn has a Taisho-era romantic atmosphere, and outside the windows you can see a Japanese garden that changes color with the seasons. The temperature of Yashio Onsen is low, so our large public bath has a bathtub that is at the same temperature as the spring water (cold bathtub) and a heated bathtub (hot bathtub). By alternating between the hot and cold bathtubs, the hot spring effects and fatigue recovery are enhanced.

Inota Hot Springs

The silky soft and smooth waters of Inota Onsen are said to be good for the skin, and since the beginning of the Meiji era, it has been highly acclaimed as an effective treatment for skin diseases, and was bustling as the oldest hot spring resort in the western Joshu region. The sulfur contained in the water improves blood circulation, leading to lustrous skin.

Hisaeya Ryokan

Address: 1254-1 Shimohino, Fujioka City Phone: 0274-28-0505

A small inn with only a hot spring source in the mountains. The name of the hot spring, "Silk Hot Springs," comes from the fact that the water is so smooth it feels like a garment. The specialty of the inn is a multi-course meal that mainly uses locally produced "Joushu beef" and "Joushu wheat pork." As a souvenir, they sell bottles of the hot spring "Silk Hot Springs."

Access to Fujioka City: About 50 minutes by car from Tokyo!

It takes about 50 minutes by car from Tokyo to Fujioka using the expressway.

If you are departing from Tokyo Station, take the Shinkansen to Takasaki Station, then transfer to the JR Hachiko Line to Gunma Fujioka Station. The journey takes about 1 hour and 50 minutes.

summary

In this article, we introduced recommended hot springs and sightseeing spots with spectacular flower views for those visiting Fujioka, as well as recommended sweets. There are many more things we could not introduce here, so please also check out the official website.