Kitakata City

A nationally renowned "warehouse concentration area" with many kura-style buildings built during the Edo to Meiji periods still remaining.
Currently, there are cafes and galleries renovated from these warehouses, allowing you to enjoy a retro-modern atmosphere.
 

Just a little away from the urban area, the idyllic rural landscape of Aizu unfolds with mountains in the background.
The beautiful cherry blossom trees along the Nitchu Line and the attractions of the Atami Kanno Onsen change with the seasons.

A local gourmet counted among Japan's top three ramen dishes.
It features thick, chewy curly noodles and a light soy sauce-based broth.
There are over 120 shops in the city, and the culture of "Asa-Ramen" (morning ramen) that operates from early morning is also popular!

The sauce katsudon, beloved by the local Aizu people since ancient times, can now be considered a tradition.
As a taste of the common people of Aizu cherished since the Taisho era, it consists of shredded cabbage on rice, topped with tonkatsu soaked in sauce.
 

In the Edo period, the dyeing paper used for patterns on kimono was originally exclusively produced in Ise Shirako (Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture), but eventually, it began to be made in Edo, Kyoto, and Kitakata, and this technique came to be known as "Aizu-gata." Today, this technique remains in some souvenir items.

Using synthetic lacquer (which poses no risk of skin irritation), you can paint your preferred designs on various items such as wind chimes and hand mirrors. Next, using cotton, you carefully sprinkle seven colors of powder to complete the item.

The culture of "Tamari Senbei" flourished in Kitakata due to its blessed clear spring water from the foothills of Mount Iide and the thriving brewing industry in the "warehouse town" that maintains constant humidity and temperature.
With a focus on materials, charcoal, tools, and hand-baking, the traditional senbei from Yamanaka Senbei Honpo, which has been carefully baked one by one, continues to be loved by local people and many others across the country.

A long-established sake brewery founded in the mid-Edo period. When they established a new sake-making base in Kitakata City to mark their 200th anniversary, they named the warehouse they used "Kitakata Furudokan" and hold exhibitions introducing sake-making tools and processes.
In one corner of the warehouse, there is also a "Cafe Tenku Kairou" where you can enjoy sweet sake soda and sake cakes made with the famous sake "Yaemon".
 

Brewed with the clear spring water from the Iide mountain range, "Kitakata Meisui," it has a mild taste rich in natural blessings that changes its expression at various stages of sake-making. At the direct sales office located in the beautiful Japanese garden "Unrei-an," you can sample over 10 types of sake, and there are also Aizu souvenirs and original sake vessels available.
You are sure to find a sake that suits your taste.
 

With over 290 years of history, this sake brewery is not limited to traditional sake-making and is also working on new methods. They brew and sell sake made by fermenting mash (moromi) while playing classical music, known as Kurashikk.

This famous hot spring has a history of over a thousand years and is known as "Salt Water" for its mineral-rich waters. It is said to be effective for cold sensitivity and is less likely to cool down. It is a tranquil hot spring area surrounded by nature with many ryokans.

The main peak of the mountain range designated as Bandai-Asahi National Park, where you can enjoy climbing. The contrast of alpine plants and rich residual snow with greenery is beautiful.