Ashikaga Gakkō (足利学校), Shōhei-cho 2338 (drivers can park directly across Route 293 behind a large souvenir shop; walkers along main street--Tōri, 1-chome--can turn onto the flagstone--ishidatami--entranceway at the Confucius statue), tel. 0284-41-2655, fax 0284-41-2082. Open daily 9:00am to 4:30pm (4:00pm Oct-Mar). Closed 3rd M Oct-Mar, 3rd Tu Apr-Sep. Known as Japan's oldest university, Ashikaga School was established during the 1400s by deputy shogun Uesugi Norizane (although some credit Lord Ashikaga Yoshikane during the Kamakura period, and still others claim it dates from either the Nara or the Heian period). In any case, by the 1500s, St. Francis Xavier and other foreign missionaries recognized Ashikaga School as the most famous university in eastern Japan. The school was abolished after the Meiji Restoration and then converted into an elementary school when the site passed into city control in 1902. After a decade of preparatory work, the original grounds of Ashikaga School were beautifully restored in 1990 as a National Historic Site, a designation it received in 1921. The thatched-roof buildings and manicured grounds are well worth seeing. �400 per adult.
Bannaji Temple's Main Hall
Bannaji Temple (鑁阿寺), Ietomi-cho 2220 (walkers along main street--Tōri, 1-chome--can turn north onto the next flagstone street west of the Confucius statue), tel. 0284-41-2627, . Open daily 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. Founded by Ashikaga Yoshikane during the early Kamakura period (1192-1333), Bannaji Temple maintains the style of a samurai residence of that era. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1922. In addition to the main temple, the spacious grounds include a bell tower, library, and other buildings, as well as a fine assortment of trees, including cherry trees and a huge, old gingko tree. Admission is free.
Orihime Shrine
Orihime Shrine (織姫神社), Nishinomiya-cho 3889(about 20 mins on foot from the north gate of JR Ashikaga station), . Originally built in 1879 to enshrine the deities Yachichihime no mikoto(八千々姫命) and Amenomihoko no mikoto(天御鉾命), and to protect the textile industry of Ashikaga. But in 1880 reduced to ashes in a fire and the current shrine building was built in 1937. It stands in the midst of Orihime Park and is also the departure and arrival point for the hiking course in the Ashikaga Prefectural Natural Park.
Ashikaga Flower Park (あしかがフラワーパーク), Hazama-cho 607 (walkers can take the JR train one stop east to Tomita, then walk back west along Old Route 50 around a hill and S-curve to a small cluster of shops, then walk eastward down a small road in front of an apartment building, through a small underpass beneath the railway tracks, and into the Park's ample parking lot), tel. 0284-91-4939, . Open daily except at New Year's 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. A 20-acre park most famous for its four huge wisteria arbors, in bloom from mid Apr to mid May, the park contains such a wide variety of flowers and trees that it is worth seeing in any season: plum blossoms in Feb-Mar, hydrangeas in Jun-Jul, lotus flowers in May-Oct, purple sage in Oct-Nov, and roses in May-Jun and Sep-Nov. Lights adorn the trees in midwinter. At the park entrance is a large souvenir shop and a beer restaurant open 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. Admission �700 per adult Mar 1 to Apr 19, �1300 Apr 20 to May 21, �600 rest of year.
The Kurita Museum's climbing kiln
Kurita Museum (栗田美術館), Komaba-cho 1542 (walkers can take the JR train one stop east to Tomita, then walk back west along Old Route 50 and turn right across a railway overpass toward a cluster of black brick and white plaster buildings easily visible and well signposted on a hill), tel. 0284-91-1026, . Open daily except at New Year's 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (6:00 pm on Sundays and holidays). A beautifully landscaped 24-acre park whose carefully designed buildings house one of the finest and largest collections of Imari and Nabeshima porcelain in the world. Other exhibits include historical and archaeological information. There is also a small atelier and a climbing kiln near the base of the hill, and a working (but off-limits) potters' village behind the sprawling complex. The gift shop inside the gates offers ceramics of greater distinction and quality than the huge, A-frame gift shop across the large parking lot. Admission �1550 per adult.
Sōun Museum and Ashikaga Park (草雲美術館, 足利公園), Midori-cho 2-3768 (off the road leading to Midori-bashi at the western end of old Ashikaga), tel. 0284-21-3808. Open Tu-Su (closed M) 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The western side of old Ashikaga is bounded by the Ashikaga Park hillsides, containing large mound tombs from the pre-Buddhist Kofun Period (roughly AD 300-700). During April, the hills are covered with cherry blossoms and flower-viewing picnickers. On the south edge of the park is the small Sōun Museum , housing landscape and nature paintings by the Ashikaga clan's official artist, Tazaki Sōun (1815-1898) , who exhibited his depiction of Mount Fuji at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Museum admission is �210. Park admission is free.
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Ashikaga Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
