Sano

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Sano Shiroyama Park, Sano, Tochigi, Japan

Sano Exchange Plaza Palport 1, Sano, Tochigi, Japan

About Sano

Ask anyone in the northern Kanto plain what Sano is famous for and the answer is usually a bowl of noodles. Sano ramen, made from dough pressed with a long green bamboo pole and served in a clear soy broth, is the city's pride, served in well over a hundred shops. Yet this southwestern Tochigi city, enlarged in 2005 when it merged with Tanuma and Kuzuu, has far more to offer than lunch.

Pilgrims pour into Sano Yakuyoke Daishi, one of the best-known temples in the region for warding off misfortune, especially at New Year. North of the centre, the mossy stone walls of Karasawayama Castle crown a forested hill, with a shrine to the warrior Fujiwara no Hidesato on top. Sano is also the birthplace of Tanaka Shōzō, the politician who fought pollution from the Ashio copper mine, and his home can still be visited.

Around the city, Mikamoyama Park blooms with purple katakuri flowers in early spring, Kuzuu's limestone hills hide fossils and a fine art museum, and a large outlet mall sits beside the expressway.

Best seasonLate March to April for katakuri and cherry blossoms; November for autumn colour on Karasawayama.

Ideal stayOne full day, or a night if you add Kuzuu and Mikamoyama.

ArrivingSano Station is served by the JR Ryōmō Line and the Tobu Sano Line; by car, use the Tōhoku Expressway's Sano-Fujioka exit.

10 Ways to Experience Sano

Temples and Shrines 2

Sano Yakuyoke Daishi

Officially called Sōshū-ji, this Tendai temple is famous across the Kanto region as a place to pray for protection in unlucky year...

Karasawayama Shrine

This shrine honours Fujiwara no Hidesato, a 10th-century warrior of legend, and stands inside the main enclosure of the old Karasa...

Parks 1

Shiroyama Park Sano

Right beside Sano Station, this small wooded hill was once the site of Sano Castle, and traces of its earthworks and moats survive...

Nature 1

Mikamoyama Park

Spread over the slopes of Mount Mikamo, this large prefectural park is best known for its carpets of katakuri, the purple dogtooth...

Museums 2

Sano City Museum

The city's local history museum covers Sano from early times through the castle era and beyond, with a strong section on Tanaka Sh...

Kuzuu Fossil Museum

Kuzuu's limestone and dolomite hills have been quarried for generations, and the digging has turned up a remarkable record of anci...

History 1

Tanaka Shōzō Former Residence

Tanaka Shōzō, the Diet member who campaigned against poisoning of the Watarase River by the Ashio copper mine, was born in Sano, a...

Arts 1

Yoshizawa Memorial Art Museum

This city art museum in Kuzuu grew from the collection of a local family and holds Japanese paintings, ceramics and crafts. Its mo...

Shopping 1

Sano Premium Outlets

Next to the Sano-Fujioka interchange of the Tōhoku Expressway, this open-air outlet village gathers well over a hundred Japanese a...

Food and Drink 1

Sano Ramen

Sano's signature dish uses soft, wavy noodles traditionally made by pressing and stretching dough with a thick green bamboo pole,...

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Photo credits

Photo: るまのさ This photo was taken with Nexus 6, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Abasaa, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

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Photo: 京浜にけ, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Abasaa, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: るまのさ This photo was taken with Nexus 6, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: photo: Qurren (talk) Taken with Canon IXY 10S (Digital IXUS 210), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

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Photo: Abasaa, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: photo: Qurren (talk) Taken with Canon PowerShot G9 X, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Abasaa, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Ocdp, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Photo: Nearby Tokyo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0