Utsunomiya
宇都宮市36°33′ N 139°53′ ECityPop. 511,739Tochigi and Nikko
Utsunomiya suits riders who come for the Japan Cup in October and anyone who wants a gyoza crawl 53 minutes from Tokyo by Shinkansen, and as a sprawling prefectural capital it asks you to ride out of town for the hills.
Photo Makochan12.9 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Who should base here
Stay by JR Utsunomiya for the Shinkansen and the cycle station, or near Odori if you are here for the criterium and the gyoza street.
Eat in Utsunomiya
Things to do in Utsunomiya
Utsunomiya calls itself the city of bicycles, and the Japan Cup is why. The 2026 road race is the 33rd, on a 10.3 km circuit through the Forest Park northwest of the centre, and since 2010 a Saturday criterium has closed Odori for 15 laps of 2.25 km. This year's race also marks the city's 130th year as a municipality.
The rest of the year the city runs a cycle station beside the west exit of JR Utsunomiya. You can rent a road or cross bike there for ¥1,030 a day and shower for ¥100. Pumps and tools cost nothing, and the station works with the city's pro team, Utsunomiya Blitzen.
Gyoza is the other reason people come. Utsunomiya's gyoza association says more than 300 shops in the city serve them, and the city's tourism bureau points first-timers to a 160 m stretch it calls Gyoza-dori, where Minmin's main shop stands. The association's Kirasse hall opposite Futarasan Shrine lets you try five shops at one table.
Quick answers about Utsunomiyaよくある質問
Is Utsunomiya a good place to stay?
Stay by JR Utsunomiya for the Shinkansen and the cycle station, or near Odori if you are here for the criterium and the gyoza street.
Within 12 km
Places to stay nearby宿
Within 12 km