Published date: April 14, 2025
Enjoying Utsunomiya✨ Parking Available!
Room Type Stayed
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Experience of the stay
This time, my husband and I visited Utsunomiya looking forward to eating dumplings and strawberries. We booked a twin room, and to my surprise, there were two semi-double beds of 140 cm each! I was delighted to have such a spacious place to relax comfortably. The room was also spacious enough to easily open two suitcases.
Amenities were the type you pick up at the front desk, but there were no lotion or cleansing products available. However, it was only a 4-minute walk to the station, and the complex 'Utsunomiya Terrace,' directly connected to Utsunomiya Station’s East Exit, also housed Matsumoto Kiyoshi, making it easy to buy what I needed.
The parking is in a multilevel structure, but if you are a guest, it's only 1000 yen per night. I thought it was great to find parking so close to the station for just 1000 yen.
The room wear was a separate style.
It was also equipped with an air purifier.
Checkout could be done smoothly via machine.
I forgot to take pictures, but the 'Utsunomiya Light Rail' was incredibly cool. Since the starting station is Utsunomiya East Exit, it might also delight children who love trains.
Experiences during the trip
It was a happy trip filled with lots of dumplings and strawberries.
It seemed that you could only go to Nikko on February 21st with studless tires, but you could navigate the city with regular tires.
There are many gyoza restaurants in Utsunomiya, so I was unsure where to go, and ended up visiting 'Kikarasse Main Store'. Many famous stores were featured, and it was a style where you order yourself and they bring the food to you. (PayPay couldn't be used, but many places accepted auPay.)
Since it was located in Don Quijote, I also bought some Utsunomiya souvenirs on the way back.
The parking lot was also nearby, and it was free for 2 hours with purchases over 2500 yen (including food and drinks).
This day was a weekday, so there was no waiting time, but it seems to get quite crowded on weekends. I thought it might be good to first grab a reservation ticket and then do some shopping or exploring.
Futarasan Shrine is right in front of Don Quijote.
The strawberry parfait from PigBerry was very delicious, filled with whole Tochiotome and Tochi Aika strawberries.
Utsunomiya City Hall has a free observatory on the 15th floor, with glass windows on all sides, providing a beautiful view of the city and the snow-covered Nikko mountain range. The parking is free for up to 2 hours, so it's recommended.
At the Mōtegi roadside station, there were plenty of fresh strawberries available. I recommend going early in the day. It's right in front of the Fairfield by Marriott Tochigi Mōtegi, which is also part of HafH.
Min Min
I went with a friend who lives in Utsunomiya. According to my friend, Min Min's water gyoza is a must-order every time. I recommend the fried gyoza (one serving) and boiled gyoza (one serving) plus rice.
Penny Lane Yashikoguchi
A bakery with its main store in Nasu, offering a wide variety of breads. I bought the most popular blueberry bread and Tochiotome strawberry bread as souvenirs for my family. Although there were many customers, freshly baked bread kept coming out one after another.
I went to this bakery during the one-hour wait at Min Min, which was within walking distance.
Utsunomiya was truly enjoyable.
I am happy to have added another city I definitely want to visit again.