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Maebashi
Prefecture Capital and Core city in Kantō, Japan

Maebashi

Maebashi is the capital city of Gunma Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan.

Plan a trip to Maebashi→From Tokyo

As of 31 August 2020, the city had an estimated population of 335,352 in 151,171 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 311.59 km2 (120.31 sq mi). It was the most populous city within Gunma Prefecture until Takasaki merged with nearby towns between 2006 and 2009. Maebashi is known to be the "City of Water, Greenery and Poets" because of its pure waters, its rich nature and because it gave birth to several Japanese contemporary poets, such as Sakutarō Hagiwara.

Get in

Getting to Maebashi

From Narita Airport (NRT IATA), Maebashi is served by Azalea Limousine Buses operated by Chiba Kotsu (3 1/2 hours to/from Maebashi Station, ¥4500). By train, the easiest (and most expensive) way to reach Maebashi is to take the Narita Express to Tokyo Station, the Joetsu Shinkansen to Takasaki, and the Ryomo Line to Maebashi (Approx. 2 1/2 hours, ¥7800, no charge with the Japan Rail Pass or JR East Pass).

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Gunma Prefecture Governmental Building

    A beautiful building with two restaurants on the second highest floor and a mechanized car park.

  2. 02
    Kozuke Kokubunji

    A park featuring the ruins of the head temple of the former Kozuke Province (modern Gunma Prefecture).

  3. 03
    Maebashi City Soja History Museum
  4. 04
    Kashikawa History and Folk Museum

    A museum featuring local archaeological findings.

  5. 05
    Rinkokaku

    A guesthouse dating back to 1905 with a nice garden.

  6. 06
    Akagi Shrine

    A shrine on Mount Akagi dedicated to the god of Lake Onuma, Akagi Daimyojin.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Green Dome Maebashi

    A beautifully-designed domed stadium situated in Maebashi Park.

  2. 02
    Akagi Nanmen Cherry Blossom Festival

    A very picturesque road lined with cherry blossoms.

Eat

Where to eat

Yakimanjyu has been popular since the Edo period, with the cradle being in Maebashi city. Yakimanjyu is a fried manjyu, which is a ball made of flour. It is served on a bamboo skewer with soybean paste and sugar sauce. In Gunma, people have a yakimanjyu festival each summer and New Years. The Seven Gods of Good Fortune rice cracker (七福神あられ, Shichifukujin-arare) is a famous rice cracker in Maebashi.

  1. 01
    El Viento
  2. 02
    Katsudon Nakaya

    A katsudon restaurant serving the local sauce katsudon along with other varieties.

  3. 03
    Torihei

    A local chain restaurant serving chicken dishes.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: MaedaAkihiko (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.