Experience the best of Aizuwakamatsu

Aizuwakamatsu was the seat of the Aizu domain, whose samurai stayed loyal to the shogun in the civil war of 1868. Tsuruga Castle, a white keep crowned with unusual red roof tiles, was reconstructed in the 1960s and stands within moats and stone walls in a park. The surrounding basin is ringed by mountains, and winters here bring deep snow.

On Mount Iimori, the graves of the Byakkotai, a corps of teenage boys who died in the war, are a place of remembrance, and close by stands Sazaedo, a wooden temple built in 1796 with a double spiral ramp inside. Further south, the thatched post town of Ouchi-juku keeps its old street, and to the east lie Lake Inawashiro and the volcano Mount Bandai.

Aizu is known for sake, brewed with clear snowmelt water, and for lacquerware, as well as folk toys such as the red papier-mâché cow called akabeko. Kitakata, a short drive away, is famous for its ramen in soy-flavoured broth. Autumn brings red maples across the hills, and the snowy winter has its own quiet appeal.