Tohoku Day Guides
How to Spend a Day in Aizu-Wakamatsu Samurai Town
Last updated 5/2/2026
Japan's last samurai town: red-roofed Tsuruga Castle, the Byakkotai 19-warrior graves on Iimoriyama, sazae-do hall and Wappa-meshi.
Verified by OlaChill
A full day, hour by hour
8:00 ā Train Tokyo ā Aizu-Wakamatsu
- Yamabiko shinkansen Tokyo ā Koriyama 90 min, Ā„9,000
- Then JR Banetsu West Line 70 min, Ā„1,170
10:30 ā Tsuruga Castle
- Ā„600 1-day bus pass from Aizu-Wakamatsu Station
- Iconic red-tiled "Tsuruga" ā bombed in 1965, faithfully rebuilt
- Ā„520 inside, 08:30ā17:00
- Samurai museum + armour
12:30 ā Wappa-meshi lunch
- Aizu specialty: rice steamed in a wappa with salmon or eel
- Mitsutaya wappa-meshi Ā„1,500
14:00 ā Iimoriyama (Byakkotai graves)
- 15-min bus from downtown
- 19 Byakkotai teenage samurai (16ā17 years old) committed suicide here after the 1868 Boshin War
- Moving history + a sweeping Aizu view
15:30 ā Sazae-do
- Across from Iimoriyama
- 1796 spiral-shaped temple ā 250 years old
- One spiral up, another down ā visitors never cross paths
- Ā„400
16:30 ā Suehiro Sake Brewery Museum
- 10-min walk from the station
- 170-year-old brewery
- Free tour + 5 tastings
18:00 ā Aizu Yokocho dinner
- Aizu's izakaya alley ā yakitori + Aizu beef
- Aizu Brewery beer Ā„600
20:00 ā Back to Tokyo
- JR + shinkansen, 4 hr total
Quick facts
- November koyo + early-May sakura (later than Tokyo) are peak seasons
- Winter snow on Tsuruga is gorgeous
- Total cost: Ā„21,000 shinkansen + Ā„600 bus + Ā„3,000 food + Ā„1,500 entries = Ā„26,100
Suggested combo
2D1N Aizu + day-trip to Ouchi-juku samurai post town (1-hr bus) ā pure unspoiled Edo.