In the grand view of nature in this area , two mountains proudly stand out, Azuma-mountain and Adatara-mountain. Deep in these mountains close to the Arakawa-river lays this hotspring full of color. Tsuchiyu is famous as one of the many Kokeshi-doll production areas in the Touhoku area. The Kokeshi-doll production is believed to date it begining back about 300 years. In mid Aprill there is a celebration held called the "Tsuchiyu Kokeshi Festival" to pay tribute to the guardian gods Yakushirurikounyorai-buddha and Koretaka Houshinou. There are many places to visit in this area, close to Tsuchiyu is the Nidanuma-swamp in spring the flower of the skank cabbage color this swamp making it a visually dreamy place to visit. There are many other places such as Onuma-swamp, Menuma-swamp and Okutsuchiyukeikoku -valley to enjoy nature's beauty. There are also many historical ruins that are exclusivelly here such as hte Syoutokutashi-do and Yakushi Kokeshi-do. Enjoy nature and hotsprings here.

Yakushi Kokeshi-do This temple is decorated with Tsuchiya Kokeshi dolls, and worships the Yakushinyorai-Buddha and the founding father of Kokeshi-doll creation Koretaka Houshinou.�B

Menuma-swamp Here at Tsuchiyu there are two major swamps Menuma-swamp and Onuma-swamp, this is one of them. Both of them were caused by a tidal wave in the mountains. The northern sore is a sand beach and from the western coast you can enjoy the beautifull valley of the Shionokawa-river.

The skank cabbage of Nidanuma-swamp In mid Aprill the white flowers of these plants bring a message of spring's coming by blooming all at once. The Tsuchiyu Tourist Bureau holds a beauty pagent "Ms. Mizubasyou" named after these flowers.

For more information:
Tsuchiyu Tourism Bureau, Tsuchiyu Hotspring Hotel Union Fukushima-prefecture, Fukushima-shi, Tsuchiyu Onsen-chou, Aza Ue no Machi 11, zip 960-21 TEL 0245-95-2217