{"id":3548,"date":"2020-05-26T15:19:32","date_gmt":"2020-05-26T06:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/?p=3548"},"modified":"2020-05-26T15:19:33","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T06:19:33","slug":"local-area-guide-kofu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/local-area-guides\/local-area-guide-kofu\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Area Guide: Kofu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Japan has many\ncities and places to see and experience. Our article looks at the capital city\nof Yamanashi, Kofu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many\nplaces in Japan that people should see and experience. It has sprawling\nmountains, beautiful forests, and massive cities to explore. You might have a\nhard time deciding on what places to visit. In this article, we will look at\nthe capital city of Yamanashi prefecture, Kofu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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History<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The castle town\nwas originally built in 1519 by Takeda Nobutora. The area was under the control\nof the Takeda clan until it was taken by the Tokugawa shogunate. It would\neventually be named a proper town in 1889. The area has experienced many trials\nand disasters, from flooding due to deforestation to the fall out of World War\n2 bombings. It has been classified as a special city of Japan by the government\nfor all its historical relevance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Places to See<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many\nplaces to visit in Kofu and some are near to the station. It is a city that has\na distinct mix of urban and country life. Here are a few places you should\nvisit if you find yourself in the Kofu area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kai Zenk\u014d-ji<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It was\nconstructed at the behest of Takeda Shingen in order to hold his treasures. The\ntemple is open to the public and has a main hall with a special basement.\nVisitors can go into the basement, which is pitch black, and search for the key\nto paradise. The key is somewhere on the wall and finding it is considered good\nluck and grants that person salvation. You will need to travel on the Minobu\nline to get to the nearest station, and it is a 10-15-minute walk from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K\u014dfu Castle<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This is the\ncastle that was built after the Takeda clan was defeated. It previously covered\na large piece of land, but today just main castle grounds remain. It is a\n5-minute walk from the station and is open to the public. You can enjoy the\npark and courtyard found within the castle walls. You can also go to the top of\nthe castle walls and get a beautiful view of the surrounding city and\nmountains. It is a perfect photo area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tsutsujigasaki Castle<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This was the old\nliving area of the last generations of the Takeda clan. The Takeda didn’t\nformally call it a castle as they viewed their people as the castle and not\nwalls or structures. It is open to the public and has the famous Takeda shrine\non its grounds. It is surrounded by moats and fortified buildings, but most of\nthe original structures have been destroyed or rebuilt so only a few original\nparts remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takeda Shrine<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It is in\nTsutsujigasaki Castle and is dedicated to the god of the Takeda clan. After the\nTakeda clan was destroyed the castle was left in disrepair for years until the\ngovernment gained control of the property. Over time the government and the\nlocals wanted to erect a shrine to commemorate the people who were loyal during\nthe previous era. The shrine holds art and other small architecture from the\nTakeda clan and its time of rule. There is also a large shrine guardian in the\nvisage of Hello Kitty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yamanashi Science Museum<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Yamanashi Science\nMuseum is on the peak of Mt. Atagoyama and allows visitors to see the entire\nKofu basin. It is surrounded by nature and offers a view of Mt. Fuji if the\nweather is clear. They have a planetarium, a hands-on exhibit room, an\nexperiments and crafts room, a playroom for smaller children, and an astronomy\nroom. They sell souvenirs at the store shop and have a restaurant for people to\nenjoy eating while taking in the beautiful surroundings. It is near the Chuo\nexpressway and can be easily found by taking a bus from the station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Festivals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every area has\nits festivals and celebrations and Kofu is no different. There are the typical\nnational holiday celebrations, but there are a few that you cannot find\nanywhere else in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shingen-ko Matsuri<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This is also\nknown as the samurai festival. It is the largest gathering of samurai in the\nworld and usually has over 1,500 people dress in the attire and march through\nthe streets. It is held in April and is watched by many on the local and\nnational networks. You will see each of the villages and towns represented by a\ngroup of samurai during the day-long procession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Craft Beer Festival<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This festival is\nheld near the stations in front of the local government building. It is held at\nthe end of July and sports local and foreign beer. You can enjoy live music,\nperformances, and food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Little-Edo Festival<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This festival\ncelebrates the date that Takeda Nobutora built the town around his mansion.\nThere are musical performances, dances, fireworks, and food held during the\ncelebration. The festival tries to recreate festivals from the past, so it is\nnormal to see people dress in yukata for the festivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are a few\nthings to see and do in and around Kofu. You can find other things in the area\nthat may cater to your interests more. It is a wonderful and beautiful area\nthat has a unique look and feel. You can be sure to find something that will\nmake you want to return one day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Japan has many cities and places to see and experience. Our article looks at the capital city of Yamanashi, Kofu. There are many places in Japan that people should see and experience. It has sprawling mountains, beautiful forests, and massive cities to explore. You might have a hard time deciding on what places to visit. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-area-guides"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}