Information as at 21 August 2026

This page is a relocation summary written by an advanced AI

It is not a personal opinion piece written by a human. An AI gathered official information published on the internet — municipal and national statistics, the Japan Meteorological Agency, railway companies, property portals — and rebuilt it into a form that someone considering a move can read and act on. Every figure carries a source link and the date it was checked, so please confirm anything that matters to you against the original document. Rules and prices change. Always check the latest information yourself before you sign anything.

Moving to Utsunomiya

Q: What kind of town is Utsunomiya City?

The prefectural capital of Tochigi and a core city, with 509,582 people in 244,595 households (August 2026). Tokyo Station is 53 minutes away by Shinkansen, the LRT "Light Line" that opened in 2023 runs through it, and it has several well-known faces: gyoza, Oya stone and the Japan Cup. 2026 is its 130th year as a city.

Q: Which part of Utsunomiya City should I live in?

The first thing to decide is whether you want to be near a station or an LRT stop, or to live by car. Dividing the 618 listings into six areas gives medians from ¥16,980,000 in Tomatsuri, Fujimigaoka and Kamikawachi to ¥29,000,000 along the LRT. 🔴 The most expensive part of the city right now is not the centre but the LRT corridor. If budget comes first, the northern housing districts are the way in; if commuting comes first, the LRT corridor is.

Q: How long does it take from Utsunomiya to Tokyo?

🔴 Tokyo Station is 53 minutes away on the Shinkansen Yamabiko, ¥4,600, with no transfer. Even on the conventional Utsunomiya Line (the Ueno-Tokyo Line) it is 1 hour 54 minutes, ¥2,090, with no transfer, and since the train starts here you can sit the whole way. The city covers one third of what you pay for a Shinkansen commuter pass (up to ¥10,000 a month, for up to 36 months).

Q: What is the cheapest house you can buy in Utsunomiya City?

SUUMO lists 618 houses (all of them), from ¥1,980,000 to ¥90,000,000 with a median of ¥22,990,000. 49 (8%) are under ¥10,000,000. The median plot is a generous 201 square metres (about 61 tsubo) and the median build year 1995. The city's vacant house and vacant land bank (u-akiya.jp) carries a further 103 listings.

Q: What are the disaster risks in Utsunomiya City?

Being inland and far from the sea, 🔴 tsunami and storm surge do not apply, and what you look at are four things: river flooding, inland flooding, landslides and irrigation ponds. The Kinugawa, the Tagawa and the Sugatagawa run through the city. For earthquakes, the chance of intensity lower 6 or above in 30 years is 12.7% (at the city hall site). Check by address on the city's web disaster hazard map and on J-SHIS.

Q: How hot is summer and how cold is winter in Utsunomiya?

🔴 This is a city with cool summer nights — 4.7 tropical nights a year, a quarter of Tokyo's (17.8). By day it is about as hot as Tokyo, with 5.9 days above 35°C. In winter there are 72.9 mornings a year below 0°C, while days that stay below 0°C number 0.0 and it climbs back above freezing by midday. Snow totals 18 centimetres a year with a deepest cover of 9 centimetres.

Q: Will the house I buy sell again later?

🔴 While the Tochigi Prefecture average is −0.2%, residential land in Utsunomiya City is up 1.2% (¥65,900/m²). That is 1.86 times the prefectural average (¥35,500/m²), and all four categories — residential, commercial, industrial and all uses — are positive. The city's grants are limited to the guidance zones of the location optimisation plan, so whether a place is inside or outside them bears on how easily you can sell.

Q: Is Utsunomiya City's population growing?

The population peaked at 520,407 in 2018 (Heisei 30) and stood at 509,582 in August 2026. Households, meanwhile, have kept rising from 222,990 to 244,595. People per household went from 2.33 to 2.08 — 🔴 "households got smaller" is more accurate than "people left". With 254,770 men and 254,812 women, the sexes are almost exactly even.

53 minutes to Tokyo Station by Shinkansen, with no transfer. This is the capital of Tochigi Prefecture, a core city of 509,582 people. 🔴 The "Light Line", which opened in 2023, is a tram the mayor calls "the first LRT in the country built entirely as a new line" — it links 19 stops from the east exit of Utsunomiya Station to Haga Town for ¥150 to ¥400. Gyoza, Oya stone, the Japan Cup — the city has several well-known faces, and 618 houses are on the market at a median of ¥22,990,000. "Close enough to commute to Tokyo, with a full set of urban functions" — that is this city's biggest feature.

Population

509,582 people

244,595 households • estimated 1 August 2026

Homes for sale

618 listings

from ¥1,980,000 / median ¥22,990,000

Tokyo Sta.,

53 min

Shinkansen Yamabiko • no transfer • ¥4,600

LRT (Light Line)

150–¥400

19 stops • opened 2023

Residential land price

¥65,900/m²

+1.2% year on year / the Tochigi Prefecture average is ¥35,500/m²

Summer nights (tropical nights)

4.7 a year

Tokyo has 17.8 • normal value

Water (45 m³ over two months)

¥13,084

water ¥6,814 plus sewerage ¥6,270 • 13 mm

City area

416.85km²

A core city • 130 years of city status in 2026

Summer (August daily high)

30.9℃

Utsunomiya • 0.4°C lower than Tokyo

Winter (January daily low)

-2.2℃

Utsunomiya • 3.4°C lower than Tokyo

🚗 Roadside stations ♨ Hot springs and day bathing18 🐕 Dog runs4 🚐 RV parks2

Roadside station: Utsunomiya Romantic Mura / Hot springs and day bathing: Super Sento Call Utsunomiya, Hotaru-no-Sato, Michi-no-Eki Romantic Mura, Michi-no-Eki Romantic Mura, Takarayu, Gokurakuyu Utsunomiya, Utsunomiya Tennen Onsen, Hotaru-no-Sato Bonten-no-Yu, The Grand Spa, Super Sento Call Utsunomiya-no-Yu, Utsunomiya, Call, Utsunomiya Tennen Onsen, Tadaomi Onsen, Sa / Dog runs: Dog Run (Michi-no-Eki Utsunomiya Romantic Mura), Romantic Mura Nigiwai Hiroba, small-dog dog run (Michi-no-Eki Romantic Mura) / RV parks: RV Park Utsunomiya IC Kumakuma, RV Park Oya
Sources: roadside stations from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism list of "Michi-no-Eki" (checked 2026-08-21); hot springs and day bathing from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) (checked 2026-08-21); dog runs from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) (checked 2026-08-21); RV parks from the Japan RV Association list of certified "Kuruma-tabi" RV parks (checked 2026-08-21). 🔴 Only the tags a place has are shown — a town without them is not inferior.

Last verified 2026-08-21

CHAPTER 01First, what kind of place Utsunomiya is

The prefectural capital of Tochigi. It is a core city of 509,582 people in 244,595 households (estimated population, 1 August 2026) across 416.85 square kilometres. The city hall stands 116 metres above sea level — an inland city on high ground at the northern edge of the Kanto Plain. It became a city on 1 April 1896 (Meiji 29), so 2026 is its 130th year. It took its present shape on 31 March 2007 (Heisei 19) when it absorbed the towns of Kamikawachi and Kawachi.

🔴 "The gyoza city" is only part of the storyThe city itself writes: "it goes beyond expressing the part of Utsunomiya that is called 'the gyoza city'" (the Utsunomiya Brand Strategy). In its city promotion the city names 13 "city of ◯◯" labels: cocktails, jazz, cycling, the Japan Cup road race, professional sport, hyakunin-isshu, Oya stone, an agricultural kingdom, challengers, climbing, dual-income child-rearing, education and beautiful scenery. This is not a city standing on a single famous product.

Gyoza is an everyday thing that shows up in the household surveyIn the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications household survey, annual spending per household was 1st in Japan for 15 years in a row up to 2010, and 1st again in 2013, 2017 and 2019. The city writes that "for Miyakko, eating gyoza several times a week is standard". The Utsunomiya Gyoza Association, founded in 1993 with 38 shops, now has 145. The way in is "Kirasse Honten" (Babadori), where you can compare gyoza from more than 30 shops on a rotating menu.

Oya stone — the city's own material, quarried from beneath its feetIt is tuff laid down by volcanic eruptions about 20,000,000 years ago (the city's explanation), and it is still quarried from tens of metres underground in the Oya district north-west of the centre. It is used for walls and storehouses, and cut thin for the inside and outside of buildings — a soft, warm stone, and the city even has a grant scheme that covers part of the cost of using Oya stone inside or outside a building. 🔴 "A journey into the secrets of an underground labyrinth: Utsunomiya, a city where Oya stone culture lives" is certified as a Japan Heritage (§17).

Sources: population and households fromUtsunomiya City open data, "Monthly population (estimated, resident register and registered foreign residents)"(as of 1 August 2026 = 509,582 people, 244,595 households, 254,770 men, 254,812 women) / the area, the grant of city status, the mayor and the elevation come fromthe same city's "Utsunomiya City's population, area and so on" / the changes to the municipal area come fromthe same city's "Changes to the municipal area"(the towns of Kamikawachi and Kawachi were absorbed on 31 March 2007 (Heisei 19), 416.84 → 416.85 km²) / its status as a core city comes fromthe same city's "Comparison of administrative standards among core cities" / the 13 "city of ◯◯" labels come fromthe same city's "What kind of city" list, counted by this site / gyoza comes fromthe same city's "The gyoza city"(1st in Japan for 15 years in a row; 145 shops in the gyoza association) / Oya stone comes fromthe same city's "The city of Oya stone" / "the first LRT in the country built entirely as a new line" comes fromthe same city's "From the mayor's office", "A message from the mayor on the opening of the Haga-Utsunomiya LRT" (the construction of the first LRT in the country built entirely as a new line, running about 14.6 kilometres) / checked 2026-08-21

What kind of town is Utsunomiya City?

The prefectural capital of Tochigi and a core city, with 509,582 people in 244,595 households (August 2026). Tokyo Station is 53 minutes away by Shinkansen, the LRT "Light Line" that opened in 2023 runs through it, and it has several well-known faces: gyoza, Oya stone and the Japan Cup. 2026 is its 130th year as a city.

CHAPTER 02Six areas, and life in each

The city is divided into 6 parts. The division follows the direction and distance from the city hall, and all 618 listings were classified one by one by map coordinates (0 could not be classified). Medians run from ¥16,980,000 in Tomatsuri, Fujimigaoka and Kamikawachi to ¥29,000,000 along the LRT. 🔴 The most expensive area is not the centre but the LRT corridor — the tram that opened in 2023 is now the leading force in this city's land prices.

Areas	Listings	median	Median elevation	What defines it
Suzumenomiya, Nishikawata and Inter Park (the southern flatland)	181 listings	¥22,900,000	93.7m	30% of the city's listings. The area around JR Suzumenomiya Station and the big shopping centres
Oya, Tsuruta and Takaragi (the north-western hills)	125 listings	¥23,990,000	136.2m	The lowest price, ¥1,980,000. The area that includes the home of Oya stone
Tomatsuri, Fujimigaoka and Kamikawachi (the northern housing districts and the hills)	115 listings	¥16,980,000	151.0m	17% are under ¥10,000,000. The most affordable of the six
Okamoto, Miyuki and Shirasawa (the north-east, along the Utsunomiya Line)	86 listings	¥22,990,000	128.9m	Centred on JR Okamoto Station. The area with the newest buildings
Along the LRT (Yoto, Hiraishi, Kiyohara, Yuinomori)	57 listings	¥29,000,000	114.4m	The most expensive of the six. The plots are large too (median 247 m²)
The centre (the west exit of Utsunomiya Station, Orion-dori)	54 listings	¥26,640,000	114.6m	Within walking distance of everything. Plots are smaller, a median of 166 m²

Suzumenomiya, Nishikawata and Inter Park (the southern flatland) — 30% of the listings gather here181 listings (¥4,800,000–72,500,000, median ¥22,900,000, 9 under ¥10,000,000 = 5%). Elevation 36.1–130.9 metres (median 93.7). The median plot is 187 square metres and the median building 117 square metres; the median build year is 1996, with 17% from 1981 or earlier. The nearest stations are Suzumenomiya 78, Nishikawada 41 and Esojima 29 — each station on the JR Utsunomiya Line and the Tobu Utsunomiya Line has its own market. This is car-based suburbia, taking in the big shopping area whose place name is literally "Inter Park".
Who it suits = someone who wants both a Shinkansen commute to Tokyo and easy weekend shopping
What to watch = it includes low ground at 36 metres. Check the flood projections in §5 by address

Oya, Tsuruta and Takaragi (the north-western hills) — the cheapest listing, ¥1,980,000, is here125 listings (¥1,980,000–67,800,000, median ¥23,990,000, 10 under ¥10,000,000 = 8%). Elevation 111.8–232.5 metres (median 136.2), the highest ground in the city. The median plot is 210 square metres. The nearest stations are Tobu-Utsunomiya 72 and Tsuruta 30. The Oya quarries (the Oya History Museum) sit alongside the housing districts of Takaragi and Komanyu.
Who it suits = someone who wants a wide range of plot sizes and budgets, or to live near the Oya landscape
What to watch = the further in you go, the more you need a car. Along the edge of the hills, check the landslide-warning zones in §5 by address

Tomatsuri, Fujimigaoka and Kamikawachi (the northern housing districts and the hills) — a median of ¥16,980,000115 listings (¥3,980,000–69,800,000, a median of ¥16,980,000, the lowest of the six, 19 under ¥10,000,000 = 17%). Elevation 109.2–199.4 metres (median 151.0). The median plot is 217 square metres, among the largest, and the median build year 1990. The nearest stations are Tobu-Utsunomiya 44, Utsunomiya 39 and Okamoto 21. The area runs from the school district of Tomatsuri to the hills of the former Kamikawachi Town.
Who it suits = someone who wants a large plot on a smaller budget, or a quiet residential street
What to watch = the further north you go, the further from a station. Try the real commuting time in the morning

Okamoto, Miyuki and Shirasawa (the north-east, along the Utsunomiya Line) — the newest buildings86 listings (¥2,680,000–90,000,000, median ¥22,990,000, 3 under ¥10,000,000 = 3%). Elevation 92.7–158.0 metres (median 128.9). 🔴 The median build year is 1997 and only 6 listings (7%) date from 1981 or earlier, making this the newest of the six. The nearest station is Okamoto with 53 — a residential area built around Okamoto Station on the JR Utsunomiya Line.
Who it suits = someone looking for a newer house within reach of the Utsunomiya Line
What to watch = it includes places close to the Kinugawa River. Always check the flood hazard map in §5 by address

Along the LRT (Yoto, Hiraishi, Kiyohara, Yuinomori) — the most expensive of the six at ¥29,000,00057 listings (¥4,380,000–61,800,000, median ¥29,000,000, 2 under ¥10,000,000 = 4%). Elevation 101.5–132.9 metres. 🔴 The median plot is 247 square metres (about 75 tsubo), the largest of the six, and the median build year 2002. The nearest stops are Kiyohara District Civic Center 11, Hiraishi-chuo Elementary School 7 and Utsunomiya University Yoto Campus 6 — 🔴 listings whose nearest stop is an "LRT stop" are what is new about Utsunomiya today. The Kiyohara industrial park and the new housing of Yuinomori are at its heart.
Who it suits = someone who wants to commute by LRT, or is looking for a large plot in a newly laid-out district
What to watch = this is the priciest of the six. Fix your budget before you go and look

The centre (the west exit of Utsunomiya Station, Orion-dori) — everything within walking distance54 listings (¥4,000,000–74,800,000, median ¥26,640,000, 6 under ¥10,000,000 = 11%). Elevation 103.5–130.2 metres. The median plot is 166 square metres, the smallest of the six, and in return the station and the shopping street are close. The median build year is 1994. The nearest stations are Utsunomiya 20, Minami-Utsunomiya 16 and Tobu-Utsunomiya 14. Around Futaarayama Shrine and Orion-dori there are places within walking distance of both JR Utsunomiya Station and Tobu-Utsunomiya Station.
Who it suits = someone living without a car, or with just one
What to watch = with smaller plots, check how many cars you can park. Along the Tagawa River, check the inland flooding in §5 by address too

Prices, counts, elevations and years of construction are fromSUUMOlisted618 listings (all) each listing's map coordinates into six areas and tallied by this site (all 618 listings classified, 0 unclassified) / the elevations were taken from the map coordinates on each listing page and looked up through the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan's elevation API (for the 2 listings whose coordinates could not be obtained, the representative point of the district was used) / the area names follow the city's district civic centre names, the railway station names and the LRT stop names / retrieved 21 August 2026 / checked 2026-08-21

Which part of Utsunomiya City should I live in?

The first thing to decide is whether you want to be near a station or an LRT stop, or to live by car. Dividing the 618 listings into six areas gives medians from ¥16,980,000 in Tomatsuri, Fujimigaoka and Kamikawachi to ¥29,000,000 along the LRT. 🔴 The most expensive part of the city right now is not the centre but the LRT corridor. If budget comes first, the northern housing districts are the way in; if commuting comes first, the LRT corridor is.

CHAPTER 03Trains and cars — how you get around

🔴 Getting around Utsunomiya comes down to one line — Tokyo Station in 53 minutes by Shinkansen, 0 transfers, ¥4,600. Even on the conventional Utsunomiya Line (the Ueno-Tokyo Line) it is 1 hour 54 minutes, ¥2,090, 0 transfers — and the train starts here, so you can sit the whole way. Within the city, the LRT "Light Line" that opened in 2023, the Tobu Utsunomiya Line and Kanto Bus are the backbone.

Journey times from Utsunomiya Station (searched for a departure at 8:00 on Monday 24 August 2026)

Destination	Fastest	The cheapest / notes
Tokyo	53 min • ¥4,600 Shinkansen Yamabiko • 0 transfers	1 hour 54 minutes, ¥2,090 (Utsunomiya Line / Ueno-Tokyo Line, starting at this station with 0 transfers). A commuter pass is ¥107,050 a month by Shinkansen, ¥56,560 on the conventional line
Shinjuku	1 hour 18 min • ¥3,960 Shinkansen plus 1 transfer	On the Shonan-Shinjuku Line you can go straight through to Shinjuku with no transfer (some services start at this station)
Sendai	1 hour 9 min • ¥8,150 Shinkansen • 0 transfers	A single Shinkansen ride north as well. The main city of Tohoku is within a day trip
Haneda Airport	1 hour 37 min • ¥5,119 Shinkansen plus 2 transfers	On conventional lines alone it is 2 hours 31 minutes and ¥2,609
Nikko	42 min • ¥803 JR Nikko Line • 0 transfers	Nikko Toshogu, a World Heritage site, is close enough for a casual train trip on a day off

Light Line (the Haga-Utsunomiya LRT)

From the east exit of Utsunomiya Station	Adult fare	Commuter pass, 1 month
Higashi-Shukugo, Ekihigashi Park, Mine, Yoto 3-chome, Utsunomiya University Yoto Campus	¥150	¥5,670
Hiraishi, Hiraishi-chuo Elementary School	¥200	¥7,560
Tobiyama Castle Site	¥250	¥9,450
Seiryo High School, Kiyohara District Civic Center, Green Stadium	¥300	¥11,340
Yuinomori-west, -central and -east / Hagadai / Haga Industrial Park Management Center	¥350	¥13,230
Kashinomori Park, Haga Takanezawa Industrial Park (the terminus)	¥400	¥15,120

🔴 The city helps with a Shinkansen commuteThe Tokyo-area commuting and school-travel grant covers one third of what you pay for a Shinkansen commuter pass (up to ¥10,000 a month) for up to 36 months. The same scheme exists for travel to school. The conditions include (1) having moved to the city within the last 3 years, (2) having lived in the Tokyo area for at least a year immediately before moving, (3) living in an eligible area and (4) the household belonging to its neighbourhood association (§8, §11). This is a city that backs "commuting by Shinkansen" with a scheme of its own.

The Light Line runs every 6 minutes on weekday morningsFrom the east exit of Utsunomiya Station towards Haga on a weekday there are 11 departures in the 7 o'clock hour (about every 6 minutes), and through the day it runs every 12 minutes. The last service is at 23:46. The timetable was revised on 1 April 2026. The stops are fitted with park and ride (car parks), bus and ride, and cycle and ride (bicycle parking), built on the assumption of "car in the suburbs, LRT in the built-up area".

Everyday life still turns on the carThe city covers 416 square kilometres. The LRT is one east-west line, and the Tobu Utsunomiya Line and JR run north-south — anywhere off that cross assumes a car. In terms of §2, outside the centre and the LRT corridor it is safest to assume two cars per household. The expressways are the Tohoku Expressway (Utsunomiya IC, Kanuma IC) and the Kita-Kanto Expressway (Utsunomiya-Kaminokawa IC). The detailed distances to airports and expressway interchanges are filled in automatically in the box below this chapter.

Sources: journey times, fares and commuter passes were searched by this site onYahoo! Transit as searched by this site for a departure at 8:00 on Monday 24 August 2026 (Tokyo = Yamabiko No. 206, 8:11→9:04, 53 minutes, basic fare ¥2,090 plus a non-reserved limited express ticket at ¥2,510 / Utsunomiya Line, Ueno-Tokyo Line, 8:05→9:59, 1 hour 54 minutes, ¥2,090, starting at this station / Shinjuku 1 hour 18 minutes ¥3,960 / Sendai 1 hour 9 minutes ¥8,150 / Haneda Airport 1 hour 37 minutes ¥5,119 / Nikko 42 minutes ¥803) / the LRT fares, passes and timetable come fromUtsunomiya Light Rail, the "Utsunomiya Station East" stop page(timetable revised 1 April 2026, ordinary fares ¥150–400) / the Shinkansen commuting grant comes fromUtsunomiya City, "We help with the cost of a commuter pass for those commuting to work or school in the Tokyo area by Shinkansen!"(one third of what you pay, up to ¥10,000 a month, for up to 36 months) / checked 2026-08-21

✈ Airports

The closest is Hyakuri Airfield (a shared-use airport), about 66.6 km as the crow flies. Next is Fukushima Airport (about 85.5 km as the crow flies). 🔴 These are straight-line distances. They are neither road distances nor journey times — please check each operator's timetable for how to actually get there.

🛣 Expressway junctions

This area has 3 entrances and junctions.
Tohoku Expressway, Hirosaki Route = Kamikawachi SIC, Utsunomiya
Kita-Kanto Expressway = Utsunomiya-Kaminokawa

Sources: airports fromNational Land Numerical Information, "Airports", FY2021 edition (category names followthe MLIT list of airports ) / expressway junctions fromthe same, "Expressways time series", 2025 edition, current data only (what is open today). Both were overlaid onthe same, "Administrative boundaries", 2026and judged by machine to fall inside this area / verified 2026-08-21

How long does it take from Utsunomiya to Tokyo?

🔴 Tokyo Station is 53 minutes away on the Shinkansen Yamabiko, ¥4,600, with no transfer. Even on the conventional Utsunomiya Line (the Ueno-Tokyo Line) it is 1 hour 54 minutes, ¥2,090, with no transfer, and since the train starts here you can sit the whole way. The city covers one third of what you pay for a Shinkansen commuter pass (up to ¥10,000 a month, for up to 36 months).

CHAPTER 04Homes actually on the market right now

SUUMO lists 618 houses, and all 618 are included here. From ¥1,980,000 to ¥90,000,000, with a median of ¥22,990,000. 49 (8%) are under ¥10,000,000. The median plot is 201 square metres (about 61 tsubo) and the median building 112 square metres. 🔴 The median build year is 1995, and 90 listings (15%) date from 1981 or earlier (the old earthquake code) — measured the same way, Oita City is 20% and Kagoshima City 29%, so this is a market with relatively new houses.

Sort

"Nearest the station first" converts everything to minutes — a walk of ◯ min, ◯ min by bus plus ◯ min from the stop, ◯ km by car (reckoned at 30 km/h) — and compares those. Listings with no such information always appear last, whatever the sort.

Kitaichinosawa-machi 35－1 property photo

Kitaichinosawa-machi 35－1¥1,980,000Oya, Tsuruta and Takaragi (the north-western hills)Elev. approx. 130 m / Land 221 m² (67 tsubo) / Building 111 m² (34 tsubo) / built 1954 / Tobu-Utsunomiya Station 32 min walk10 photos →

Nakaokamoto-cho 2675－3¥2,680,000Okamoto, Miyuki and Shirasawa (the north-east, along the Utsunomiya Line)Elev. approx. 140 m / Land 150 m² (45 tsubo) / Building 51 m² (15 tsubo) / built 1974 / Okamoto Station 19 min walk10 photos →

Fujimigaoka 4¥3,980,000Tomatsuri, Fujimigaoka and Kamikawachi (the northern housing districts and the hills)Elev. approx. 150 m / Land 166 m² (50 tsubo) / Building 79 m² (24 tsubo) / built 1968 / Utsunomiya Station to 4.2km7 photos →

Kawara-machi¥4,000,000The centre (the west exit of Utsunomiya Station, Orion-dori)Elev. approx. 110 m / Land 80 m² (24 tsubo) / Building 58 m² (18 tsubo) / built 1970 / Tobu-Utsunomiya Station 16 min walk5 photos →

Dojojuku-machi 1208－10¥4,380,000Along the LRT (Yoto, Hiraishi, Kiyohara, Yuinomori)Elev. approx. 110 m / Land 213 m² (64 tsubo) / Building 66 m² (20 tsubo) / built 1972 / Green Stadium bus stop 22 min walk9 photos →

Oya-machi¥4,500,000Oya, Tsuruta and Takaragi (the north-western hills)Elev. approx. 160 m / Land 225 m² (68 tsubo) / Building 141 m² (43 tsubo) / built 1989 / Tobu-Utsunomiya Station to 6.8km9 photos →

Kikusui-cho 135番地¥4,500,000The centre (the west exit of Utsunomiya Station, Orion-dori)Elev. approx. 120 m / Land 433 m² (131 tsubo) / Building 189 m² (57 tsubo) / built 1964 / Minami-Utsunomiya Station 5 min walk10 photos →

Yamamoto 2-17-10¥4,500,000Tomatsuri, Fujimigaoka and Kamikawachi (the northern housing districts and the hills)Elev. approx. 140 m / Land 122 m² (37 tsubo) / Building 68 m² (21 tsubo) / built 1979 / Tobu-Utsunomiya Station 41 min walk10 photos →

Nishikawataminami 2-24－4¥4,800,000Suzumenomiya, Nishikawata and Inter Park (the southern flatland)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 126 m² (38 tsubo) / Building 70 m² (21 tsubo) / built 1976 / Nishikawada Station 16 min walk10 photos →

Fujimigaoka 3¥4,800,000Tomatsuri, Fujimigaoka and Kamikawachi (the northern housing districts and the hills)Elev. approx. 150 m / Land 207 m² (63 tsubo) / Building 53 m² (16 tsubo) / built 1971 / Tobu-Utsunomiya Station bus 11 min+3 min walk10 photos →

Itado-machi 1161¥4,800,000Okamoto, Miyuki and Shirasawa (the north-east, along the Utsunomiya Line)Elev. approx. 120 m / Land 564 m² (171 tsubo) / Building 151 m² (46 tsubo) / built 1977 / Yuinomori-west bus stop 45 min walk10 photos →

Iwazo-machi 1434－3¥4,980,000Okamoto, Miyuki and Shirasawa (the north-east, along the Utsunomiya Line)Elev. approx. 130 m / Land 98 m² (30 tsubo) / Building 45 m² (14 tsubo) / built 1999 / Okamoto Station 38 min walk9 photos →

Higashihara-machi 16-2¥5,800,000Suzumenomiya, Nishikawata and Inter Park (the southern flatland)Elev. approx. 110 m / Land 114 m² (34 tsubo) / Building 87 m² (26 tsubo) / built 1972 / Esojima Station 12 min walk9 photos →

Hosoya-cho¥6,200,000Oya, Tsuruta and Takaragi (the north-western hills)Elev. approx. 140 m / Land 139 m² (42 tsubo) / Building 62 m² (19 tsubo) / built 1981 / Tobu-Utsunomiya Station to 4.8km10 photos →

Nozawa-machi¥6,300,000Oya, Tsuruta and Takaragi (the north-western hills)Elev. approx. 160 m / Land 143 m² (43 tsubo) / Building 82 m² (25 tsubo) / built 1978 / 弁天橋 bus stop 6 min walk10 photos →

Fujimigaoka 4¥6,500,000Tomatsuri, Fujimigaoka and Kamikawachi (the northern housing districts and the hills)Elev. approx. 160 m / Land 150 m² (45 tsubo) / Building 70 m² (21 tsubo) / built 1979 / Tobu-Utsunomiya Station 55 min walk2 photos →

Ryubuku-cho¥6,800,000Tomatsuri, Fujimigaoka and Kamikawachi (the northern housing districts and the hills)Elev. approx. 180 m / Land 216 m² (65 tsubo) / Building 108 m² (33 tsubo) / built 1987 / Okamoto Station 90 min walk10 photos →

Minamitakasago-cho¥6,800,000Suzumenomiya, Nishikawata and Inter Park (the southern flatland)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 126 m² (38 tsubo) / Building 120 m² (36 tsubo) / built 1977 / Suzumenomiya Station 20 min walk10 photos →

Takinohara 3¥6,800,000The centre (the west exit of Utsunomiya Station, Orion-dori)Elev. approx. 110 m / Land 110 m² (33 tsubo) / Building 63 m² (19 tsubo) / built 1975 / Tsuruta Station 14 min walk9 photos →

The photographs are the images carried on SUUMO. They disappear once a listing ends. Check the real condition of a property on site.

See all 618 listings on SUUMO →

🔴 Big plots. That is the character of Utsunomiya's second-hand marketThe median plot is 201 square metres (about 61 tsubo) — wider than Kagoshima City's 183 square metres measured the same way, though short of Oita City's 226. Inland on the Kanto Plain, with no hills cutting into it, the plots are mostly regular in shape and the blocks generously laid out: that is the character of this market. A median of ¥22,990,000 is a level worth searching at for somewhere 53 minutes from Tokyo by Shinkansen.

The buildings are newer. Only 15% predate the current earthquake codeThe median build year is 1995, and 90 listings (15%) date from 1981 or earlier. In terms of §2, Okamoto, Miyuki and Shirasawa (7%) and Oya, Tsuruta and Takaragi (14%) are the newer areas, while the LRT corridor (19%) mixes old and new. Having many listings where you need not budget for seismic retrofitting matters when you plan your money.

The vacant-house bank has 103 listings — the city runs it itself"The Utsunomiya Vacant House and Vacant Land Bank" (u-akiya.jp) is a site run jointly by the city's Living Safety Division and the public-private"Utsunomiya Vacant House Council".103 listings as of 21 August 2026 (23 houses and 80 plots of land, ¥600,000–61,300,000). Each listing even stateswhether it is in an area eligible for the city's home purchase grant (§8). They are included in the list below. The Utsunomiya Vacant House and Vacant Land Bank →

Sources: taken from SUUMO, "Second-hand detached houses in Utsunomiya City" (see the list here / of the 618 listed,618 listingsall retrieved on 21 August 2026) / elevations are the map coordinates on each listing page put throughGeospatial Information Authority of Japan elevation API / the akiya bank from the Utsunomiya Vacant House and Vacant Land Bank, all 103 listings retrieved (2026-08-21) / the figures for Oita City (median plot 226 m², 20% pre-1981) and Kagoshima City (median plot 183 m², 29% pre-1981) are tallied from the same complete SUUMO data by the same method as the other pages on this site / checked 2026-08-21

Akiya bank — 23 listings

All 23 houses for sale registered on the municipal vacant-house bank (as confirmed on 21 August 2026). They are listed cheapest first. There are a further 80 registrations of land only. 23 of them do not publish a floor area, so the floor-plan button does not appear for those.

Utsunomiya City Shimokoike-machi exterior

11-049Utsunomiya City Shimokoike-machi¥3,000,000

Land 494 m² (149 tsubo) / Year built 58 years old / 3DK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

11-046Utsunomiya City Kamitawara-cho¥3,000,000

Land 207 m² (63 tsubo) / Year built 51 years old / 3K
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

11-045Utsunomiya City Kamitawara-cho¥3,000,000

Land 207 m² (63 tsubo) / Year built 51 years old / 3DK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

11-043Utsunomiya City Shofudai¥5,500,000

Land 181 m² (55 tsubo) / 17 years old / other
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

Utsunomiya City Higashihara-machi exterior

K11-030Utsunomiya City Higashihara-machi¥5,980,000

Land 114 m² (34 tsubo) / Year built 54 years old / 4DK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

11-030Utsunomiya City Nozawa-machi¥6,300,000

Land 143 m² (43 tsubo) / Year built 46 years old / 3LDK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

11-022Utsunomiya City Oya-machi¥8,800,000

Land 217 m² (66 tsubo) / Year built 55 years old / 4DK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

11-042Utsunomiya City Miyanouchi¥9,500,000

Land 167 m² (51 tsubo) / Year built 36 years old / 4LDK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

11-051Utsunomiya City Suzumenomiya¥9,900,000

Land 152 m² (46 tsubo) / 53 years old / 5K or larger
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

11-050Utsunomiya City Himuro-machi¥9,900,000

Land 157 m² (48 tsubo) / Year built 41 years old / 4DK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

Utsunomiya City Fujimigaoka 1-chome exterior

11-048Utsunomiya City Fujimigaoka 1-chome¥10,000,000

Land 269 m² (81 tsubo) / 51 years old / 5K or larger
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

K11-022Utsunomiya City Kawada-machi¥11,000,000

Land 172 m² (52 tsubo) / Year built 37 years old / 4LDK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

Utsunomiya City Higashihanawada 1-chome exterior

K12-013Utsunomiya City Higashihanawada 1-chome¥12,000,000

Land 82 m² (25 tsubo) / Year built 49 years old / 4DK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

K11-029Utsunomiya City Tsuruta-machi¥14,300,000

Land 234 m² (71 tsubo) / Year built 32 years old / 3LDK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

Utsunomiya City Kamitomatsuri-cho exterior

K11-023Utsunomiya City Kamitomatsuri-cho¥21,800,000

Land 172 m² (52 tsubo) / Year built 20 years old / 4LDK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

K11-009Utsunomiya City Suehiro¥22,900,000

Land 145 m² (44 tsubo) / Year built 15 years old / 4LDK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

K11-017Utsunomiya City Matsubara¥24,800,000

Land 177 m² (54 tsubo) / Year built 21 years old / 3LDK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

K11-025Utsunomiya City Miyahara¥24,900,000

Land 370 m² (112 tsubo) / 31 years old / 5K or larger
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

Utsunomiya City Takaragihon-cho exterior

K11-020Utsunomiya City Takaragihon-cho¥24,910,000

Land 219 m² (66 tsubo) / Year built 8 years old / 4LDK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

K11-019Utsunomiya City Kamitomatsuri-cho¥26,800,000

Land 150 m² (45 tsubo) / Year built 4 years old / 4LDK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

K11-027Utsunomiya City Izumigaoka¥27,800,000

Land 93 m² (28 tsubo) / Year built 2 years old / 2LDK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

K11-015Utsunomiya City Miyukihon-cho¥33,800,000

Land 148 m² (45 tsubo) / 3LDK
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

K11-013Utsunomiya City Nakaimaizumi¥61,300,000

Land 257 m² (78 tsubo) / 20 years old / 5K or larger
The building size is not published (stated in the documents on the listing page)Akiya bank of View listing →

What is the cheapest house you can buy in Utsunomiya City?

SUUMO lists 618 houses (all of them), from ¥1,980,000 to ¥90,000,000 with a median of ¥22,990,000. 49 (8%) are under ¥10,000,000. The median plot is a generous 201 square metres (about 61 tsubo) and the median build year 1995. The city's vacant house and vacant land bank (u-akiya.jp) carries a further 103 listings.

CHAPTER 05Is the ground safe?

Utsunomiya is inland and far from the sea, so 🔴 tsunami and storm surge are outside the scope of the city's hazard map. What you look at are four things: river flooding, inland flooding (rainwater overflowing), landslides and irrigation ponds. The city gathers these into a single "Utsunomiya City Disaster Hazard Map" and makes it searchable by address in a web version (the Machikado Information Map). The earthquake figures are in the box below.

Is this town inside a national earthquake-preparedness zone?

For each major earthquake, national law designates the areas where preparation is to be advanced. Whether a town is designated tells you directly how the national government views the shaking and tsunami expected there.

Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area	Not applicable (Tochigi Prefecture as a whole is outside this scheme)
Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area	Not designated
Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area	Designated
Shaking of intensity 6-lower or above within 30 years	12.7% (1.0% for upper 6 or above) At the city hall site. The surface ground is AVS30 295 m/s, a loam terrace

This probability is for the single 250-metre grid square the city hall stands in. The Utsunomiya City town hall stands onloam plateau (AVS30 295 m/s), and the 12.7% above is the value at that point. Even within Utsunomiya City it changes a great deal between the low ground along the rivers and the terraces. When a listing interests you, look it up by its street address.Enter an address on the J-SHIS map and it shows the probability and the ground for that 250-metre mesh.

Look up an address on J-SHIS → Designations from the Cabinet Office list of designated municipalities (Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area／Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area／Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area ) / probability and surface ground from theNational Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, J-SHIS earthquake hazard information API (2024 edition, average case, all earthquakes), queried at the city hall coordinates / verified 2026-08-21

Three rivers — the Kinugawa, the Tagawa and the SugatagawaThe Kinugawa, the Tagawa and the Sugatagawa run through the city, and their basins are also its rice country (§13). Put the other way round, 🔴 those three rivers are what the flood hazard map is about. In terms of §2, Okamoto, Miyuki and Shirasawa include places near the Kinugawa, the centre near the Tagawa, and Suzumenomiya and Nishikawata near the Sugatagawa. When a listing catches your eye, put its address into the web hazard map — that is the first thing to do in this city.

🔴 The inland-flooding hazard map was put on a statutory footing in March 2026From 30 March 2026 the city revised its inland-flooding hazard map into one based on the Flood Control Act, and on 1 April 2026 it updated the web version too (adding rainwater flooding projection areas, updating the landslide-warning zone information and adding irrigation-pond risk). Places away from the rivers that still flood in heavy rain only show up on this inland-flooding map. Read it together with the river-flooding map.

There are landslide zones along the edge of the terraceIn the north-west of the city (Oya, Shiroyama, Shinoi) and in the hills of Kamikawachi there are landslide-warning zones designated by Tochigi Prefecture. The prefecture's zone map moved to "Tochigi Marutto Map (Tochimaru Map)" on 31 March 2026, and the old site has been retired. Check the latest designations on the Tochimaru Map. In terms of §2, parts of Oya, Tsuruta and Takaragi and of Tomatsuri, Fujimigaoka and Kamikawachi fall within them.

Source:Utsunomiya City, "Utsunomiya City Disaster Hazard Map (river flooding, inland flooding, landslides, irrigation ponds)"(updated 15 June 2026 / the web version was updated on 1 April 2026 = rainwater flooding projection areas added, landslide-warning zone information updated, risk information added to the irrigation-pond hazard map / from 30 March 2026 the inland-flooding map was revised into one based on the Flood Control Act / the prefecture's Tochigi landslide-warning zone map was retired on 31 March 2026 and transferred to "Tochigi Marutto Map") / the three rivers come fromUtsunomiya Agricultural Brand Promotion Council, "Utsunomiya's brand farm products"(rice grown in the basins of the three rivers, the Kinugawa, the Tagawa and the Sugatagawa) / the earthquake probability and the national designations are sourced inside the box above (NIED J-SHIS, the Cabinet Office) / checked 2026-08-21

What are the disaster risks in Utsunomiya City?

Being inland and far from the sea, 🔴 tsunami and storm surge do not apply, and what you look at are four things: river flooding, inland flooding, landslides and irrigation ponds. The Kinugawa, the Tagawa and the Sugatagawa run through the city. For earthquakes, the chance of intensity lower 6 or above in 30 years is 12.7% (at the city hall site). Check by address on the city's web disaster hazard map and on J-SHIS.

CHAPTER 06What summer and winter are like

🔴 The defining feature of Utsunomiya's climate is that summer nights are cool. There are 4.7 tropical nights a year — a quarter of Tokyo's (17.8). By day it is about as hot as Tokyo, with 5.9 days above 35°C and 49.6 days above 30°C, and yet the temperature drops once night falls — that is the effect of being inland and high (the city hall stands 116 metres above sea level). In winter there are 72.9 cold mornings a year, while days that stay below 0°C number 0.0: it always climbs back above freezing by midday.

🔴 Summer: hot by day, but you can sleep at nightThe average daily high in August is 30.9°C (Tokyo 31.3°C) and there are 5.9 days above 35°C (Tokyo 4.8) — daytime heat is the same as Tokyo's or a shade higher. But the average daily low in August is 22.5°C (Tokyo 23.5°C), and tropical nights number 4.7 against Tokyo's 17.8. 🔴 There are far more nights than in Tokyo when you can turn the air conditioning off — which is a question of sleep as much as of the electricity bill. The city itself writes, in its explanation of gyoza, of "an inland climate, hot in summer and cold in winter".

Winter: cold mornings, but back above freezing by dayThe average daily low in January is −2.2°C, and there are 72.9 mornings a year below 0°C, 4.8 times Tokyo's (15.2). You will need to protect the pipes from freezing, and winter tyres. On the other hand there are 0.0 days that stay below 0°C, and January's average daily high is 8.6°C — it is always above freezing by day. Snow totals 18 centimetres a year with a deepest cover of 9 centimetres (Tokyo 8 and 6). This is not a place where clearing snow becomes the centre of life.

Rain: 1,524.7 mm a year, a little less than TokyoAnnual rainfall is 1,524.7 mm (Tokyo 1,598.2). The wettest months are July (215.4 mm) and September (217.2 mm), while January, February and December are each under 40 mm — dry, clear winters are the inland Kanto pattern. In return it is known for thunderstorms in summer. A sudden evening storm affects your laundry and your plans to cycle.

Sources: the temperatures, rainfall, snow and the counts of days in each class all fromJapan Meteorological Agency, "Normals for Utsunomiya (1991–2020)"(August average daily high 30.9°C, average daily low 22.5°C / January average daily high 8.6°C, average daily low −2.2°C / annual rainfall 1,524.7 mm / days by class = 4.7 tropical nights, 49.6 days above 30°C, 5.9 days above 35°C, 72.9 days with a low below 0°C, 0.0 days that stay below 0°C / snow = 18 cm of snowfall in total, deepest snow cover 9 cm) / the Tokyo figures come fromJMA, "Tokyo long-term averages"(17.8 tropical nights, 4.8 days above 35°C, 15.2 days with a low below 0°C, annual rainfall 1,598.2 mm, 8 cm of snowfall in total) / "an inland climate, hot in summer and cold in winter" comes fromUtsunomiya City, "The gyoza city"/ Verified 2026-08-21

How hot is summer and how cold is winter in Utsunomiya?

🔴 This is a city with cool summer nights — 4.7 tropical nights a year, a quarter of Tokyo's (17.8). By day it is about as hot as Tokyo, with 5.9 days above 35°C. In winter there are 72.9 mornings a year below 0°C, while days that stay below 0°C number 0.0 and it climbs back above freezing by midday. Snow totals 18 centimetres a year with a deepest cover of 9 centimetres.

CHAPTER 07Shops, hospitals, schools

🔴 The conditions for raising children here are strong even by national standards. The city came 4th in Japan in Nikkei and Nikkei xwoman's "Dual-Income Child-Rearing Friendly City Ranking 2025", and has been in the top 5 for five years running (1st in 2018). Children's medical costs are covered to the end of the school year in which the child turns 18, and at medical institutions within the prefecture you generally pay nothing at the counter (benefits in kind). For a second or later child aged 0 to 2, nursery fees are free regardless of household income or the first child's age. There are 69 municipal elementary schools with 24,341 pupils and 25 municipal junior high schools with 12,307 pupils.

🔴 Children's medical costs: "to the end of the school year they turn 18, with nothing to pay at the counter"Cover runs to the first 31 March after the child turns 18. Show your "children's medical cost certificate" and health insurance card at a medical institution in Tochigi Prefecture and you generally pay nothing at the counter for the insured portion (benefits in kind; the certificate is a card). Compared across this site, Oita City covers up to senior-high age with a ¥500 daily cap for outpatient visits, and Kagoshima City up to junior-high year 3 with a ¥2,000 monthly cap — so even where cover runs "to senior-high age", Utsunomiya is the type where you do not pay at the counter.

4th in Japan for dual-income child-rearing, and in the top 5 for five years runningWhat the city was praised for was (1) financial support for larger families (free nursery fees for second and later children, and full cover of the fees for Yuai Hiroba temporary childcare and the Family Support Centre), (2) the drop-off nursery station and (3) child-rearing taxis. The drop-off nursery station takes children in temporarily morning and evening and carries them to and from their nursery on a bus with a nursery teacher on board. In FY2023 the city was 1st in Japan in the "support for dual-income households" category, and its year-round zero waiting list was also recognised.

For illness at night or at the weekend, there is a clinic open every nightThe Utsunomiya City Night and Holiday Emergency Clinic (Takebayashi-machi) opens for internal medicine and paediatrics every day from 19:30 to 7:00 the next morning, and on Sundays and holidays from 9:00 to 17:00 as well. Dentistry is open at night from 19:30 to 24:00. It runs day and night over Obon (13–15 August) and the New Year period (30 December to 3 January). Serious cases are referred on from here to secondary emergency care. 🔴 "When your child runs a fever in the night, you already know where to go" — that is where the reassurance of a city of half a million shows.

Sources: medical costs for children from Utsunomiya City, "The children's medical cost assistance scheme"(to the first 31 March after the child turns 18; at medical institutions within the prefecture the benefit is in kind, so you generally pay nothing at the counter) / the ranking and what was praised come fromthe same city's "Utsunomiya City takes a top-5 place in Japan for the fifth year running in the 'Dual-Income Child-Rearing Friendly City Ranking'!"(4th overall in 2025, 2nd in 2024, 2nd in 2023 / source: Nikkei Inc. and Nikkei xwoman) / the nursery fees come fromthe same city's "Utsunomiya City relocation and settlement support site: support schemes"(nursery fees for second and later children aged 0 to 2 are free regardless of household income or the first child's age) / the school and pupil numbers come fromthe same city's "List of municipal elementary schools"(69 schools, 24,341 pupils) andthe same city's "List of municipal junior high schools"(25 schools, 12,307 pupils), tallied by this site (both as of 1 May 2026) / the night and holiday emergency service comes fromthe same city's "Utsunomiya City Night and Holiday Emergency Clinic" / the schemes in Oita City and Kagoshima City use the same sources as those pages on this site / checked 2026-08-21

Will I be short of hospitals, shops or schools?

As a core city of half a million, it has the full set of shops, medical care and schooling. Children's medical costs are covered to the end of the school year in which the child turns 18, and at medical institutions within Tochigi Prefecture you generally pay nothing at the counter. There are 69 municipal elementary schools (24,341 pupils) and 25 municipal junior high schools (12,307 pupils). 🔴 The night and holiday emergency clinic is open for internal medicine and paediatrics every day from 19:30 to 7:00 the next morning.

CHAPTER 08What it costs you every year after you buy

🔴 2026 is the year Utsunomiya's running costs change. Water and sewerage are metered every two months, and on a 13 mm connection using 45 cubic metres over two months it is currently ¥6,814 for water plus ¥6,270 for sewerage = ¥13,084. However, from the October 2026 (Reiwa 8) usage period water charges rise by an average of 28.6%, making the same usage ¥8,789 for water = ¥15,059 in total. 🔴 The urban planning tax also went back from 0.25% to 0.3% in FY2026. We set it out honestly, up front.

Water charges and sewerage charges (two months, 13 mm connection, tax included)

Volume used (two months)	Water (current)	Water (from October)	Sewerage	Total (month 10–)
0 cubic metres the standing charge alone	¥1,716	¥1,430	¥2,420	¥3,850
20 cubic metres	¥1,958	¥2,552	¥2,420	¥4,972
45 cubic metres a guide for a household of 2 to 3	¥6,814	¥8,789	¥6,270	¥15,059
70 cubic metres	¥12,287	¥16,654	¥10,670	¥27,324

🔴 The water increase comes together with the abolition of the included volumeThe city's explanation: the water business is more than 110 years old and its facilities are ageing / a shortfall of about ¥10,200,000,000 over the charging period / hence an average increase of 28.6%. At the same time, the basic volume included in the standing charge (5 cubic metres a month) is abolished, so you pay for what you use. That means some rows go down for households that use little (0 cubic metres in the table above: ¥1,716 → ¥1,430). The city has given notice that sewerage charges are due to be revised from the October 2027 usage period.

Tax: property tax 1.4% plus urban planning tax 0.3%Property tax is the taxable value × 1.4%. The urban planning tax is 0.3% from FY2026 — the city had held it at a reduced 0.25% since FY1991, but restored it to the standard 0.3%, citing the renewal of ageing infrastructure. Residential land has a special rule: the portion up to 200 square metres is reduced to one third of the value (for the urban planning tax).

No designated rubbish bags. A clear or translucent plastic bag will doHousehold waste in Utsunomiya City is sorted into 14 categories in 5 groups. Burnable waste goes out "in a clear or translucent plastic bag" — 🔴 you do not have to buy paid-for designated bags. Prunings count as burnable waste if bundled to under 50 centimetres. There is also a grant towards buying a household food-waste processor. As a monthly fixed cost this is on the light side.

Sources: the current water and sewerage charges come fromUtsunomiya City Waterworks and Sewerage Bureau, "Water charges and sewerage charges (consumption tax 10%)" and the file attached to the same page,"Two-month water and sewerage quick reference table" (PDF)(13 mm, 45 m³ = water ¥6,814 plus sewerage ¥6,270 = ¥13,084) / the revised figures come fromthe same bureau's "Notice of the increase in water charges (from the October 2026 usage period)"and"Quick reference table of revised water charges (two months, 13–25 mm connections)" (PDF)(an average increase of 28.6%, the included volume of 5 m³ a month abolished, 45 m³ = ¥8,789 / sewerage is due to be revised from the October 2027 usage period) / the tax rates come fromthe same city's "Overview of the property tax"(1.4%) andthe same, "City planning tax"(restored to 0.3% from FY2026) / the waste rules come fromthe same city's "Burnable waste"(a clear or translucent plastic bag) andthe same city's "How to put out household waste (14 categories in 5 groups)"/ Verified 2026-08-21

Roughly what does a year cost, water and the rest?

Water and sewerage on a 13 mm connection using 45 cubic metres over two months currently come to ¥13,084 (water ¥6,814 plus sewerage ¥6,270). 🔴 From the October 2026 usage period water charges rise by an average of 28.6%, making the same usage ¥15,059. Property tax is 1.4%, and the urban planning tax is 0.3% from FY2026. Rubbish bags are not designated paid-for bags — a clear or translucent plastic bag will do — so there is no bag cost.

CHAPTER 09What happens when you want to sell

🔴 The prefecture is flat; the city is rising. Residential land in Utsunomiya City is ¥65,900/m², up 1.2% year on year — 1.86 times the Tochigi Prefecture average (¥35,500/m², −0.2%), a clear picture of asset value within the prefecture gathering in its capital. Commercial land is ¥146,300/m², +1.3%, industrial land ¥31,000/m², +2.5%, and all uses ¥88,500/m², +1.2% — all four uses positive.

Use	Utsunomiya City	Year on year	Tochigi Average	Against the prefectural average
Residential	¥65,900/m²	+1.2%	¥35,500/m² (-0.2%)	1.86×
Commercial	¥146,300/m²	+1.3%	¥77,300/m² (+0.2%)	1.89×
Industrial	¥31,000/m²	+2.5%	¥22,500/m² (+3.6%)	1.38×
All uses	¥88,500/m²	+1.2%	¥43,800/m² (+0.1%)	2.02×

What "the prefecture −0.2%, the city +1.2%" meansWhile residential land across the prefecture is flat to slightly down, the city alone rises 1.2% — the concentration of people and assets from across the prefecture into its capital is what supports the price. Put the other way round, the depth of the market changes the moment you step outside the city. 🔴 In terms of asset value, "living in Tochigi Prefecture" and "living in Utsunomiya City" are different choices.

A market of 618 listings is a deep market when you sell, tooBecause the pool of buyers is wide, places within walking distance of a station, along the LRT, or on a regular-shaped plot move easily. Conversely, hillside plots far from a station and blocks with poor road access are cheap to buy and, for the same reason, slow to sell. The spread of medians by area in §2 (¥16,980,000 to ¥29,000,000) is also the spread of your exit.

🔴 The city's grants draw a line around "where you live"Under its location optimisation plan, Utsunomiya City designates a higher-order urban function zone, an urban function zone and a residential guidance zone, and restricts its home purchase support, rent subsidy and relocation grant to those zones and 16 district plan areas (§8, §14). Whether a place is in an eligible zone also bears on how easily you can sell later. Enter an address on the city's "Utsunomiya Machikado Information Map" and you can see the colour coding on the spot.

Sources: land prices fromLand Information Center's "[Land price announcement] (2026) Average prices and year-on-year average rates of change by prefecture, municipality and use" (prepared 27 April 2026), the rows for Utsunomiya City and Tochigi Prefecture (Utsunomiya City = residential ¥65,900/m² +1.2%, commercial ¥146,300/m² +1.3%, industrial ¥31,000/m² +2.5%, all uses ¥88,500/m² +1.2% / Tochigi Prefecture = residential ¥35,500/m² −0.2%, commercial ¥77,300/m² +0.2%, industrial ¥22,500/m² +3.6%, all uses ¥43,800/m² +0.1%) / the second-hand market is the same 618 SUUMO listings as §4 / the eligible grant zones come fromUtsunomiya City, "FY2026 Utsunomiya City home purchase support grant", the leaflet (the 3 zones of the location optimisation plan plus 16 district plan areas) / checked 2026-08-21

Will the house I buy sell again later?

🔴 While the Tochigi Prefecture average is −0.2%, residential land in Utsunomiya City is up 1.2% (¥65,900/m²). That is 1.86 times the prefectural average (¥35,500/m²), and all four categories — residential, commercial, industrial and all uses — are positive. The city's grants are limited to the guidance zones of the location optimisation plan, so whether a place is inside or outside them bears on how easily you can sell.

CHAPTER 10Who lives here, and how many

The population is 509,582 in 244,595 households (estimated population, 1 August 2026). With 254,770 men and 254,812 women, the sexes are almost exactly even — unusually balanced even among the towns published on this site. Each household holds 2.08 people. 🔴 The population has been easing down from its peak of 520,000 in 2018 (Heisei 30), while the number of households keeps rising.

As of (1 January each year)	Population	Households	Per household
Heisei 20 (2008) (2008)	507,833 people	205,303 households	2.47 people
2018 (Heisei 30) the population peak	520,407 people	222,990 households	2.33 people
Reiwa 5 (2023) (2023)	514,859 people	234,838 households	2.19 people
Reiwa 8 (2026) (2026)1 August	509,582 people	244,595 households	2.08 people

🔴 In 8 years the population fell by 10,000 and households rose by 20,000From the peak in January 2018 (Heisei 30) (520,407 people, 222,990 households) to August 2026 (509,582 people, 244,595 households), the population fell by 10,825 and households rose by 21,605. People per household went from 2.33 to 2.08. In other words, "households got smaller" describes what is happening more accurately than "people left". Demand for homes suited to one- and two-person households is, if anything, growing.

A city where the sexes are almost exactly even254,770 men and 254,812 women — a difference of just 42. Looking at the same estimated population figures on this site, Kagoshima City has 268,683 men and 308,183 women, about 40,000 more women, so Utsunomiya's balance stands out. It can be read as the result of having industry (the Kiyohara and Hiraide industrial parks) alongside commerce and administration in the same city. A workforce that is not skewed towards one kind of job is itself a breadth of choice for dual-income households (§7).

What a population of half a million meansHalf a million is the scale at which a university, a general hospital, an art museum, professional sport and large shopping centres can all stand in the same city. Of the 13 "city of ◯◯" labels the city uses in its promotion (§1), professional sport, climbing, jazz, hyakunin-isshu and education all need that depth of population to continue. The land prices in §9, at 1.86 times the prefectural average, are that scale showing up as a price.

Source:Utsunomiya City open data, "Monthly population (estimated, resident register and registered foreign residents)"(Excel / district totals on the estimated population sheet. 1 August 2026 = 509,582 people, 244,595 households, 254,770 men, 254,812 women / 1 January 2018 (Heisei 30) = 520,407 people, 222,990 households / 1 January 2023 = 514,859 people, 234,838 households / 1 January 2008 = 507,833 people, 205,303 households. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 2.1) / people per household is population ÷ households, calculated by this site / the male and female populations of Kagoshima City use the same source as this site's Kagoshima page (Kagoshima City, "Estimated population (as of 1 June 2026)") / checked 2026-08-21

Share of foreign residents

2.64%national average 3.26%

Of the 513,378 people living in Utsunomiya City, 13,553 are foreign residents. That is below the national average (3.26%).
Nationwide, foreign residents make up 3.26% of the total population (4,031,159 out of 123,767,642). 34 municipalities across the country are above 10%.

Source: calculated by this site from the municipality-level tables of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Population, population change and households based on the Basic Resident Register" (as of 1 January Reiwa 8, published 2026-07-29). The ministry's publication page / verified 2026-08-17

Is Utsunomiya City's population growing?

The population peaked at 520,407 in 2018 (Heisei 30) and stood at 509,582 in August 2026. Households, meanwhile, have kept rising from 222,990 to 244,595. People per household went from 2.33 to 2.08 — 🔴 "households got smaller" is more accurate than "people left". With 254,770 men and 254,812 women, the sexes are almost exactly even.

CHAPTER 11Community life and the year's events

The heart of summer is the "Furusato Miya Matsuri" — held on a Saturday and Sunday in early August each year, from 16:00 to 21:00, along Odori (from the city hall crossing to the Kamigawara crossing), it is one of the largest festivals in Tochigi Prefecture. Its theme is "meeting and mingling". There are portable shrines, parades, folk performing arts, dancing, festival music, taiko drums, the Miyakko Yosakoi and the "Utsunomiya Ondo". 🔴 No advance application is needed, and anyone aged 18 or over who lives or works in the city can apply to volunteer on the organising side.

🔴 Joining the neighbourhood association is a condition of the grantsCommunity life in Utsunomiya has a concreteness other towns do not have — "belonging to a neighbourhood association" is an eligibility requirement for the home purchase support grant, and the application pack includes a "neighbourhood association membership declaration" (form No. 4). The Tokyo-area commuting and school-travel grant also requires the household to belong to a neighbourhood association. The city writes, "to keep community life active, we ask you to remain a member of your neighbourhood association", and even publishes the telephone numbers of the Utsunomiya City Federation of Neighbourhood Associations office (10th floor of the city hall) and the Community Development Division. It is designed so that not knowing how to join is unlikely to be a problem.

Furusato Miya Matsuri — two days of dancing with Odori closed to trafficThe venue is Odori, the avenue that runs through the centre of the city. Around the main venue the road is closed to vehicles and the bus routes are diverted. It is about 10 minutes' walk from JR Utsunomiya Station and about 5 minutes from Tobu-Utsunomiya Station. In 2026 events marking 130 years of city status were added. Because people take part as companies, schools and neighbourhood associations, it is a festival you can join from your first year in town.

Autumn is gyoza and cycling; winter is OyaThe Utsunomiya Gyoza Festival falls on the first Saturday and Sunday of November each year, drawing more than about 150,000 people over the two days. The same autumn brings the Japan Cup Cycle Road Race — the day before, Odori is closed completely to traffic for a criterium (§12). In winter Oya holds a Christmas market and illuminations. 🔴 "The year's events are themselves the city's specialities" is the pattern here.

Sources: the Furusato Miya Matsuri comes fromUtsunomiya City, "The 51st Furusato Miya Matsuri"(1 and 2 August 2026 / 16:00 to 21:00 / Odori, from the city hall crossing to the Kamigawara crossing / one of the largest in Tochigi Prefecture / no advance application needed / staff are recruited from those aged 18 or over who live or work in the city) / the neighbourhood association requirement comes fromthe same city's "FY2026 Utsunomiya City home purchase support grant" leaflet (PDF)(eligibility requirement "belonging to a neighbourhood association", form No. 4 neighbourhood association membership declaration, the Utsunomiya City Federation of Neighbourhood Associations office) andthe same city's "Tokyo-area commuting and school-travel grant"(the household to which the commuter belongs must be a member of a neighbourhood association) / the gyoza festival comes fromthe same city's "The gyoza city"(the first Saturday and Sunday of November each year / more than about 150,000 people over the two days) / checked 2026-08-21

What are the neighbourhood associations and the neighbouring like?

🔴 In Utsunomiya, belonging to a neighbourhood association is a requirement for the grants — the home purchase support grant includes a "neighbourhood association membership declaration", and the Tokyo-area commuting and school-travel grant also requires the household to be a member. The city even publishes the contact details of the federation's office, so it should be hard to get stuck on how to join. The summer Furusato Miya Matsuri runs for two days with Odori closed to traffic.

CHAPTER 12Things nearby that move land prices

Three things hold up land values here: (1) the distance — 53 minutes to Tokyo Station by Shinkansen; (2) the LRT (the Light Line) that opened in 2023 and the industrial parks gathered along it; and (3) the scale of half a million people, unique within the prefecture. As §2 showed, 🔴 the highest median in the city right now is not the centre but the LRT corridor (¥29,000,000). This is a city where a new form of transport is redrawing the land price map as we watch.

🔴 The LRT is a line that goes out to the suburban industrial parksThe Light Line's terminus is Haga Takanezawa Industrial Park, and along the way it calls at Kiyohara District Civic Center (the Kiyohara industrial park). In other words this is not a tourist line: it was laid to carry tens of thousands of commuters. Yuinomori along the line is a new housing district and, as §2 shows, has a median plot of 247 square metres and a median build year of 2002 — 🔴 this is the only place in the city where a new house, a large plot and a rail commute come together.

🔴 The city draws its lines with a "networked compact city"Under its location optimisation plan, Utsunomiya City sets guidance zones and restricts home purchase support, rent subsidy and the relocation grant to inside them (§8, §9). On top of that, a home in the higher-order urban function zone gets an extra ¥150,000 — "steering people towards the centre with money" is this city's policy. If you are thinking about asset value over 10 or 20 years, whether a place is inside or outside these guidance zones matters as much as its distance from a station.

The Japan Cup and Oya bring people in from outsideThe Japan Cup Cycle Road Race began in 1992 to commemorate the 1990 UCI Road World Championships, and is the only top-category "UCI ProSeries" one-day race in Asia (the city's description, as of 2022). Fans gather from across the country at the special course in Utsunomiya Forest Park (185 metres of elevation gain). Oya is an underground space certified as a Japan Heritage, drawing visitors all year with its museum, illuminations and Christmas market. 🔴 What is interesting about Utsunomiya is that the pillars of its tourism sit outside the city centre.

Sources: the LRT route and stops are the same as §3 (Utsunomiya Light Rail) / the guidance zones and the additional grant come fromUtsunomiya City, "FY2026 home purchase support grant" leaflet (PDF)(eligible zones = the higher-order urban function zone, the urban function zone and the residential guidance zone of the location optimisation plan, plus 16 district plan areas / a home in the higher-order urban function zone gets an extra ¥150,000) / the Japan Cup comes fromthe same city's "The city of the Japan Cup Cycle Road Race"(founded in 1992 / the only top-category UCI ProSeries one-day race in Asia / the special course in Utsunomiya Forest Park, 185 m of elevation gain / a criterium on Odori the day before) / the Japan Heritage comes fromthe same city's "Japan Heritage (Oya stone culture)" / the land prices are in §9 / checked 2026-08-21

What is likely to happen to land prices in Utsunomiya?

Three things hold them up: (1) 53 minutes to Tokyo by Shinkansen, (2) the LRT that opened in 2023 and the industrial parks along it, and (3) the scale of the prefecture's only city of half a million. As §2 shows, the highest median in the city right now is the LRT corridor (¥29,000,000) — a new form of transport is redrawing the land price map as we watch. The city adds an extra grant for buying a home inside its guidance zones.

CHAPTER 13What this place makes

What a place earns its living from shows up both at your dinner table and in your work once you live there. The amount raised through the hometown tax scheme is a rough measure of how many products a place has that people all over Japan choose.

¥841,090,000

Hometown tax donations received in FY2025 (41,878 donations).
399th of all 1,788 municipalities and 8th within Tochigi Prefecture

What this town names as its own products

The Utsunomiya Agricultural Brand Promotion Council lists 16 farm products as Utsunomiya brands — rice (Koshihikari, Miyaotome and "Yudai 21", bred at Utsunomiya University), strawberries (Tochiotome, Skyberry, Tochiaika and Natsuotome), tomatoes, pears (JA Utsunomiya ships among the largest volumes in the prefecture), lilies, asparagus, Premium 7, Premium 13, Miya-donko (shiitake mushrooms), Miyaotome, Chinese chives, Utsunomiya beef, Nissato spring onions, Miya yuzu, Utsunomiya Blitzen rice, Oya summer strawberries and Oya stone (tuff formed from volcanic material erupted about 20,000,000 years ago, quarried in the Oya district in the north-west of the city).

Source:Utsunomiya Agricultural Brand Promotion Council, "Utsunomiya's brand farm products" (linked from the city's official site)／Utsunomiya City, "The city of an agricultural kingdom"／Utsunomiya City, "The city of Oya stone"/ Verified 2026-08-21

You can support a town without living there

Even if a move is still some way off, you can be involved from today through the hometown tax scheme. Your donation goes straight to the municipality, and you choose what it is spent on. A way to give something back to a place you got to know here.

Support Utsunomiya City through the hometown tax scheme →

Source:Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Survey on the state of the hometown tax scheme (conducted FY Reiwa 8)", the table of amounts and numbers received (provisional FY Reiwa 7 settlement), tallied by this site. The rank is out of all 1,788 municipalities in that table / verified 2026-08-14

What does Utsunomiya City earn its living from?

Alongside the administration, commerce and medicine of a prefectural capital, there are industrial parks such as Kiyohara and Hiraide and the farming of a place that calls itself "an agricultural kingdom". The Utsunomiya Agricultural Brand Promotion Council lists 16 Utsunomiya brand products (rice, strawberries, tomatoes, pears, lilies, asparagus, Chinese chives, Utsunomiya beef and more). As a local industry there is Oya stone.

CHAPTER 14A message from Utsunomiya City

The city's relocation and settlement support site is called "A city for people who look forward to what comes next". In its promotion the city has long used "Live here and it's yukai — Utsunomiya". 🔴 "Yukai" — a delight: that the city chose this one word for its own sign says a great deal about how it carries itself.

The support schemes are organised into three: "work / housing and daily life / marriage and child-rearing"The city's relocation site sets out its support schemes divided intowork (jobs, starting a business, taking up farming); housing and daily life (the relocation grant, the Shinkansen commuting grant, rent subsidy, home purchase support, the vacant-house bank, promotion of Oya stone, decarbonisation); and marriage and child-rearing. The relocation grant is worth up to ¥1,000,000 for a move from the Tokyo area, plus ¥1,000,000 for each child under 18。but you do not qualify unless you live inside an eligible zone (§9, §12) — always check the zone by address before you apply. Utsunomiya City relocation and settlement support site: support schemes →

🔴 Use Oya stone and part of the cost is coveredUnder the Oya stone promotion grant, when you build, buy, extend or renovate a home or shop in the city, part of the work cost is covered if you use Oya stone as an interior or exterior material. Separately, residents who build or buy a home are given a commemorative tree. Attaching a grant to "residents using the town's own material" is a clear way to keep a local industry alive.

Where this page standsThis site gathers the city's official information with sources attached; it does not speak for the city. Schemes, prices and charges (the water charges in §8 above all) change. Always check the original text and the latest information before you sign anything or move. Relocation enquiries are taken by the city's Urban Brand Strategy Division and its relocation and settlement consultation desk.

Source:Utsunomiya City relocation and settlement support site, "A city for people who look forward to what comes next"／the same site's "Support schemes"(the relocation grant is up to ¥1,000,000 plus ¥1,000,000 for each child / the Tokyo-area commuting and school-travel grant / rent subsidy / home purchase support / newlywed support up to ¥600,000 / the Oya stone promotion grant / the gift of a commemorative tree) / the conditions for the relocation grant come fromUtsunomiya City, "The Utsunomiya City relocation grant"(you do not qualify unless you live inside an eligible zone / apply within 1 year of moving in / you must intend to live there for at least 5 years) / the Oya stone grant comes fromthe same city's "The city of Oya stone"/ Verified 2026-08-21

What kind of town-building is Utsunomiya City doing?

Its relocation and settlement support site is called "A city for people who look forward to what comes next", and in its promotion it uses "Live here and it's yukai — Utsunomiya". The relocation grant from the Tokyo area is up to ¥1,000,000 plus ¥1,000,000 for each child under 18. 🔴 But living inside an eligible zone is a condition, so check the zone by address before you apply.

CHAPTER 15A year in Utsunomiya

The four seasons of inland Kanto are distinct. Winter is dry and clear, summer brings thunder, and autumn runs from festival to race — here the calendar of events is itself the marker of the seasons.

Season	What there is
Winter (December to February)	There are 72.9 mornings a year below 0°C. But 0.0 days stay below 0°C, and it is above freezing by day. Rainfall in January, February and December is under 40 mm each — a dry, clear winter. Oya holds its illuminations
Spring (April)	1 April is "Utsunomiya Citizens' Day" (the day city status was granted). Cherry blossom at Hachimanyama Park. The season when the city's fiscal year turns
Rainy season to summer (June–August)	July rainfall is 215.4 mm. The season of evening thunderstorms. There are 5.9 days above 35°C a year, but only 4.7 tropical nights, so the nights are cool
Summer (early August)	The Furusato Miya Matsuri — two days with Odori closed to traffic, from 16:00 to 21:00 (§11)
Autumn (October–November)	The Japan Cup Cycle Road Race (in the Forest Park, with a criterium on Odori) and the Utsunomiya Gyoza Festival (the first Saturday and Sunday of November, more than 150,000 people over two days)

Sources: the climate is from §6 (Japan Meteorological Agency normals), the Furusato Miya Matsuri and the Gyoza Festival from §11, and the Japan Cup from §12 / Citizens' Day comes fromUtsunomiya City, "1 April is Utsunomiya Citizens' Day"/ Verified 2026-08-21

The information on this site is gathered by an AI that visits primary sources — municipalities, the Japan Meteorological Agency, national statistics — on a regular cycle, and it is updated with a source and a date of verification attached.

What is there to enjoy through the year in Utsunomiya?

The summer Furusato Miya Matsuri (two days with Odori closed to traffic, 16:00 to 21:00), the autumn Japan Cup Cycle Road Race and Utsunomiya Gyoza Festival (the first Saturday and Sunday of November, more than 150,000 people over two days), and the winter illuminations at Oya. 🔴 1 April is "Utsunomiya Citizens' Day". Winters are dry and clear; summer evenings bring thunder.

CHAPTER 16The people who run this city

When you are thinking about moving, who is running this town now, and where they are trying to take it, is something the people about to live here want to know even more than those already living here. This chapter sets out, with sources, only what Utsunomiya City publishes itself. 🔴 As of 22 August 2026, following the official site, I (the AI) could find all 6 of the items below. The mayor of Utsunomiya City is Sato Eiichi (confirmed on the city's own introduction page).

What is published	Published	What you can read
About the mayor	From the mayor's office	Name, career, greeting
Policy address	Policy statement	What they say they will do this year
List of council members	The assembly groups	Who the members are, and their groupings
Council broadcasts and recordings	Assembly broadcasts	Whether you can watch the council in session
Searchable minutes	How to view the records of plenary sessions and standing committees	Whether you can search past debates by wording
Master plan	The 6th Utsunomiya City Comprehensive Plan	How many years ahead this town has decided

The mayor of Utsunomiya CitySato Eiichi. The page carrying that name was last updatedReiwa 8 (2026), 6/12.
🔴 Age and gender have not been guessed from the name.Only what is published is reproduced here, as published.Utsunomiya City introduction page →

How much of the council can you see?A list of members, live or recorded broadcasts of full sessions, and searchable minutes — where these three are published, you can read a town's debates for yourself before you ever move there.
🔴 The names, photographs and social media of individual council members are not carried on this site. We point you to where you can read them.
Once you have moved, when your own turn to decide comes round is something those three will tell you.

How many years ahead has been decidedIn Utsunomiya City,The 6th Utsunomiya City Comprehensive Plan. A master plan usually sets outwhat the town has decided to do and by whenand ,where it intends to halt its population decline. 🔴 The period and the population target are not copied out on this site — plans get revised, and a misreading changes the meaning.Please check the official text from the link below.The 6th Utsunomiya City Comprehensive Plan →

🔴 What I will not do in this chapter1. I will not guess gender or age from a name. Only what is published appears here. 2. I will not write that anything is good or bad. Only what is being put forward, and where it comes from. 3. I will not compare election candidates.
🔴 And mayors change. This site always records the date it checked (2026-08-22), and reopens the original page each time to confirm by machine that the name is still there. If you notice something has nonetheless gone out of date, please let us know.

Source: allofficial site (Utsunomiya City ), followed on 2026-08-22. What this site counted wasonly whether something is published or not ; the content has not been judged / verified 2026-08-22

Who runs Utsunomiya City now?

The mayor of Utsunomiya City is Sato Eiichi (confirmed on the city's introduction page on 22 August 2026). What this site looks for are six things: an introduction to the head of the municipality, a policy statement, a list of assembly members, live or recorded assembly broadcasts, a searchable record of proceedings and a comprehensive plan. 🔴 We are not judging any of it good or bad. Only whether it is published or not.

CHAPTER 17Where to go on a day off

What never shows up in the numbers of a house search, yet bears directly on how satisfied you are once you live somewhere, is days off. This chapter counts, on the same measure across every area, the places you can go on a day off in Utsunomiya and the places family and friends can stay. This area currently has 18 hot springs and day-bathing facilities, 4 amusement parks, zoos or aquariums, and 1 roadside station. 🔴 All the counts are the number registered in map data (OpenStreetMap) — in reality there may well be more.

What	Number counted, and names
♨ Hot springs and day baths	Super Sento Call Utsunomiya, Hotaru-no-Sato / Bonten-no-Yu, Michi-no-Eki Romantic Mura / Yudokoro Aguri, Michi-no-Eki Romantic Mura / Agri Spa, Takarayu, Gokurakuyu Utsunomiya, Utsunomiya Tennen Onsen / Yurara, Hotaru-no-Sato Bonten-no-Yu and 18 facilities in all
🏯 Castles and castle sites	Not found in the map data
🎡 Amusement parks, zoos and aquariums	Nikko Circuit, Tochinoki Family Land, the animal house, Utsunomiya Zoo (4 sites)
🖼 Museums, galleries and memorial halls	JAPAN CUP MUSEUM, Tochigi Prefectural Museum, Utsunomiya Museum of Art, Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, Tobiyama History Experience Hall, Kamikawachi Folk Museum, Oya History Museum, Utsunomiya Archaeological Site Park Museum and 9 in all
⛩ Shrines and temples	Shrines 81, temples 45. Those with a Wikipedia entry are Hie Shrine, Take Fudoson, Seiganji, Suzumenomiya Shrine, Utsunomiya Futaarayama Shrine, Matsugamine Church, the Oya Cliff Buddha and Keirinji
🚗 Roadside stations	Utsunomiya Romantic Mura
🐕 Dog runs	Dog Run (Michi-no-Eki Utsunomiya Romantic Mura), Romantic Mura Nigiwai Hiroba, small-dog dog run (Michi-no-Eki Romantic Mura) and 4 in all
🛣 Expressway service and parking areas	Kamikawachi SA (inbound) (⛽ petrol station) / Kamikawachi SA (outbound) (⛽ petrol station 🔌 EV charging) / Oya PA (inbound) / Oya PA (outbound)

Somewhere to stay — for family and friends, and for your own travels

What	Number counted
🏨 Hotels and ryokan	37
🏠 Guesthouses and hostels	Not found in the map data
⛺ Campsites and auto-campsites	Takamagi Campsite
🏕 Glamping	Not found among the campsite or hotel names
🚐 RV parks (overnight in your vehicle)	RV Park Utsunomiya IC Kumakuma, RV Park Oya

This table is the result of me (an AI) putting the same question to the map data for every area (areas are retrieved in batches, so the verification date on some pages is a day apart). Facilities not registered on the map are not counted. "Not found" does not mean "there are none" — nor that the town is any the lesser for it.

Sources: the counts and names of facilities fromOpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) / RV parks fromJapan RV Association, list of certified "Kuruma-tabi" RV parks / roadside stations fromMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, list of "michi-no-eki" roadside stations / the expressway service and parking areas, and the shops inside them, are also from OpenStreetMap (judged mechanically by whether they fall inside the site's outline) / checked 2026-08-21

Are there places to go on a day off, and places to stay?

Counting from map data (OpenStreetMap) and the lists from the Japan RV Association and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, we found 18 hot springs and day-bathing facilities, 4 amusement parks, zoos or aquariums, 1 roadside station and 37 hotels and inns. Facilities not on the map are not counted, so there may well be more (see §17 for details).

What I (an AI) was able to find on this town's official site

This site reads the official websites of every area it covers against the same 30 items, out of 100, measuring how quickly someone thinking of moving can reach the information they need. What was measured is the official website of Utsunomiya City, and the total was 68 points (measured 21 August 2026).

"Not found" does not mean "there is none." It means I followed the official site and could not find it. Tell us the published page and the next measurement will reflect it.

Area	Score	What was found
Getting started with a move	10 / 20	There is a relocation and settlement page; a contact point (department, telephone, opening hours); support schemes state amounts and conditions
Housing	9 / 15	There is an akiya bank; listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area; completed deals are organised
The money side of living here	12 / 15	Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table; child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope; there are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax
Disaster information	17 / 20	Hazard maps are published by district; flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered; the year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated; and 2 more
Industry and local produce	8 / 10	A list of local speciality products is on the official site; hometown tax results are published year by year; there are support schemes for businesses and industry
Transport	7 / 10	There is a community bus timetable; fares are stated
Can an AI read it?	5 / 10	Every page carries an updated date; statistics are published as Excel or CSV; open data is published

See all 30 items and the pages used to judge them

3 / 3　There is a relocation and settlement page
Relocation and settlement　Go and see → 0 / 3　There is a dedicated relocation site
Only pages within the official site 2 / 3　A contact point (department, telephone, opening hours)
2 of the department, phone number and opening hours were given　Go and see → 5 / 5　Support schemes state amounts and conditions
Both amounts and conditions　Go and see → 0 / 3　There is trial housing or a trial-stay scheme
Not found 0 / 3　Vacancies in trial housing are published
Not found 4 / 4　There is an akiya bank
There is a municipal akiya bank 1 / 4　Listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area
0 of 103 (0%) have all 4 items 4 / 4　Completed deals are organised
No completed deals appear in the list 0 / 3　The conditions of use are stated
Not found 4 / 5　Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table
The charges are given as figures in the text　Go and see → 5 / 5　Child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope
The scope of free and subsidised care is stated down to the age　Go and see → 3 / 3　There are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax
Both the rates and the amounts are stated　Go and see → 0 / 2　Tie-ups with banks for mortgages and the like
Not found 5 / 5　Hazard maps are published by district
29 documents by district　Go and see → 5 / 5　Flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered
Flood / landslide / earthquake　Go and see → 3 / 3　The year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated
Reiwa 6 (2024), 8/30updated　Go and see → 1 / 4　Is it machine-readable (a map system or a text PDF)?
A page only　Go and see → 3 / 3　Disasters are announced through more than one channel
Disaster email / disaster app / social media / TV and radio　Go and see → 3 / 5　A list of local speciality products is on the official site
17 items (on the tourism association and other sites)　Go and see → 3 / 3　Hometown tax results are published year by year
Entries for 8 fiscal years　Go and see → 2 / 2　There are support schemes for businesses and industry
Industry promotion　Go and see → 4 / 4　There is a community bus timetable
　Go and see → 3 / 3　Fares are stated
　Go and see → 0 / 3　The date of the last revision is given
Not found　Go and see → 3 / 3　Every page carries an updated date
20 of the 20 pages read　Go and see → 0 / 2　There is a sitemap.xml
Not found 0 / 2　Site search runs on the server side
It was a Google custom search　Go and see → 1 / 2　Statistics are published as Excel or CSV
There is a statistics page　Go and see → 1 / 1　Open data is published
　Go and see →

Compare with other towns → 　For municipalities and local organisations (get in touch here) →

Measured by this site. The URL of each official site is taken from the municipal information published by Furusato Choice. The score is a score for publishing information, not a score for how good a place is to live / verified 2026-08-21

Compare with other areas

Every page has the same 17 chapters in the same order. Move between them and you can compare the same line.

Areas in the Kanto region

Tsukuba (45 min to Akihabara at fastest on the TX; a science city and Mt. Tsukuba)Tsukuba City, Ibarakilistings220 listings / ¥1,600,000–Maebashi (the southern foot of Mt. Akagi)Maebashi City, Gunmalistings576 listings / ¥2,500,000–Hiki District (7 towns)Namegawa, Ranzan, Ogawa and others, Saitamalistings168 listings / ¥2,500,000–Mito (1 hr 18 min to Ueno by limited express; the city of Kairakuen and Lake Senba)Mito City, Ibarakilistings259 listings / ¥2,500,000–

Places you could look at for a similar price

Gifu (26 min to Nagoya, Mt. Kinka and the Nagara River)Gifu City, Gifulistings339 listings / ¥1,980,000–Ikoma (no change to Hommachi)Ikoma City, Naralistings181 listings / ¥1,980,000–Takarazuka (revue and hot springs, 28 min to Osaka)Takarazuka City, Hyogolistings507 listings / ¥1,990,000–Akita (the Kanto festival and the port, on the Sea of Japan side of Tohoku)Akita City, Akitalistings259 listings / ¥2,000,000–

Compare areas by budget and region →

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