Ashikaga City

Boulders with a gap adults can pass

Osonae-ishi, Nagusa boulders

Photo by さかおり (CC BY 4.0)

01 ／ Kabasaki-dera site

From the pond's mud,boards inscribed with the Lotus Sutra.

This is the site of a temple said to have been founded by Ashikaga Yoshikane, and a national historic site. Many wooden objects came out of the mud of the pond that was the heart of its Pure Land garden. The kokerakyō are cypress boards (about 20 cm long and 1 cm wide) with the Lotus Sutra copied on both sides; the city writes that they were probably sunk in the pond for wishes or ceremonies.

National historic site
Kokerakyō boards about 20 cm by 1 cm
Pond about 150 m north-south, 70 m east-west

02 ／ Burial mound

Three tiers at the rear, two at the front.It stands on a plateau by the Yaba River.

It is a keyhole-shaped mound with a square rear section, from the middle of the early Kofun period, on a plateau about 30 m above sea level on the right bank of the Yaba River. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, its length is 117.8 m, with a height of 5.4 m at the front and 11.8 m at the rear. Fukiishi stones covered the third tier of the rear section, and with its moat the whole measures 210 m. It became a national historic site in 2006.

Length 117.8 m
Front 2 tiers, rear 3 tiers
National historic site, 2006

03 ／ Banna-ji

An almost square temple precinct,ringed by earthen banks and a moat.

Banna-ji is said to have begun when Ashikaga Yoshikane built a private Buddha hall inside his residence, and its precinct covers about 40,000 m². The city writes that it still conveys the look of a Kamakura-period samurai residence. It became a national historic site in 1922 as the Ashikaga Clan Residence Site, and its main hall is a National Treasure. At the pagoda, seed coins are handed to worshippers on the 23rd of each month.

Precinct about 40,000 m²
National historic site, 1922
Main hall is a National Treasure

Living here

74 minutes to Asakusa by limited express, 62 to Kita-Senju.

about 140,000 people

The city covers 177.76 km², 18.8 km east to west and 19.1 km north to south, longer from north to south. The Tobu limited express Ryomo takes 74 minutes at the fastest from Asakusa to Ashikagashi Station, and 62 from Kita-Senju, with no change of trains (the city says about 70 minutes from Asakusa). To Ashikaga Station on the JR Ryomo Line, it is about 40 minutes from Oyama.

People living here: 144,746people
Area: 177.76km²
Households: 61,617households
Rent (average for rentals): 42,574yen
Healthcare: 12 hospitals ／ 108 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —30 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Ashikaga City in Japan36.340°N 139.450°E

to AsakusaLtd. exp. Ryomo74min
to Kita-SenjuLtd. exp. Ryomo62min

Travel times follow 東武鉄道「特急列車時刻表（浅草-館林・赤城・葛生・伊勢崎下り）」PDF（2026.3.14 改正）の浅草発・北千住発・足利市着の列を目で読んだ（2026-10-08）。りょうもう17号は浅草13:50発・北千住14:02発・足利市15:04着、りょうもう19号は浅草14:50発・北千住15:02発・足利市16:04着で、乗り換えなし。この表で足利市に停まる浅草発の特急（りょうもう・リバティりょうもう）の浅草→足利市は74〜86分、最短が17号と19号の74分。PDF に運転日の注記は無い（平日・土休日を分けた表でも臨時の印でもない1枚の表） (checked 2026-10-08). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Ashikaga City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

19.4km

Tochigi Prefecture: 佐野市
Gunma Prefecture: 太田市, 桐生市, 邑楽町, 館林市

Ashikaga City isthis kind of town.

01At the Nagusa Gigantic Rocks, Osonae-ishi is said to leave a gap between its overlapping boulders that even adults can pass through, called tainai-kuguri
02At Kabasaki-dera site, tied to the Ashikaga clan, kokerakyō boards came out of the pond mud of the Pure Land garden, and the Fujimoto Kannonyama Tumulus, 117.8 m long, is a national historic site
03The precinct of Banna-ji, the Ashikaga Clan Residence Site, is ringed by earthen banks and a moat and holds a National Treasure main hall, and the Ashikaga School held the Sekiten ceremony on November 23, 2025

See the town as it is now.

Facebooktakaujikun.sanpo ↗

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Ashikaga City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗