Utsunomiya Gyoza
宇都宮
The city of about 200 gyoza restaurants, north of Tokyo.
Opening hours and admission for this place have not been checked yet, so none are shown. Check the official site
Our guide
Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi, is known across Japan as a gyoza city. About 200 restaurants here serve gyoza, many of them specialists, and household spending on gyoza per person is among the highest in the country, competing with Hamamatsu and Miyazaki for first place.
The custom is said to have begun after the Second World War, when soldiers of the Utsunomiya-based 14th Division, who had served in mainland China, came home and opened gyoza shops. In 2007 the Utsunomiya Gyoza Association opened Kirasse in the city centre, where member shops serve their gyoza under one roof, and a gyoza statue stands on the pedestrian deck at Utsunomiya Station.
Tōbu-Utsunomiya Station is about 500 m from the point this page is mapped to, and Utsunomiya Castle about 300 m.
Written by japan-spots.com (2026-09-22) from the sources credited on this page. Distances are straight lines between map positions.
Photos
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence — see credits
- Gyoza Street, Akamon Side — Miyuki Meinaka · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
- Gyoza Street, Utsunomiya, April 2020 — Miyuki Meinaka · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
- 宇都宮駅前 - panoramio — くろふね · CC BY 3.0 · source · resized
- プレミアムヤシオマス弁当（宇都宮駅）20220114-P1300641 — くろふね · CC BY 4.0 · source · resized
- Gyōza 002 — Ocdp · CC0 · source · resized
- Gyōza 001 — Ocdp · CC0 · source · resized
What this place is
Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi Prefecture, is known across Japan as a gyoza city. About 200 restaurants in the city serve gyoza, many of them specialist shops, and household spending on gyoza per head is among the highest in Japan, competing with Hamamatsu and Miyazaki for first place. The custom is said to have begun after the Second World War, when soldiers of the Utsunomiya-based 14th Division, which had served in mainland China, came home and opened gyoza shops. In 2007 the Utsunomiya Gyoza Association opened Kirasse in the city centre, where member shops serve their gyoza under one roof, and a gyoza statue stands on the pedestrian deck at Utsunomiya Station.
Background text translated from Japanese Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
What to expect at this type of place: Shopping
Nearby station
Nearby station: Tōbu-Utsunomiya (Tōbu Utsunomiya Line), about 500 m from the spot in a straight line.
Worked out on 2026-09-14 from this place’s map position, using HeartRails Express station data and station names from Wikidata. The distance is a straight line, not a walking route, and says nothing about buses, transfers or timetables — plan the trip on Google Maps.
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