Sightseeing in Toyota: Mountain Gorges and the Matsudaira Homeland Behind the Car Town

What Kind of City Is Toyota?

Toyota is a city in northern Aichi Prefecture, in the Mikawa region. It is the largest city in the prefecture by area, covering about 18 percent of Aichi. Its highest point, in the former town of Inabu, stands at 1,229.3 meters above sea level and its lowest at 3.2 meters, so the city alone spans a difference of roughly 1,200 meters. Plains and factories spread across the south, while deep mountains and gorges line the north, giving the city two quite different faces.

The city was once called Koromo (挙母), and it was renamed Toyota on January 1, 1959. Behind that change lies the founding of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works’ automobile business as Toyota Motor Industry in 1937, which set Koromo on its path to becoming a car town. In April 2005 the city merged with six towns and villages, including Asuke, Asahi, Inabu and Obara, to form the wide territory it has today.

This article introduces the city’s sights from north to south, in descending order of latitude. We begin at a man-made lake, then move down through a mountain castle and a gorge, a post town on an old trade road, the ancestral home of the Matsudaira clan, and finally the museums and stadium of the city center. Let’s take a look at the mountain-village time that the image of a car town alone does not reveal.

1. Obara’s Shikizakura and the Washi Paper Village

Obara is a mountain district in the north of Toyota, formerly Obara Village, known for its shikizakura (four-season cherry trees), Obara washi paper and Obara kabuki. The coordinates shown for it in this article mark roughly the center of the district. Shikizakura is thought to be a hybrid of the Fuji cherry (mame-zakura) and the Edo higan cherry, and it is distinctive for blooming twice a year, in spring and autumn. Spring blossoms peak from late March to early April, and autumn blossoms from early to late November. The autumn bloom is fuller and is regarded as the main season.

As for how the trees began, tradition says that in the early Bunsei era (1818 to 1831), a Chinese-medicine physician in Kitamura named Fujimoto Genseki obtained saplings from the Owari and Nagoya area and planted them. It is a charming origin: a doctor who dealt in medicines ordering cherry saplings from afar and planting them in a mountain village. About 1,200 trees grow in Kawami Shikizakura Park, where autumn leaves and cherry blossoms can be enjoyed in the same season.

Obara is also known as a washi village. Since the Muromachi period, the area is said to have been well suited to growing kozo, the paper mulberry used for making washi, and later Fujii Tatsukichi is credited with laying the foundations of Obara washi. At “Washi no Furusato” in Nagataro-cho, there is an exhibition hall and a craft hall for hands-on experiences, including activities such as pressing lettering into the paper as it is made. The charm of the district lies in how cherries that bloom twice a year and the handwork of papermaking sit side by side as part of the same mountain village’s life.

2. Lake Okuyahagi

Lake Okuyahagi is a man-made lake created by the Yahagi Dam on the upper reaches of the Yahagi River. The dam was completed in 1970. It is 100 meters high and is said to be the first concrete arch dam in Aichi Prefecture. The lake spans Toyota and Ena in Gifu Prefecture, and its total storage capacity of about 80 million cubic meters makes it fairly large for the prefecture.

The dam serves many purposes: flood control, irrigation, tap water and industrial water supply, and hydroelectric power. It is said to supply drinking water to about one million people and to support the industrial belt that includes Toyota Motor Corporation, which shows how directly a lake deep in the mountains is tied to the life of the towns to the south. When it was built, 177 households in the former Asahi Town and Kushihara Village were submerged. It is worth quietly remembering that there was once daily life beneath the calm surface of the water.

The lakeshore is known for cherry blossoms in spring and autumn colors in fall, and is also a destination for bass fishing and motorcycle touring. This is our own speculation, but once you know that the valley’s water-filled scenery was made by human hands, you may begin to sense, within its beauty, the weight of time this land has carried. It is also a reality particular to man-made lakes that sediment builds up easily in recent years, and dredging work is under way.

3. The Asuke Townscape

The Asuke townscape is a cluster of merchant houses that flourished as a post town on the Sanshu Kaido, popularly known as the “Salt Road.” It lay on the route that carried salt made at Kira, near Mikawa Bay, to Shinshu, and Asuke served as a base for transferring cargo and for trade. In June 2011 it was selected as a nationally Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, as the Toyota City Asuke Preservation District. Local efforts to protect the townscape had been under way since around 1975.

The salt carriers were the Chuma, horse-transport traders from Shinshu. The Chuma were a kind of trade association formed by Shinshu horse haulers in the Edo period. Salt brought from Kira was repackaged at Asuke into bales of about 26 kilograms (seven kan), and these went on to Shinshu under the name “Asuke-naoshi.” By the mid-Meiji period, it is said that about 20,000 bales of salt a year were carried to the Ina Valley.

A major feature of the townscape is the many merchant houses that were rebuilt with tiled roofs for fire protection after the great fire of 1775. Buildings from the mid-Edo period to the late Meiji period still stand and are said to make up about 30 percent of the district. Beside the storehouse-style buildings, there are narrow alleys pressed between black plank walls and white earthen storehouses, where you can feel the atmosphere of the old trade just by walking. Because the townscape rests on the daily lives of each household, please remember to be considerate of the residents as you stroll.

4. Asuke Castle

Asuke Castle is a mountain castle built on Mount Mayumi, 301 meters above sea level, overlooking the town of Asuke. The date of its construction is unclear, but it was the base of the Asuke Suzuki clan, who ruled this land. The Suzuki are said to have governed this mountain region for generations, beginning with Tadachika in the late 15th century, and Yasushige, regarded as the last lord, left the area in 1590.

The castle’s history directly reflects the turbulence of the Sengoku era. The Suzuki at first wavered in their relationship with the Matsudaira, but from 1564 they settled on the Matsudaira side. In 1571, however, Takeda Shingen’s army attacked and the castle was occupied by the Takeda for a time. The story conveys the tension of a small mountain castle caught between great powers.

Excavations from 1990 to 1992 confirmed traces of the main enclosure, the south bailey and a western lookout, as well as postholes and wells. Based on these findings, the mountain castle was reconstructed in 1993. It is regarded as a pioneering example, even nationally, of a full-scale reconstruction based on excavation. Standing here, you can read from the terrain itself how ridge paths branched in several directions to guard the castle. In this site’s view, the quiet spoken by the remains is the castle’s greatest attraction.

5. Korankei Gorge

Korankei is a gorge carved by the Tomoe River as it flows through Asuke, and it is one of Aichi’s leading places for autumn foliage. Its origins are traced to 1634, when the priest San’ei of Kosekiji Temple planted maples and cedars along both sides of the temple approach. That one monk’s planting has grown over nearly four centuries into one of the prefecture’s finest scenic spots, a reminder that landscapes are made by human hands.

The name Korankei was given in 1930. The temple’s head priest and the town mayor asked the president of the Mainichi Shimbun to name it, and the name is said to come from the scene of a fragrant breeze from Mount Iimori filtering through the green maples on the Kosekiji approach and crossing the Tomoe River, carrying the scent of the mountains. In a famous autumn-leaf spot, the first thing they wrote into the name was the wind of fresh green leaves, which reveals the aesthetic sense of people long ago.

Taigetsukyo (待月橋), the bridge that crosses the gorge, is the symbol of Korankei. It was named in 1953 and replaced with a new bridge in 2007. In autumn the foliage reflects on the surface of the Tomoe River and the vermilion of the bridge stands out. In spring the area is also known for dogtooth violets (katakuri), which grow in colonies covering about 5,000 square meters. Traffic jams in the autumn-leaf season are famous, so it is reassuring to check the timing and means of transport in the official guide before you go.

6. Toyota Stadium

Toyota Stadium is a football and rugby stadium completed in June 2001. It was designed by Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates and others, and has a capacity of 44,380 seats. It is a familiar home to Nagoya Grampus and was also one of the venues for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Its most distinctive exterior feature is the suspended roof. Because the site is surrounded by roads and a river, it was hard to build structures outside the stands to support the roof, so the roof is hung by wires from four masts standing at the corners of the stands. The roof was originally retractable, but its conversion to a fixed roof was completed in 2023.

The use of locally grown natural turf is another feature unique to this stadium. Apart from the image of a car town, it shows a side that values its ties to grass and farmland. Even on days without a match, simply looking at the silhouette of the great roof lets you feel the time this city has spent gathering people and welcoming them.

7. Toyota Municipal Museum of Art and Toyota City Museum

The Toyota Municipal Museum of Art is a city-run museum that opened in 1995, designed by Taniguchi Yoshio. A modernist building of steel and glass, it follows the undulating terrain of the hill, with both the first and second floors meeting the ground. This is the hilltop where Koromo Castle (also called Shichishu Castle) once stood, and a reconstructed corner turret stands in one part of the garden.

The garden was designed by the American landscape architect Peter Walker. Around a large artificial pond are arranged the tea house Dojien and the study-style hall Mataan. The collection ranges widely from early 20th-century Japanese painting to the Bauhaus, Surrealism and contemporary art, and includes Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi.” The 2019 Klimt exhibition drew more than 200,000 visitors in 75 days.

Next door, the Toyota City Museum opened on April 26, 2024. Designed by the architect Shigeru Ban, it stands on the former site of Aichi Prefectural Toyota Higashi High School. It is a general museum covering the city’s history, culture, nature and industry, and has taken over the functions of the earlier local history museum. With art and local history side by side on the castle-site hill, the arrangement shows that the heart of the car town holds a cultural center where you can walk and linger.

8. Oritaki Gorge

Oritaki Gorge (王滝渓谷, Otaki Keikoku) was carved by the rapids where the Nio River flows into the Tomoe River. It is about 1.8 kilometers long with a drop of 148 meters, and its rugged scenery of rocks tumbling one after another has earned it the nickname “the Shosenkyo of Tokai.” Water gathers mainly from high in the mountains and plunges swiftly through the valley.

Because the trees grow so thickly, the area near the stream is dim and cool. Moss grows on tree trunks, rocks, even bridge railings, and green spreads over the stones on the riverbed too, creating a dense atmosphere that has been compared to a tropical rain forest. If you look closely at the moss underfoot, you realize it is the presence of water and the dampness of the forest that make this scenery.

The gorge has been equipped with scenic spots such as Fudoyama Observatory and Fukurogajo Observatory, a red suspension bridge and the 90-meter Otaki Lake Bridge. Besides autumn foliage, it is said to offer plum and cherry blossoms in spring, so the scenery changes through the year. Footing along the stream is easily wet, and there is danger when the water rises. Please check the weather and water conditions and plan a visit that does not push your limits.

9. Matsudaira-go

Matsudaira-go is a small mountain village in Matsudaira-cho, Toyota, known as the birthplace of the Matsudaira clan, the family from which the Tokugawa shoguns descended. It was designated a National Historic Site in 2000 as the Matsudaira Clan Ruins, and historic sites that tell of the family’s beginnings are scattered through the gentle mountain scenery. According to later genealogies, around the end of the 14th century a wandering monk named Tokuami became the son-in-law of the local lord of Matsudaira-go and took the name Matsudaira Chikauji.

However, this story of Chikauji is regarded with doubt in recent research. Whether Chikauji really existed, and what kind of person he was, is not clear. This is our own speculation, but perhaps after the Tokugawa order was established, a desire to tell the family’s origins as older and more distinguished helped such traditions grow. Reading the village as a tale that wavers between history and legend is one of the ways to enjoy it.

Kogetsuin, regarded as the clan’s family temple, is a Jodo-sect temple whose temple tradition dates its founding to 1367. Within its grounds stand hokyointo pagodas said to be the graves of Matsudaira Chikauji and his successor Yasuchika, among others. The main hall was built in 1641, and tradition says that Takechiyo, the future Ieyasu, stopped here in 1549 at the age of eight while on his way to Sunpu as a hostage. Matsudaira Toshogu began in 1619 when the ninth head, Naohide, enshrined Toshogu Daigongen at a Hachiman shrine; it stands on the site of the Matsudaira residence and is an active shrine. When visiting, please remember that it is a place of worship for the local community and offer a quiet prayer.

Local Specialties: Food and Drink

The first specialty of Toyota to mention is gohei-mochi. It is a simple food of mashed rice pressed onto a skewer, brushed with miso sauce and grilled until fragrant, and it has long been enjoyed in mountain districts such as Asuke, Inabu, Asahi, Obara and Shimoyama. There is also an initiative introducing gohei-mochi made with Toyota-grown rice and locally made miso, and more than 20 shops are said to be scattered across six districts.

Part of gohei-mochi’s charm is that its shape, flavor and size differ completely from shop to shop. In Korankei during the autumn-leaf season it lines the stalls and has become a seasonal feature of autumn. If you plan to compare them, it is reassuring to check each shop’s latest information before you go.

The food culture of the mountain villages is also closely bound to Asuke’s Salt Road. When you think of the history of salt, rice and miso moving back and forth across the mountains, the simple taste of gohei-mochi seems to hold the life of the trade road within it.

Rare Wildlife and Nature

Toyota’s nature is shaped by its roughly 1,200 meters of elevation difference. High mountain ranges line the Inabu mountains in the north, while plains spread to the south. Even within the same city, plants and scenery change completely with altitude.

At Korankei, dogtooth violets grow in colonies covering about 5,000 square meters. The plant blooms only for a short period in spring, and early in the season the mountain slopes are tinged pale purple. At Oritaki Gorge there is a world of moss thickly covering rocks and tree trunks, where you can feel the humid forest air all year round.

Obara’s shikizakura has the rare quality of blooming twice, in spring and autumn. Thought to be a hybrid of the Fuji cherry and the Edo higan, it flowers in the same season as the autumn leaves. Mountain nature and plants raised by human hands blend into the same scenery, and that is part of Toyota’s charm.

Other Notable Things About This City

One thing that cannot be left out in talking about life in Toyota is the automobile industry. The value of its manufactured goods shipped is said to be first among all cities in Japan. The fact that factories were built in Koromo and the city’s very name was changed shows how closely the town’s history has been tied to cars.

The summer Toyota Oiden Festival is a citizens’ festival held on the last Sunday of July each year and is said to draw about 400,000 people. The first Toyota Festival began in 1968. It is a summer event for residents, nurtured by a factory town.

In the city center are the Toyota City Museum, opened in 2024, and the art museum, opened in 1995, and the stadium opened in 2001 as well. Mountain trade roads on one side, cultural facilities of a car town on the other: this contrast gives Toyota its depth.

The Night Side: Ghost Stories and Haunted Spots of This City

So far we have walked Toyota’s daytime face: lives sunk beneath an artificial lake, a Sengoku mountain castle, the road that carried salt, the legends of the Matsudaira. Each place layers the time of people who lived there, protected it, and sometimes let it go.

That depth connects to the night side as well. Toyota’s mountains and lakes have well-known rumors, but the places are not specified and we do not recommend searching for them. In this site’s view, a ghost story is something like a shadow that a land’s history and terrain have cast on people’s minds. The more you learn about villages that sank beneath a dam or the hardships of those who traveled the trade road, the deeper your respect for quiet places becomes.

At KARASU CHANNEL, we present true ghost stories and haunted spots not so that you can visit them but so that they are recorded. After getting to know the daytime scenery, please read the night stories too.

Before You Go

Opening hours, fees, closing days and access change easily, so they are not included in this article. Before you go, please check the latest information on the official website of each facility or local government. Some places may be restricted from entry because of weather or disasters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. In what order is it efficient to see Toyota’s sights?

A. This article introduces them from north to south. Grouping by area makes it easier: the north of the city (Lake Okuyahagi and Obara), the Asuke area (Asuke Castle, Korankei and the townscape), Matsudaira-go and Oritaki Gorge, and the city center (museums and stadium). Because the city is very large, please check your means of travel and seasonal road conditions in the official tourist guide.

Q. What is Toyota’s specialty food?

A. Gohei-mochi, known as a mountain-village specialty, is the best-known. Stall foods lined up during Asuke’s autumn-leaf season are also popular. Offerings change by season and by shop, so please check the latest information before you go.

Q. Is it all right to visit during the autumn-leaf season?

A. Korankei is extremely crowded as an autumn-foliage spot, and traffic jams occur in the surrounding area. Please plan sensibly by shifting your timing or checking public transport and parking guidance in advance.

Official sites and references consulted
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/豊田市
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/香嵐渓
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/松平郷
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/高月院
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/豊田市美術館
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/豊田市博物館
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/豊田スタジアム
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/矢作ダム
https://tabi-mag.jp/ai0144/
https://tabi-mag.jp/obara-shikizakura/
https://aichinow.pref.aichi.jp/spots/detail/1023/
https://aichinow.pref.aichi.jp/spots/detail/2234/
https://aichinow.pref.aichi.jp/spots/detail/212/
https://www.pref.aichi.jp/site/kaidou/toyota-goheimochi.html