See

Orihime Shrine

織姫神社

A shrine was built here in 1879 to enshrine the deities Yachichihime no mikoto (八千々姫命) and Amenomihoko no mikoto (天御鉾命), and to protect the textile industry of Ashikaga. In 1880, it was reduced to ashes in a fire and the current shrine building was built in 1937. It stands in the midst of Orihime Park and is also the departure and arrival point for the hiking course in the Ashikaga Prefectural Natural Park.

outdoors

Address: Nishinomiya-cho 3889
Getting there: about 20 min on foot from the north gate of JR Ashikaga station
Website: city.ashikaga.tochigi.jp (opens in a new tab)

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Listing from Wikivoyage: Ashikaga, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

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Bannaji Temple
鑁阿寺
Founded by Ashikaga Yoshikane during the early Kamakura period (1192-1333), Bannaji Temple maintains the style of a samurai residence of that era. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1922. In addition to the main temple, the spacious grounds include a bell tower, library, and other buildings, as well as a fine assortment of trees, including cherry trees and a huge, old gingko tree.
Daily 10:00-17:30Free
See
Ashikaga School
足利学校 ashikaga gakkō
Known as Japan's oldest university, Ashikaga School was established during the 1400s by deputy shogun Uesugi Norizane (although some credit Lord Ashikaga Yoshikane during the Kamakura period, and still others claim it dates from either the Nara or the Heian period). In any case, by the 1500s, St. Francis Xavier and other foreign missionaries recognized Ashikaga School as the most famous university in eastern Japan. The school was abolished after the Meiji Restoration and then converted into an elementary school when the site passed into city control in 1902. After a decade of preparatory work, the original grounds of Ashikaga School were beautifully restored in 1990 as a National Historic Site, a designation it received in 1921. The thatched-roof buildings and manicured grounds are well worth seeing.
Daily 09:00-16:30 (16:00 October–March). Closed 3rd Mon October–March, 3rd Tue April–September¥400 per adult
Do
Ashikaga Machinaka Yūgakkan
足利まちなか遊学館
This "play-learn" emporium not only exhibits locally made textiles and actual working looms and braiding and threading machines, it also offers weaving lessons on small handlooms. ¥400 per lesson (30-45 minutes).
Daily 09:00-17:00; closed 3rd Mon every month and at year end
See
Sōun Museum
草雲美術館
On the south edge of the park is the small Sōun Museum, housing landscape and nature paintings by the Ashikaga clan's official artist, Tazaki Sōun (1815-1898), who exhibited his depiction of Mount Fuji at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
¥210