Mibu Town (Toy Town)

Index

Highlights of Mibu Town

Mibu Town (壬生町) is a small town in Tochigi Prefecture 1.5 hours from Tokyo and is also known as Omochanomachi (Toy Town).

It developed as a small castle town in the 17th century as it was on an important route from Edo (now Tokyo). During the end of the Edo period (1603-1868), the townspeople eagerly studied Western medicine, and went on to educate the first nurse in Japan.

After WW2, Mibu became the center of Toy manufacturing in Japan, and in the 1960s, it produced 75% of all toys exported from Japan. In 1964, Omochanomachi Eki (Toy Town Station) opened, and in 1977, part of Mibu town was named Omochanomachi (Toy Town) as an official address.

Present-day Mibu has less toy manufacturing, but is home to two popular toy museums. The most famous is the Bandai Museum, where Gundam fans come from around the world to see the head of a Full-size Gundam. The other is the Mibu Toy Museum, which is a very popular place for families with young children to visit as it has an indoor playground, rooms with train sets to play with, and a large outdoor park that connects to Kita-Kanto Expressway.

The easiest way to visit by train from Tokyo is by taking the Tobu-Utsunomiya Line which runs between Tochigi city and Utsunomiya city both interesting destinations.

Car collection in toy museum (Mibu Town)

Train running through Wanpaku Park in Mibu Town

nearby-tokyo-mibu-toy-town-strawberry-picking-01

Otonosama Ryori (King's Meal) in Mibu Town

Access

From Tokyo

From Airports

Haneda Intl. Airport

Narita Intl. Airport

Ibaraki Airport

Main Stations

Videos of Mibu Town

Bandai Museum in Mibu

Mibu Toy Museum

Things to DO in Mibu Town

Taking a photo in front of Gandam in Bandai Museum in Mibu Town

Visit Bandai Museum

Bandai Museum is home to Gandam (a popular anime) and a massive collection of Japanese toys as well as one of the largest collection of Thomas Edison’s inventions in the world. (15 min walk from Omochanomachi station)

Cute train running through wanbpaku Park near the Toy museum in Mibu Town

Visit Mibu Toy Museum

Mibu Toy Museum is located in Wampaku Koen (Wampaku Park), a large park made for families. The Mibu Toy Museum has a collection of toys, but also has a indoor play area for children and rooms where children can play with trains.

Eat like a KING !

Recently, an ancient scroll from 1805 was discovered which contained the recipe for the feudal lord family (Otonosama). This has been remade into a popular lunch set menu served at seven restaurants in Mibu town. Why not give it a try!

EATING in Mibu Town

Japanese Food

Mibu Town has many restaurants ranging from Japanese to western. For restaurants open late in the evening it is best to find one around Omochanomachi Station and Dokkyo Medical University.

Western Food

There are many Western restaurants in Mibu Town near Omochainomachi Station and near Costco.

The King's Meal

Otonosama Ryori (The King’s meal) is a luxurious lunch course / lunch box offered at many restaurants in Mibu Town. The recipe is based on a historical scroll recently discovered containing cooking instructions for the feudal lord family (Otonosama) between 1st-29th July 1805.