Oyama
Discover Oyama
Oyama (小山) is the second most populous city in southern Tochigi prefecture, Japan. Oyama is above all a major train junction, and most visitors won't stop much longer than it takes to change trains. One of the minor thrills of Oyama is to stand on the Shinkansen platform and watch the through-trains barrel past at full throttle and full volume on the middle tracks away from either platform.
Taste of Oyama...
If you want to grab a quick meal between trains, try the ground floor food court below the Val department store at the West Exit. The ramen shop doesn't stint on the pepper or garlic, and the soba shop provides fresh wasabi that you grate yourself (and little bags to take away the leftover stubs). For those with a little more time to kill, here are a few options outside the station. If you want to grab a quick coffee between trains, Beck's is inside JR Oyama station, Starbucks is just outside the West Exit wickets at the entrance to Val department store, a quieter Tully's is on the second floor at the outside edge of Roble department store adjacent to Val, and a more traditional Cafe Colorado is just across the street from Roble.
Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple OptionsOne of the minor thrills of Oyama is to stand on the Shinkansen platform and watch the through-trains barrel past at full throttle and full volume on the middle tracks away from either platform. Oyama is on the Tōhoku Shinkansen between Tokyo and Aomori, and is served by the Nasuno and Yamabiko all-stations services. There is one train per hour from Tokyo to Oyama, with more frequent trains for the peak-direction rush (42 minutes, ¥3440 for an unreserved seat). Oyama also lies at the intersection of the JR Tohoku Line, which runs north-south between Utsunomiya and Ueno; the JR Mito Line, which runs east to the historic city of Mito; and the JR Ryōmō Line, which runs west to Takasaki, where the Jōetsu Shinkansen (toward Niigata) splits off from the Nagano Shinkansen. Local trains from Ueno to Oyama on the Tohoku Line, the section of which is also referred to as the Utsunomiya Line, take 75 minutes at a cost of ¥1280....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
Oyama station is a decent place to do some quick shopping while waiting for train connections to smaller cities or towns. There are two fairly big, midrange shopping malls, Val and Roble. The local post office (36.309232, 139.814939) ATM allows you to withdraw cash by credit and debit cards issued outside of Japan, including Visa, Plus, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, American Express and JCB cards and provide an English user menu. If you want to grab a quick meal between trains, try the ground floor food court below the Val department store at the West Exit. The ramen shop doesn't stint on the pepper or garlic, and the soba shop provides fresh wasabi that you grate yourself (and little bags to take away the leftover stubs). For those with a little more time to kill, here are a few options outside the station.
Money & Budget
Oyama station is a decent place to do some quick shopping while waiting for train connections to smaller cities or towns. There are two fairly big, midrange shopping malls, Val and Roble. The local post office (36.309232, 139.814939) ATM allows you to withdraw cash by credit and debit cards issued outside of Japan, including Visa, Plus, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, American Express and JCB cards and provide an English user menu. If you want to grab a quick meal between trains, try the ground floor food court below the Val department store at the West Exit. The ramen shop doesn't stint on the pepper or garlic, and the soba shop provides fresh wasabi that you grate yourself (and little bags to take away the leftover stubs).