Michi-no-Eki Fureai Park Kita-no-Sato

Kitakata is one of Japan's ramen towns, and the queues outside its downtown shops can be long. Fureai Park Kita-no-Sato is the easier option for drivers. Furusato-tei, the station restaurant, serves Kitakata ramen made with flour from Yukichikara wheat grown locally, alongside Aizu staples such as sauce katsudon. It has also sold a Kitakata ramen burger, if you want the novelty.

Kura-no-Yu is the other half of the visit. The single-storey bathhouse is built to echo the town's storehouses, with a high ceiling, a sauna and a cold plunge, and it runs on the station's own spring. The water is a mild simple hot spring. There is also a product hall, the Kura-no-Machi Shikisaikan information center, and the Nakayama forest park on the slope behind.

The station is on Route 121, the road from Kitakata over to Yonezawa in Yamagata, about 21 km from Aizu-Wakamatsu IC. Listings put the bath's regular closure on the first Wednesday of the month; the restaurant closes for the New Year holidays. Check before driving out specifically for the bath.