At an altitude of 650m to 1500m, the sunny weather and cool climate nurture high-quality agricultural products such as highland vegetables and fruits. It has prospered as a post town on Nakasendo since ancient times, and the fermented food culture such as miso-based dishes and pickles is still rooted in the people’s lives. The nutritious carp dish is a local soul food. No wonder it’s a prefecture known for health and longevity.
The rice terraces of Tagarasu create a rustic scene surrounded by the sea and mountains. At every turn, the coastline offers new panoramas of natural beauty.
It is a plateau of Mt. Asama to the north, Mt. Yatsugatake to the south, and the Chikuma River in the center of the Saku Basin. There are many natural hot springs that overlook the magnificent Mt. Asama, whose ambience changes depending on the place, time, and season. It takes pride in the beautiful starry sky with a refreshing climate and a high rate of sunny weather throughout the year.
Harvest wakame seaweed, catch octopuses with a trap net, or go fishing for sea bream and clean and eat it yourself. You can also learn how to make your own set of chopsticks or participate in a local cooking workshop. There are lots of things to do and learn that will give you a new appreciation for life in a fishing village and the blessings of Wakasa Bay.
KURABITO STAY is where you can actually experience being a brewer, make sake in the brewery and also stay there. The brewery’s dormitory called Hiroshiki on the brewery site has been renovated into a brewery hotel, making it a accomodation space for those who visit the brewery experience. Throw yourself into being a brewer at the miracle moment sake is produced, sharpen your five senses, and enjoy the great art created by the predecessors.
Over a thousand years the Shinojima red snapper has been dedicated to Ise Jingu Shrine. It has a strong taste and you can even taste it’s sweetness. The fresh red snapper is carefully prepared and cooked. In Minamichita, the red snapper is not only enjoyed at special occasions but in various ways, such as sashimi, grilled with salt, cooked with salt crust, boiled, dried, etc.
The clear stream Miyagawa and its tributaries flow everywhere in the town, and in Taiki-cho, where the spring water is beautiful, natural sweetfish, natural eels, mitten crabs and endangered species inhabit here.
In Komoro other than the traditional ‘zaru soba’ there are other ways to enjoy the soba such as ‘Onikake’. On celebratory occasions the soba is eaten with soup made from the various kinds of vegetables specially grown in the mountains of Komoro.
Due to the mild climate, you can enjoy full blooming “winter sunflowers” until around December.There are 88 places of Sacred Sites in Chita Shikoku on Shinoshima, Himaka Island and Peninsula, and it is popular to visit the unique sacred sites across the sea.
Harvest vegetables and mushrooms grown in the clean water of the Miyagawa river stream, and cook organically grown homemade rice in a kamado to make Matsusaka beef sukiyaki with the “Food x Agriculture” experience.
