Food & Drink
Area
Season
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World Natural Heritage Site of Shiretoko: Experience Fishing with Rausu Kelp Fishermen and Learn about Japanese “DASHI” Culture
The setting for this experience is the World Natural Heritage Site of Shiretoko. Rausu Kelp fishermen are traditional Japanese craftsmen, and one of their production sites will be made specially available to those wanting to experience the actual production of Rausu Kelp. Participants can see kelp fishing up close, try their hand at washing and drying kelp, and learn how kelp is made into different sorts of products. Some of the kelp fishermen will be offering tours on their fishing boats to help you get a sneak peek into the underwater world. You can use actual fishing gear to look down into the seabed to see how kelp grows. You can also help make some local dishes and special lunches with the fishermen’s wives. Finally, the tour will take you to the fish market (normally closed to the public) to see all the various types of fish caught in the local area and to watch the fish auction. Enjoy traditional Japanese culture at a deeper level. Seaside Cottage KOBUSTAY will open in February 2025, allowing guests to experience the kelp fisherman’s lifestyle in its entirety.
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Gero Onsen Special Illuminated Autumn Foliage Tour to Savor Local Cuisine in Historical Buildings
・Gero Onsen Gassho Village will be specially lit up this autumn season.
Enjoy the autumn leaves with gohei-mochi rice cakes, snacks, and sake at Odo House in Gassho Village rented for your exclusive use.
・Go on a private tour of the former Kikusuiso, a building of historic value located within Onsenji Temple at Gero Onsen.
・Immerse yourself in traditional geiko performing arts and the tea ceremony while viewing the illuminated autumn leaves.
・In addition, with the Ryukoukutsu dry landscape garden specially lit up for this event, you can try your hand at zazen meditation in a mystical atmosphere. -
Dinner Show Featuring Gagaku Court Music by Hideki Togi and Japanese Cuisine with an Illuminated Mikazuki Falls
Kusu, Oita Prefecture, will host a special tour based around the theme of “The Legend of Mikazuki Falls,” a Heian-period tale of true love in Kyoto. This tour offers abundant attractions for international tourists seeking to experience what makes Japan unique.
For two days, there will be dinner shows featuring live performances of gagaku ancient court music by Hideki Togi at Arashiyama Taki Shrine during the mid-autumn Harvest Moon, when the full moon shines brightest in the clear night sky. The Togi family have passed down gagaku court music from generation to generation since the Nara period 1,300 years ago. Hideki Togi, who inherited this tradition, has performed at court ceremonies and gagaku concerts held at the Imperial Palace throughout his career. He has also played a large role in promoting traditional Japanese culture and encouraging international goodwill. Sushi Kappo Yamanaka, a famous restaurant frequented by food connoisseurs from all over Japan since its opening in 1972, provides the cuisine for dinner shows. The seafood used for their Hakata sushi is procured from the Genkai Sea and other nearby coastal waters and is carefully selected by the restaurant's owner. The chefs will spare no expense in preparing your meal for this gem of an event. The dinner will also feature local Kusu Rice, which is the same type of rice specially offered to deities at the Daijosai Festival.
This event, featuring Japanese-style lighting of Mikazuki Falls and Arashiyama Taki Shrine, gagaku court music accompaniments by Hideki Togi, and a collaboration with local restaurants in Kusu town, will continue for the next two months.
The beauty of Mikazuki Falls and Arashiyama Taki Shrine, lit up in a quintessential Japanese style, makes for the perfect view to enjoy with the gagaku court music by Hideki Togi in the background, and is sure to be a hit on social media! This event offers a precious opportunity to experience the true depths and beauty of Japanese culture. Centered around luxurious Japanese tradition and history, this special event will make for unforgettable memories. -
TANADA MORNING
Inagura's rice terraces have captivated many, and have also been selected among the “100 Best Rice Terraces in Japan."
Okazaki Shuzo, a sake brewery in Ueda, Nagano Prefecture that has been brewing high-quality sake for 350 years, tends to these fields. This not only provides the brewery with rice for sake, but also preserves the landscape.
Anyone who works the rice fields knows that the Inagura rice terraces are the most beautiful when bathed in the morning light. Now, visitors will have the chance to take in the sights, sounds, and flavors of this landscape as part of a new type of sake tourism by Okazaki Shuzo: the rice terrace breakfast.
Enjoy a private breakfast among the rice terraces, a landscape formed and perserved by sake brewing, while basking in the morning sun. -
Beginners Adventure Tours
[Course A]
・Spectacular views! Zip downhill on an e-bike from Bihoro Pass overlooking a caldera lake (Lake Kussharo) in Akan-Mashu National Park (electric-assisted bicycle tour)
・Kayak along the Wakoto Peninsula, a place of boiling hot spring water, before coming ashore to experience the volcano in Oyakotsu Jigoku
・Eat a special homemade lunch using locally-produced ingredients on the shore of Lake Kussharo
・There is also an additional mini-cycling tour available, going by e-bike through agricultural, mountain, and fishing villages to Sunayu for a footbath in the hot springs
・Our final destination is Mt. Io, a geopark where you can feel the real pulse of Hokkaido's Tomoshiri
[Course B]
・Start from Omagari Lakeside Park, a field used by inmates of the former Abashiri Prison (the sunflower and cosmos flower gardens are at their best in August and September!)
・Take a leisurely ride on an e-bike along a bike path that uses the old Kushiro Line with Lake Abashiri at its side
・The coral grass with their bright red leaves that bloom in autumn at the brackish Lake Notoro are at their best in September
・Cycle by e-bike in the magnificent rural landscapes overlooking Cape Notoro
・Cross a sea relic lake! Kayak on Lake Notoro, Abashiri Quasi-National Park
・Cycle by e-bike to Cape Notoro Lighthouse while overlooking the Sea of Okhotsk where ice drifts and re-emerges!
・Have lunch at Connectrip, a hands-on facility at Lake Abashiri, where you can bake your own pizza! After stretching out the dough and topping it off with your favorite local ingredients, bake it in the stone oven for your very own stone-baked pizza! -
Ascetic Training, Senchado Tea Ceremony, and Fucha Cuisine at Manpukuji Temple
Manpukuji Temple was founded in 1661 by the Chinese monk Ingen Ryuki and is the head temple of the Obaku sect of Zen Buddhism. It is characterized by its Chinese-style architecture, in which its seven halls are arranged in the Ming Dynasty style.
The Daio Hoden Main Hall—the only one made of teak in Japan—the Dharma Lecture Hall, the Kaizando Founder’s Hall, and more, still stand as originally constructed. Highlights of the temple also include its Important Cultural Properties, which consist of twenty-three main buildings, corridors, plaques, and hanging couplets.
You can also experience the Chinese culture of the time through the temple's collection of Buddhist statues, framed inscriptions, paintings on sliding-door panels, and hanging scrolls by Buddhist artists from China.
Zen Master Ingen introduced a great number of things to Japan, many of which are taken for granted today. Such imports include kidney beans, watermelon, lotus root, sencha green tea, bamboo shoots (moso bamboo), chairs, tables, and manuscript paper.
Fucha cuisine, the Chinese version of Japanese Buddhist Shojin vegetarian cuisine, is beautifully presented and tastes divine. It is one of the highlights of the event that allows guests to truly experience Chinese culture.
There are Zen monks at Manpukuji who continue to practice asceticism to this day. These monks devote themselves to their practice through zazen meditation, Zen dialogue, religious services, alms begging, and other daily temple work at the Zen dojo located on the temple grounds. Visitors can deepen their understanding of the history and culture of Manpukuji from a digital guide available in seven languages: Japanese, English, French, Spanish, Korean, and Chinese (simplified and traditional). -
Heian Jingu Tsuki Otoyo: Kyoto Harvest Moon Concert 2024
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a celebration that originated in China to celebrate the fullest and brightest moon of the year. It is now celebrated with great enthusiasm in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and many Southeast Asian countries. This year, the festival falls on August 15, as per the lunar calendar. Traditional "moon-viewing parties" will be hosted this October in the modern setting of Kyoto’s Heian-jingu Shrine. The Daigokuden (outer hall of worship) will be lit up in the background for special live performances by talented musicians to embody the elegant and romantic time that is mid-autumn.
■ Dates: October 12 (Sat.) - October 14 (Mon.)
■ Admission: All seats reserved, advance purchase 8,000 yen / 25,000 yen with meals included (scheduled/admission date designated)
■ Performer: October 12 (Sat.): Hiromi Go October 12 (Sun.): Erika Ikuta October 14 (Mon.): NEO PIANO
[Special Gift for Visitors: Original Japanese Sweets]
This tradition of admiring the moon originates in China. There, they serve round mooncakes in the shape of the full moon. The Tsuki Otoyo Kyoto Harvest Moon Concert represents East Asia's shared culture of affection for the moon. Original Japanese sweets will be handed out to all who join in on the festivities.
[Plan with Dinner]
Enjoy an exquisite dinner at Rokusei, a restaurant located near Heian-jingu Shrine. Savor their Kyoto-style kaiseki cuisine which embodies the culinary culture of Kyoto cultivated over its long history.
Time: 5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m. each day (concert begins at 7:00 p.m.)
Details: Kyoto-style kaiseki cuisine -
Night Festival at the Tokyo National Museum
The Tokyo National Museum has the longest history of any museum in Japan. It's collection includes numerous masterpieces exemplifying Japanese art, including paintings, swords, calligraphy, and kimonos. This summer, the museum will be holding a special exhibition to showcase valuable cultural assets, such as Buddhist statues and paintings inherited from Jingoji Temple in Kyoto.
In addition to these precious tangible cultural properties, guests can experience the Japanese summer traditions of matsuri festivals and temple fairs.
The temple fair atmosphere cleverly recreated on the museum grounds will greet guests as they enter through the Kuromon "Black Gate" instead of the regular entrance. Once inside, guests can enjoy traditional Japanese festival sweets, such as cotton candy and shaved ice, and take part in popular festival activities and items, including target practice, ring toss, wind chimes, daruma dolls, and masks.
A variety of festival foods will also be offered, from takoyaki octopus dumplings and yakisoba noodles to Japanese beer, chocolate bananas, and other such festival treats. -
Tour of the Suzuka 8 Hours Road Race with VIP Activities
The Suzuka 8 Hours race will take place on July 20 and 21. There are two types of exclusive tours on offer for those wanting to enjoy the race.
The Hospitality Package spans both race days and allows guests to watch the race up close and in person in an exclusive mobile showroom set up directly beside the course for an exhilarating and immersive experience. The local restaurant Kakiya will be offering sukiyaki with Matsusaka beef for this event, and there will be opportunities to meet the riders and coaches of Ducati Team Kagayama, one of the teams competing in the Suzuka 8 Hours race.
The Touring Package is a limited-number set package which includes everything from the Hospitality Package, as well as a few exclusive extras. On July 18 and 19, participants will travel by motorcycle to Iga Ueno, Ise Shrine, and other tourist spots around Mie Prefecture. On July 20, participants will ride on the actual race course of Suzuka 8 Hours. Finally, on July 21, participants will get an exclusive look at the race behind the scenes. -
Tsuzawa Yotaka Andon Festival: Special spectator seating with delicious festive food as impressive lanterns clash
Held every year on the first Friday and Saturday nights of June, the Tsuzawa Yotaka Andon Festival is a historical festival that originated in the Edo period (1603–1867). During this event, illuminated lantern floats assembled from dengaku lanterns, dashi floats, and hanging lanterns crafted with bamboo and washi paper are paraded through the streets at night to the sound of taiko drums and cheering. The main attraction of the festival is the Toyama fighting lantern floats: giant lanterns that are 7 meters high and 12 meters long. The lanterns crash fiercely into one another, and the goal is to break the opponents floats.
Special up-close spectator seating has been made available to watch this powerful clash of lanterns. This unique experience also comes with a meal and beverages, including local sake. The second floor of the Oyabe Tsuzawa Andon Fureai Hall, located near where the clash is set to take place, will be decorated as a dedicated space for this two-day event, allowing visitors to take in the view at their leisure.
Visitors can also tour the town with an interpreter and guide in addition to the lantern float parade. Experience the area firsthand as you learn about the festival and the local community.
Workshops will be held to create lantern art by reusing parts of the lantern floats that have broken off in the collisions. These lantern floats were created especially for the festival, and they are filled with the passion of its participants. While the broken pieces originally would have been incinerated, they are instead recycled for the workshop where they will be transformed into one-of-a-kind artworks that you can take home with you.