Hanazono sou is a farm stay operated by a farming family making rice for 15 generations in Hanazono, Ohtawara City. It is a lodging where guests can indulge themselves in the slow flow of time and the scenery of the vast countryside as well as the starry sky at night. For dinner, guests can cook for themselves in the shared kitchen or with the BBQ equipment. You can harvest chemical-free vegetables from the field and use them for dinner. They also serve home-grown rice freshly steamed on the rice-husk stove. After the meal, you are invited to enjoy Hanazono sou’s original Japanese sake for a relaxing time. In the morning, you will choose a Japanese or Western breakfast and cook it with the farm stay staff. The Japanese breakfast is freshly cooked rice on the rice-husk stove, miso soup with homemade miso, and a dish of seasonal vegetables. The Western breakfast is pancakes using homemade rice flour and soup featuring seasonal vegetables.

Hotel MOKUREN is a traditional Japanese house turned into an accommodation. They take only one reservation at a time, so guests can exclusively use the two spacious Japanese style rooms during their stay while enjoying a view of the vast countryside. Feel the essence of Japan in a relaxing space and enjoy a farming experience in adjacent fields and in the traditional storehouse, as well as sightseeing in Nasunogahara. The hotel does not have a meal service, but the guest room includes a kitchen where you can cook harvested farm products. The storehouse has a cooking stove for preparing rice and BBQ equipment. There are also restaurants and diners near the hotel. The guest room has a shower, but if you wish to have a relaxing soak in a larger space, you can try a nearby onsen. You can also borrow bicycles.

Otawara City holds the “Yoichi Festival” on the first Friday and Saturday in August every year. This festival is in honor of Nasu Yoichi, the most famous archer in Japanese history. Highlights of the festival is the samurai parade. An actor/actress would cosplay Nasu Yoichi and lead the parade walk around downtown. You can see a traditional dance named “Yoichi Buyo” at night when you walk on street during the festival.

The floats, intricately carved with flowers, birds, lions, and other designs, are well worth seeing. The climax of the festival can be said to be the Buttsuke (a musical ensemble) performance by nine floats with golden lanterns.

Farm Stay Iri (Hachinosu) is a quiet, two-story Western style accommodation built 20 years ago in a farm village with an extensive view of the countryside. The owner has renovated a 55-year-old storage shed into a fermentation research laboratory “Fer-Lab.” Only one reservation is accepted at a time and guests will not see any other guests during their stay. Guests and the owner cook meals together using home-grown rice and seasonal vegetables with no commercial spices. If requested, vegan meals and gluten-free meals can be made. You can also experience vegetable harvesting. The accommodation offers a long-stay plan in which you can experience a program featuring the full process of making fermented foods such as shio koji (fermented seasoning).