At Nasu Farm Village, you can spend some relaxing time with horses. It offers programs such as the Horse Trekking Program that even beginners can enjoy and the Horse Therapy Program to befriend a horse. Children and people who are still not quite ready to ride a horse can join this program with peace of mind. The restaurant offers the chef’s special lunch boxes featuring seasonal vegetables harvested on the farm. *Guidance for horseback riding is provided in Japanese. For safety reasons, you may only ride a horse if you understand Japanese or if you have an interpreter to explain the instructions for you.

Tentaka Shuzo established itself in Otawara City, a nature-rich city suitable for sake brewing in Tochigi Prefecture. With a history of over 100 years, the brewery produces organic sake under the motto of “delicious, safe, and enjoyable” and is hosting brewery tours that include tasting. There are two brewery tour courses. One is the Standard Course that takes about 30 minutes, and the other one is the Special Course that requires about 60 minutes. In the Special Course, you can visit many rooms involved in sake production including the rice mill, rice steaming room, yeast growing room, sake brewing room, sake pressing room, and sake filtering room. Why don’t you join the tour and learn about Japanese sake production using the carefully selected ingredients, production method, equipment, and tools? ※Due to production preparation, there are no tours offered between the middle of December and the end of February.

From the Nakagawa River， the best clear stream in the Kanto area， to rivers in the world (Amazon River)， then to the Longing Sea (fish in coral reefs)， are introduced in approx. 60 water tanks， in various sizes from small to large. The attraction of the river， which the sea does not have， is definitely the sunlight shining deep through the water. A large amount of sunlight is taken in at the aquatic park， recreating the scenic riverbed. As natural light shines through the water， the fish actively swim in the aquarium， which is an attractive part of this park which cannot be experienced at a marine aquarium. There are many interactive areas as well， including touching tanks where visitors can encounter crayfish and starfish directly."

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).

A visit to Daioji Temple and Hitsuji Coffee in the beautiful prefecture of Tochigi will satiate your appetite for spiritual and culinary sustenance