Experience the Japanese Forestry & Traditional Woodworking
Forests account for 67% of the land in Japan. At this workshop, you can experience the traditional woodworking popular in this forestry country. Actually, 90% of Kiso Area is covered with forests.
Workshops at Furusato Taiken-kan
<Chopstick Making>
Make your own original chopsticks from Kiso Hinoki Cypress
<Farming Experience>
Harvest the seasonal vegetables of potatoes, corn, red radish and so on.
<Momigara Kamado Stove Cooking>
Cook rice by the traditional stove of Momigara Kamado. You can enjoy the special meals with the miso soup and Japanese pickles made with local miso.
Trekking Worshippers’ Trails in Ontake Kodo
Mt. Kiso Ontake has 1,300-year long history as the deity of mountain worship. You will find the pure nature and precious time which have been pass down by the people living here.
Experience Waterfall Meditation
You will experience meditation in the waterfall which is one of the major trainings of monks. The waterfall is still common among the monks for cleansing themselves as a training.
There are changing rooms for both men and women at the waterfall. Rental clothes for waterfall meditation are included.
Ontake Shrine Satomiya
Before trekking, you will visit the Ontake Shrine Satomiya. After a long flight of stone steps, the shrine building stands against a huge rock wall.
Trekking in the Worshippers’ Trails
Mt. Ontake is entirely worshipped as a deity. You will trek this sacred mountain toward the shrine on the summit which is located on an elevation of 2,973m.
While walking in Ontake Kodo Trails, you will wear the traditional travellers’ costumes of Kasa (Hat), Kongotsue (Walking Stick) and Shiroshozoku (White Worshipping Clothes).
Bamboo Wrapped Rice balls, the traditional meals among worshippers, will be served as lunch.
■Route:Tanohara Trail→Yohaijo (Worshippers’ Praying Place) →Ooe Gongen→8th Station→Fujimi-ishi→Hitokuchi-mizu→Onozoki-no-ganpeki→Otaki Shrine
Nakasendo Trekking
Nakasendo is one of the five continents highways that once connected Edo to Kyoto. It is also called "Kisoji" because it passes through Kiso. Along the route, there were inn towns where travelers had rested and teahouses were set up. The route is about 9km long and takes you from Tsumagojuku to Magomejuku, a town that still retains its Edo period appearance.
The stone-paved paths in the forest, the mossy stone Buddha, the teahouses near the mountain passes, the mountain views and the beautiful mountainous farming villages - you will feel as if you have slipped back in time to a Japan long ago, seeing the same scenery as the people who once walked here.
Nakasendo is a road that was used by the daimyo (feudal lords) during the Edo period for their shifts to and from work. It is also known as the "Samurai Trail" and is becoming increasingly popular with foreign tourists, as many daimyo (feudal lords) accompanied their processions as they made the yearly round trip between Edo and their estates.
The final destination, Magomejuku.
Lunch is served at a teahouse about halfway between Tsumagojuku and Magomejuku, where you can enjoy a boxed lunch of the famous chestnut rice.
The last stop on this trip is Magomejuku, the southernmost inn town on the Kiso Road. Magomejuku is a stone-paved slope along a mountain ridge, with a restored row of old houses along the way. You can feel the bustle of a former inn town.