Join one of our grannies in Sasahara village, a traditional farming village at 1100m in the mountains, and embark on a delicious adventure.
The locals' food culture is attuned to the cycle of the seasons with different dishes for every time of the year. And summer is a time for farming and tasty fresh vegetables. First, let's gather the ingredients for lunch! Follow our grannie outside to pick some summer veggies such as cucumbers, edamame beans, etc., in the nearby fields. Then, it's cooking time. Our grannie will share all the secrets of Yamaura traditional cuisine she inherited from her ancestors. You may prepare countryside-style rice cakes covered in savory edamame paste, colorful and refreshing agar cakes, tofu soup with hand-made miso, and much more.

Yatsugatake Cycling guided tours are a great way to explore the highland area on the foothills of the Yatsugatake. Itineraries can be personalized to fit your preferences and stamina. You can ride around rice fields, and peaceful little villages or maybe go up to Lake Tateshina to check out the sculpture park. The guide will show you all the best places and, when the weather is good, you can enjoy great views of the Japanese Alps and the Yatsugatake Mountains.

Up in the mountains, at 2100m, there is a fairytale-like forest completely covered in moss which looks like it just came out of Hayao Miyazaki's anime world. Enjoy the "macro" forest of igneous rocks and gnarly trees covered by a deep-green layer, then take a closer look at the "micro" forest of moss and lichens, which most people pass by without even realizing. A local guide will accompany you on this adventure to help you unveil the secrets of this mysterious corner of the Yatsugatake Mountains.

If you want to know more about soba, Yoshitaka-san is the man for you. He grows, processes, and mills his own soba (=buckwheat), which he then serves at his restaurant and minshuku at Lake Shirakaba.
Before delving into the kneading and cutting, the master will reveal all the secrets to perfect soba, from soil preparation to blending. You can also sneak into the processing room to look at the machines he uses to turn soba grains into flour. Last but not least, some hands-on action. The master will guide you through making your own soba noodles.

Set off on a journey to discover the origin of Fujimori Terunobu's imaginative architecture. This is your chance to climb up the too-high teahouse, Takasugi-an, which entered the Time's “top 10 precarious buildings” and have tea inside the too-low teahouse, both of which are usually closed to the public.
Along the way, we will also visit Suwa Taisha, one of Japan's oldest shrines, and Jinchokan Moriya Historical Museum, the first work by Fujimori-sensei.