Nice little river side restaurant that is very relaxing. It is 15 minutes away from Nippara Limestone Caves. They serve things such as pizza, curry, pasta and salad. You can also go trout fishing for about 600 yen which adds a bit of excitement to the day. All in all a great place to stop for lunch. The restaurant also has some free parking spots. ~Kalina Bojkova, August 2019.
http://ttcmayfly.web.fc2.com/mayfly.html
Posted in Daytrips, Fall, Kid Stuff, Okutama, Restaurants, Spring, Summer
Tagged daytrip, fishing, funfishing, nearcaves, outdoors, restaurantonriver, riverside, ShokusaiKitchenMayfly
Great for families with babies and kids 4 and up who can walk and do a lot of stairs. A tad more challenging with a toddler but still a lot of fun especially if you have a strong dad with you who doesn’t mind carrying the toddler up the steep stairs. Has a bunch of spots to stop and look around which is very recharging. There’s a little area right by the entrance of the cave where you can sit by the water and have lunch and also covered benches upstairs by the bathroom.
Bring a jacket with a hood and you should be fine. Cold Water is dripping down hence the hood. Definitely hat or hood for little kids who don’t like cold water on their heads. There is not much space for big hats so a hood is better. You can wear long pants but if you are walking the whole time you will warm up. Kids should probably wear long pants too. My warm blooded husband was happy wearing shorts and a tee as you can see in the picture.
Bring little easy snacks for the kids to keep them happy as it is 45 min adventure and the echo makes it extra loud when they cry compared to the Japanese people who talk to each other in a whisper.
There is free parking not many spots available so go early. They also have toilet, a little restaurant, a shrine and lots of nature. It’s a great day trip. Also go with a small car and a really good driver the way up is one way. Perfect for a motorcycle ride per my husband’s words. ~ Kalina Bojkova, August 2019.
http://www.nippara.com/nippara/syounyuudou/syounyuudou.html
Posted in Daytrips, Fall, Gardens, Kid Stuff, Okutama, Spring, Summer, Uncategorized
Tagged #caves, caveswithkids, daytrip, funwithkids, funwithoutkids, outdoor
My dad is a big Scotch fan so when my parents came for a visit, we drove them to the Suntory Hakushu Distillery for a tour and whiskey tasting.
The distillery is nestled in the southern Japanese Alps, surrounded by trees and running water. The tour was in Japanese but they provided English audio guides which worked fine. The whiskey tasting that was included in the tour cost (¥1,000/person) was interesting and I found it to be better than the one at their Yamazaki location near Kyoto.
They gave us samples of the white oak cask malt and the lightly peated malt whiskeys they blend to create their Hakushu Single Malt Scotch, which they gave a sample of as well. I didn’t see a tasting room that allowed you to try their other scotches. If you want that, your best bet is their Yamazaki Distillery.
They had a whiskey museum but it was not in English, a lookout at the top of the museum with a 360 degree view, and a restaurant which had English menus. You do have to call them to make reservations for the tour. The website said we would need reservations for the restaurant but we were able to just walk in after the tour.
They spoke English on the phone and many staff members on site spoke at least some English. The distillery wasn’t hard to find using GPS and is approximately 2 hours by car from Fussa heading west. We took the Ken-O then the Chuo Expressway west and it costed ¥6,140 round trip for tolls on a Tuesday from Hamura. The drive to it was quite scenic as were the grounds of the distillery. The coordinates are: 35.826441, 138.302564. – Laura Nelson, October 2016
Suntory Hakushu Distillery: http://www.suntory.co.jp/factory/hakushu/?fromid=hakushubrandsite_banner
Hours: 9:30am-4:30pm (except New Year’s holiday) ※ Check their website to see the plant shutdown days. (November 11th and 29th are currently scheduled shutdown days, last operating day of 2016 is December 25th)
Phone: 0551-35-2211
Suntory Yamazaki Distillery(in Osaka) : http://www.suntory.co.jp/factory/yamazaki/
Suntory Hakushu Distillery (coordinates: 35.826441, 138.302564)
Posted in Daytrips, Weekend Trips, WEST OF FUSSA: Akiruno, Akigawa & Itsukaichi
Tagged daytrip, Distillery, Suntory, Tasting, Whiskey
Near Hinohara Waterfalls is a beautiful rock cliff, with a narrow gorge cut by a clear mountain stream. You can climb on the rocks along the river and through the gorge on a narrow path beside the swift flowing stream while holding onto a chain. Unless you experience it, you will not know how beautiful it is. It is also a nice quiet place to sit by the river and contemplate, away from the crowds of the city. Getting there is a beautiful drive on narrow road through the woods. While it’s not a trip by itself, it’s a highly recommended side trip when visiting the Hinohara Waterfalls. Brian & Kristen Marriott, Dec 2001.
“Our family enjoys visiting Kanotoiwa Rock in the summer because it’s cool, and the water is refreshing, whether you just dip your toes in or go for a swim. If you DON’T navigate your way up the ladder to the canyon, you can drive/walk through the tunnel and that will lead you to some trails with rock pools of various depths. Bring water shoes if you’re interested in negotiating the rocks.” Linda Bell, July 2014.
DIRECTIONS: Follow the directions to Hinohara Waterfalls. When you come to the “T” intersection at Motoshuku (19.9 km) turn right. Instead of turning left up the hill towards the waterfall, continue straight for another 3 km (24 km from base), until you come to a small sign pointing towards Kitaki-Gawa just before an arched blue bridge. Turn right, and follow the VERY narrow road along the stream. When you come to a parking lot on the right in 2.3 km, across from restrooms, park your car and continue walking up the road towards the cliff for another 100 meters. Before you cross the bridge, you will see the trail to your left. If you go over a bridge and through a dark, narrow, rocky tunnel, you can park your car on the other side of the gorge and approach it from the upstream side (not recommended). GPS: 35.75500, 139.11346. Updates & photos, Michelle Nexon, March 2014.