Aina: "I'm full... Next time, I'll play with a wooden stick."

Photographed on August 15, 25.
CAFE ANDON's peach and lime Parfait. 🍑🍋‍🟩

The base is layered with sweet and sour framboise and peach sauce, vanilla crumble, lime panna cotta, heavy cream, and peach and lime confiture.
I put forest/ranch soft serve ice cream on top and decorated with peaches, vanilla crumble, raspberries and mint.

It is a very, very luxurious parfait. 😊

Fireworks festivals are nice

Photographed on August 15, 25.
CAFE ANDON's hot sandwich set, tuna & onion.

Shirakawa Township on a family trip
When you enter the wooden gassho building, the summer heat is as cool as a lie
When I looked at the wall, I saw a gaping hole in the knot of the wood
Immediately, the photo taken by my nephew in the sixth grade was so Traditional Charm that it reminded me of the late Township of Japan somewhere

Stamp Rally Touring Kumamoto’s World Heritage Sites!
Collect stamps completed by visiting Misumi West Port, Manda Pit, Sakitsu Village, and more, and receive a clear file‼

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the inscription of the World Cultural Heritage Sites “Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution,” we are holding a stamp rally that visits the World Heritage sites and component properties within Kumamoto Prefecture.

Visit Manda Pit and Misumi West Port, component properties of the World Cultural Heritage Site “Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution,” and Sakitsu Village, a component property of the “Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region and Amakusa,”

and tour Kumamoto City to fully discover the charms of Kumamoto!

Collect all the stamps to receive exclusive World Heritage goods. Please see below for details.

Event Period
From Saturday, July 19, 2025 to Sunday, December 28, 2025


Opening Hours and Closed Days for Each Facility

Manda Mine Station: 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed: Mondays (if a Monday is a public holiday, closed the following weekday)
Misumi-West Port Urashima-ya: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed: none
Sakitsu Village Guidance Center: 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Closed days during the event period: none


Stamp Locations (5 spots in total)
Manda Mine Station (Arao City)
Misumi-West Port Urashima-ya (Uki City)
Sakitsu Village Guidance Center (Amakusa City)
Waiting Room on the Shinkansen Platform Side at kumamoto station (Kumamoto City)
Sakura Machi Kumamoto, 2nd Floor Concourse (Kumamoto City)



‼Those who complete the rally will receive exclusive World Heritage goods‼
If you collect all the stamps, please show the completed design to staff at one of the facilities below.
You will receive exclusive World Heritage goods.


Locations to Receive Limited Goods

• Manda Mine Station

• JR Misumi Station Tourist Information Center (note: different from the stamp location)

• Sakitsu Village Guidance Center


Participation Fee
Free


Inquiries
Regional Development Division, Tourism and Cultural Exchange Division, World Heritage and Cultural Exchange Office
Phone 0968-63-1274

Here are some recommended winter experiences.

This private tour grants special access to Japan’s largest public ranch, which closes for the winter. On this fully booked private tour, the ranch becomes a vast snowy plain and you will travel to the summit in a 4WD vehicle fitted with crawler tyres.

At the summit, you can go snowshoeing, ride snowmobiles, play in the snow, or simply do nothing at all. The tranquil private setting helps relax the body and mind and supports improved concentration and cognitive function.
Enjoy this extraordinary environment at your own pace.

For lunch, you will savor Tokachi Naita Wagyu while gazing over the Tokachi Plain.
This well-marbled Wagyu is known for its light, melt-in-your-mouth texture and refined flavor.

If you are interested, please apply via the URL below.


Here are some recommended winter experiences.

This private tour grants special access to Japan’s largest public ranch, which closes for the winter. On this fully booked private tour, the ranch becomes a vast snowy plain and you will travel to the summit in a 4WD vehicle fitted with crawler tyres.

At the summit, you can go snowshoeing, ride snowmobiles, play in the snow, or simply do nothing at all. The tranquil private setting helps relax the body and mind and supports improved concentration and cognitive function. Enjoy this extraordinary environment at your own pace.

For lunch, you will savor Tokachi Naita Wagyu while gazing over the Tokachi Plain.
This well-marbled Wagyu is known for its light, melt-in-your-mouth texture and refined flavor.

If you are interested, please apply via the URL below.

https://slow-life-hokkaido.com/tour/naitai-highland-farm-snow-safari-wagyu-lunch/

Photographed on August 15, 25.
After Prayer to Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, I relaxed at the Starbucks Bell Ring Street store.
Chillax soda peach and peach & milk cake. 🍑

The fireworks festival in Echizen City, called “Old Takefu,” is a source of local pride. The fireworks take many shapes, and you can truly appreciate them in photos. They represent the fireworks master’s crowning achievement. Perhaps it’s the viewer’s state of mind, but impressions and preferences change with how you watch. Right now, I prefer thin, flowing trails.

Ichijo Falls in Fukui Prefecture. This is a place deep in the mountains, where you can find flowers, flowers, and cobwebs everywhere. Ichijo Falls in the middle of summer is very thin, but even so, the hydrangeas, which have become unbearable in this year's heat, have become dry and have been webbed by spiders everywhere. Nature is not only beautiful, but I don't want to lose it.

When I went to Ichijo Falls in Fukui Prefecture, I saw summer hydrangeas. In Japan, where summer began early, the hydrangeas, which had been beautiful, were turned into carakaras and ephemeral appearances.

Asakura Ruins in Fukui Prefecture. This is the place just past the Kara Gate. There was a road like this. I wonder if I can peek, walk, and peek into that era.

In Fukui Prefecture, the Takefu Fireworks that used to be held in the old Takefu draw local pride every year on the same day of Obon. Although the city merged and became Echizen City, this fireworks festival remains something the people of Takefu boast about.
The fireworks reflected in the Hino River were not only beautiful but somehow wistful.

Date ◆ Cancelled due to stormy weather August 23, 2025 (Reiwa 7) * Cancelled due to stormy weather
◆Opening Ceremony: 19:15~
◆Fireworks launch time: 19:30~20:30

Location◆Futian Fishing Port Special venue

For details, please check the Iwata City Chamber of Commerce and Industry website.

◆About the Shuttle Bus◆
Mikuriya Station North Exit ~ Shuttle Bus near the venue will be operated.
For details, please check [Shuttle bus operation].

Contact◇Iwata City Chamber of Commerce and Industry (0538-36-9600)
https://sci-iwata.or.jp/2024/06/20/%e3%81%84%e3%82%8f%e3%81%9f%e5%a4%8f%e3%81%be%e3%81%a4%e3%82%8a%e8%8a%b1%e7%81%ab%e5%a4%a7%e4%bc%9a/

Komu Museum of Art’s Wood Play Experience Market
A workshop festival celebrating the village’s 100th anniversary
The “Wood Play Experience Market” was held
at Komu Museum of Art!

Vendors from across Hokkaido gathered
for a hands-on making event using wood and natural materials.

When the museum opened at 10:00, visitors came to the event space without pause.

We offered six experiences.

Make a wooden kaleidoscope
Make a wooden clock
Make BUG BUG from nuts and seeds
Make wooden brooches and keychains
Make a wood shaker
Make mushroom magnets.

@do.mono
@tek_toys

Visitors chose beads and peered into the finished kaleidoscopes,
walked around with insects made from acorns and pipe cleaners,
and shook bean-filled wood shakers.

On the clock faces, participants decorated not only numbers but many other embellishments.

In one corner, poisonous-looking mushrooms and irresistibly cute mushrooms sprouted in abundance.

Animal keychains and brooches, each with its own expression, were adorable.

Many people didn’t stop at just one experience but walked around to multiple booths, which made us very happy 😆

Including the reception staff, the day brought together people skilled in wood education and woodcraft 🏋️🏋️🏋️

Thanks to the staff who watched over and supported the participants, it became a truly lovely time ✨

Thank you very much!!!

#Nishiokoppe Village
#Hokkaido
#Komu Museum of Art
#Summer
#Wood Play Experience Market
#Hands-on experience
#Workshop
#Woodworking
#Making things
#Woody Summer School
#August 2

We would like to introduce our recommended agricultural experience.

This tour lets you discover the appeal of our signature products: beans and fresh vegetables.

You will visit a farm that independently cultivates a variety of beans, including rare types. While walking through fields normally closed to the public, you will hear about the careful methods used to grow beans and take part in everyday farm work.
You will also create an original spice blend that pairs well with beans, and prepare onigiri, an essential part of Japanese food culture, for lunch.

In the afternoon, you will visit a vegetable farm and experience crops from a farmer’s perspective.
In the evening, you will assemble hamburgers using a range of vegetables and compare the flavors of fried potatoes made from different potato varieties, a signature local product. Enjoy the distinctive tastes of each potato.

For more details, please visit the URL below.


We would like to introduce our recommended agricultural experience.

This tour allows you to learn about the appeal of our representative products, “beans” and “fresh vegetables.”

You will visit a farm that grows various beans, including rare varieties, on its own. While strolling through fields you normally cannot enter, you will hear stories about the careful cultivation of beans and try the day-to-day fieldwork the farmers do.
You will make an original spice mix that pairs with beans and, for lunch, make onigiri, a staple of Japanese food culture.

In the afternoon, you will visit a vegetable farm and engage with crops from the farmer’s viewpoint.
In the evening, you will make hamburgers combining various vegetables and taste-test fried potatoes made from different potato varieties, a representative product of the region. Enjoy the differences in potato flavor.

For details, please see the URL below.

https://slow-life-hokkaido.com/tour/tokachi-beans-and-vegetable-farms-gastronomy-tour/

At the summer festival in Obihiro City
Fireworks festival and Bon Dancing every year
Various events are held.
Street performances are one of them.

Performer SYO!'s
Performance.

When Obon is over, Hokkaido
It becomes autumn-like all at once.

Photographed on August 15, 25.
It is a wind chime at the edge of Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine.
The wind chimes on the veranda had changed to the color of love.

This summer's fireworks festival was insanely good to feel the summer!

Today the sky over Otofukecho opened up bright and clear🔆
A hot air balloon rose, and I found myself staring in fascination…!!
On a day like this, the Hidaka Mountains must be sharply visible, offering a spectacular view👀🗻

This is a photo of when I went to the wind chime temple in Uji. The Scene with beautiful wind chime such as blue and red are lined up in an orderly manner is also beautiful, but when the wind blows and the wind chime illuminated by the sun, it is beautiful and I felt cool. In addition, there are teru teru bozu and sunflower wind chimes that you won't notice unless you look closely, so you can enjoy it both visually and audibly!

This is a photo of when I went to the wind chime temple in Uji. The Scene with beautiful wind chime such as blue and red are lined up in an orderly manner is also beautiful, but when the wind blows and the wind chime illuminated by the sun, it is beautiful and I felt cool. In addition, there are teru teru bozu and sunflower wind chimes that you won't notice unless you look closely, so you can enjoy it both visually and audibly!

Here are some recommended eco-friendly tours.

This is a two-day, one-night trip where you can experience organic farming that is gentle on the environment and your body.

You will visit wine producers and farmers who practise organic farming, and see their farms where they grow their produce with care and attention, relying on the power of nature without using any chemical fertilisers or pesticides.

You will enjoy tasting different organic wines and lunch and dinner made with plenty of vegetables, and experience the difference in flavour.
Accommodation is in ‘glamping,’ a unique outdoor experience in Tokachi.

The next day, you will create eco-friendly upcycled products using discarded vegetable peels and participate in traditional Japanese paper-making.

This organic experience offers a valuable opportunity to reflect on the environment and health. We aim for participants to connect with producers they wouldn't normally meet, learn about the care and thought behind the ingredients, and savour the distinctive flavours of these foods.
Through this experience, we hope participants will gain new insights and values, leading to a healthier and more fulfilling lifestyle.

Those interested may apply via the URL below.

We introduce a selection of eco-friendly tours.

This is a one-night, two-day trip where you can experience organic cultivation that is gentle on both the environment and the body.
You will visit wine and agricultural producers who practise organic farming, touring farms where they cultivate with dedication and care, relying on nature without any chemical fertilisers or pesticides. You will sample organic wines, enjoy lunch and dinner abundant in vegetables, and savour the difference in taste.
Accommodation is glamping, a signature outdoor experience in Tokachi. The next day you will make eco-conscious upcycled products, using discarded vegetable peels, and take part in traditional Japanese papermaking.

This organic experience provides a great chance to reconsider the environment and health. We hope participants meet producers they would not normally encounter, learn about the passion behind the ingredients, and taste thoughtfully produced food. Through the experience, participants can gain new discoveries and values that lead to a healthier, richer life.

If you are interested, please apply via the URL below.

https://slow-life-hokkaido.com/tour/tokachi-organic-farms-and-glamping-premium-tour/

【👒Summer in Gokase 2025 Photo Submissions — Spotlight 1👒】

We are featuring photos submitted to the "#Summer in Gokase 2025" contest currently running on the Gokase Tourism Association Instagram account!

@goto0619
@niidome2110
@sakai_0808

Thank you for your submissions 😆✨
We are still accepting entries!!

How to enter (Submission period — through September 15)
Follow the Gokase Tourism Association Instagram account (@gokase_kanko) and post with the hashtags "#Summer in Gokase 2025" and "#Gokase" 📸
We look forward to your entries 🙇‍♀️✨

Here are some recommended agricultural experiences.

Okamoto Farm in Nakasatsunai Village is committed to environmentally friendly, sustainable farming and to producing safe, reliable crops.

On this tour, you will harvest vegetables with your own hands and use the produce to make Hokkaido’s local dish, jingisukan.

You will also learn how to prepare vegetables deliciously, taught by the farmers themselves. For dessert, you can enjoy cream puffs made with sweet, high-sugar tomato berries.

Through these agricultural experiences, we hope participants will meet producers they would not normally encounter, learn about the thoughts behind the ingredients, savor the region’s flavors, and deepen their connections with producers.
We also hope that through these experiences participants will discover new things and values and go on to lead healthier, richer lives.

If you are interested, please apply at the following URL.

We introduce these recommended farm experiences.

Okamoto Farm in Nakasatsunai Village practices environmentally conscious, highly sustainable agriculture and grows safe, trustworthy produce.
On the tour, you will harvest vegetables with your own hands and use the harvested vegetables to prepare the Hokkaido specialty jingisukan. The farmers will teach you their tips for enjoying vegetables at their best.
For dessert, you can enjoy cream puffs made with tomato berries that are high in sugar and wonderfully sweet.

We want these farm experiences to let you interact with producers you wouldn’t normally meet, to learn the care and thought behind the ingredients, to enjoy the region’s food, and to deepen your ties with producers. Through the experience, we hope you gain new discoveries and perspectives and live a healthier, more fulfilling life.

If you are interested, apply from the URL below.

https://slow-life-hokkaido.com/tour/okamoto-farm-harvesting-and-jingisukan-lunch/

Photographed on August 15, 25.
It is a kazaguruma in front of the Otorii Gate of Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine.
I took it around 7 o'clock in the morning.

In August 2014, I visiting the site Yomitan Village Eisa Festival (Yomitan Village Sports Square).
In the heat, the young people were lively!

I found a wind chime with a red thread.

Here are some recommended experiences.

Tokachi-Honbetsu Town has a large temperature difference between day and night and long hours of sunshine, making it ideal for growing high-quality beans.

Why not try your hand at making tofu, an essential healthy food on Japanese tables, in Japan's leading bean-producing town?

On this tour, you will join local farmers' wives in making tofu using traditional methods, and then make a salad using okara, the pulp left over from tofu production, ensuring that every part of the soybean is utilised.

Tofu is a healthy food that also promotes beautiful skin.

Through agricultural experiences, we want people to meet producers they would not normally encounter, learn about the care and intentions behind the ingredients, and taste the flavours of the local cuisine. We also hope these experiences will lead to new discoveries and values, helping people enjoy a healthier and richer diet.

If you are interested, please apply at the following URL.

Tokachi-Honbetsu is a town where the wide temperature swings and long hours of sunlight allow cultivation of high-quality beans.

In Japan’s top bean-producing town, why not try making tofu, a healthy staple of Japanese dining? On this tour, you will work alongside local farmers’ wives to try time-honoured tofu-making methods, then prepare a salad using okara, the pressed soybean pulp left from making tofu, so that every part of the soybean is used without waste.

Tofu supports health and also contributes to beautiful skin.

These farming experiences let visitors connect with producers they normally could not meet, learn the intentions behind the ingredients, and taste the region’s food. Through the experience, we hope participants discover new insights and values that lead to a healthier, more fulfilling diet.

If you are interested, please apply via the URL below.

https://slow-life-hokkaido.com/tour/tofu-making-and-bean-rice-cooking-in-honbetsu/

On August 13th, Kyonan Town Tourism Association held the "Scorching Summer! Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament" at Hota Beach and Katsuyama Beach.

Although it was the Obon period, many people joined and the event ended successfully.

Some attendees said, "I participate every year," and others said, "I follow you on Instagram," which made us very happy.

Congratulations to those who won prizes like inflatable rings and alcohol! In addition, we offered snacks and other items as prizes. We hope you were satisfied.

We plan to hold the event again next year. Please join us again.


#Chiba Prefecture#Boso Peninsula#Kyonan Town#Hota Station#Hota Coast#Katsuyama Coast#Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament