area-light.webpSutama and Akeno, on the east side of Hokuto. The city lists it as having the most sunshine hours in Japan; in summer sunflowers cover the hills of Akeno. Further north are the rock spires of Mt. Mizugaki and the free-flowing Masutomi Radium Hot Springs, known as Hokuto's hidden retreat.
Good for summer flowers, hiking and bouldering, or taking it easy in a hot spring.
Simplified map (shapes and positions approximate)
Places to stay
city-h05asb0006.webpSee · Sutama
An 1875 pseudo-Western schoolhouse with a café.
Tip
Step into the classrooms, kept as they were, and picture a school day for Meiji-era village children.
Tabizen guide B (name)
scenic-akeno-sunflowers-hero.webpSee · Akeno
Some 400,000 sunflowers against the mountains in summer.
Tip
You can walk freely among the flowers, so step into the field and take a picture with the mountains behind. On a clear morning the peaks look sharpest.
scenic-mizugakiyama-park-hero.webpSee · Sutama
Look up at the ink-painting crags of Mt. Mizugaki.
Tip
Sit on the lawn and look up at the rock towers of Mt. Mizugaki. In autumn the coloured leaves at its foot set off the crags even more.
place-8019-hero.webpSee · Sutama
Two gardens at a quiet hillside temple.
Tip
Sit on the tatami of the study hall and the pillars and lintel frame the garden like a picture. Lower your eye line rather than standing. Fresh green in May and red leaves in November are the richest times.
place-8020-hero.webpDrink · Akeno
Walk the sunny vineyard, then taste the wines.
Tip
In the vineyard, notice how bunch size and leaf shape differ by variety. The tasting pours wines from the plots you just walked, so you can match landscape and flavor. In the September–October harvest, taste grapes straight from the vine.
place-8021-hero.webpExperience · Akeno
Make your own miso and see the wooden vats.
Tip
The key is mixing the mashed soybeans and koji well, then packing them tight to push out the air. The miso you take home will be ready in about six months. In the works, compare the colors of miso of different ages.
By car, times are estimates
There is a private cottage with a kitchen among the fields.
place-8026-hero.webpStay · Akeno
A private cottage with a kitchen among the fields.
Tip
Yubae lets you borrow a slice of farm life. When you arrive, step out onto the veranda and take in the width of the fields and the sky. Order the morning vegetable basket, and cooking your own breakfast becomes part of the trip.
At the foot of the Southern Alps: spring water, sake breweries and an Edo post town.
The highlands on the southern slopes of Yatsugatake, from Kobuchisawa, Hokuto's gateway, up to the farms and forest of Kiyosato.