city-h12bob0007.webpKobuchisawa, Nagasaka, Oizumi and Takane (Kiyosato), on the southern slopes of Yatsugatake. With Kobuchisawa Station on the Limited Express Azusa line and the Kobuchisawa and Nagasaka expressway exits, most trips to Hokuto start here. Sanbuichi Spring, one of Japan's 100 finest waters, and Otaki Spring rise here, among art museums, a shrine and resorts. Higher up, Kiyosato and Oizumi stay cool in summer, with farms, forest and waterfalls, and many holiday homes, pensions and hotels.
Good if you come by train, like art museums and springs, or want a slow stay somewhere cool in summer.
Simplified map (shapes and positions approximate)
Places to stay
city-h14bnc0012.webpSee · Nagasaka
One of Japan's 100 finest waters, with a historic three-way stone divider.
Tip
Look into the spot where the water comes up and see how clear and cold it is.
Tabizen guide B (name)
card-self-2-water-heritage.webpSee · Kobuchisawa
An Edo-period village headman's house, 10 minutes' walk from Kobuchisawa Station.
Tip
Walk slowly and look at the latticed fronts and storehouses where life on the Edo highway still shows.
city-j04bkb0021.webpSee · Kobuchisawa
A famous spring welling up in the forest.
Tip
Look into the spot where the water comes up and see how clear and cold it is.
scenic-higashizawa-bridge-hero.webpSee · Oizumi
The “red bridge”, with the Yatsugatake mountains behind.
Tip
From the viewing area at the east end (the Kiyosato Station side), take in the bridge and the mountains together. Autumn, when the red bridge meets the coloured leaves, is the best time.
scenic-utsukushimori-hero.webpSee · Oizumi
A panorama of the Kiyosato highlands and the Southern Alps from the summit deck.
Tip
On a clear day, walk up to the summit deck. In June you climb through the azaleas that turn the slopes orange.
scenic-yatsugatake-kogen-bridge-hero.webpSee · Takane
The “yellow bridge”, with views of Yatsugatake, the Southern Alps and Mt. Fuji.
Tip
Park at the viewing car park on the Kiyosato Station side of the bridge and take in the bridge and the ranges. Yatsugatake lies to the north, the Southern Alps to the south-west and Mt. Fuji to the south, a different mountain each way you turn.
place-8004-hero.webpSee · Nagasaka
Walk a hilltop garden of artists’ studios.
Tip
Artists may be at work in their studios. An open door means you are welcome, so say hello before you look in. The garden path takes about 20 minutes and its benches face the mountains.
place-8003-hero.webpSee · Nagasaka
A small museum of woodblock prints of the mountains.
Tip
With only three rooms, you can take each print slowly. In the room that sets the same mountain across the seasons, look at how the layers of color change. Afterwards, compare the prints with the real mountains outside the window.
city-h10boc0007.webpSee · Oizumi
A waterfall that falls like silk threads between green rocks.
Tip
Look closely at the small falls dropping in tier after tier.
card-self-2-water-heritage.webpGuide price From about ¥11,400 per person (for two, incl. local transport)
city-h10boc0007.webpGuide price From about ¥11,000 per person (for two, incl. local transport)
Kobuchisawa has a resort hotel with meeting rooms, Kiyosato a small inn known for its food, and the woods of Oizumi a hot-spring inn.
place-8027-hero.webpStay · Kobuchisawa
A resort hotel with meeting rooms, a work lounge and dog-friendly rooms.
Tip
Miharashi lets you play and work from the same base. Spend the morning at a window desk in the lounge, then take the dog along the forest path in the afternoon. On clear mornings the terrace looks out over both Yatsugatake and the Southern Alps.
place-8028-hero.webpStay · Kiyosato
A four-room dining inn. Dinner is a course of Yatsugatake vegetables and venison.
Tip
Kurumi is an inn you stay at for dinner. The menu follows the season in the fields and hills, so mention any foods you avoid when you book. After dinner, take your time by the fire.
place-8025-hero.webpStay · Oizumi
An 18-room hotel in the woods with an open-air hot-spring bath.
Tip
Hoshimi is a place for hot springs and night skies. After dinner, give your eyes time to adjust in the darkened courtyard before you look up. From the open-air bath in the morning, the ridge of the Southern Alps shows beyond the trees.
At the foot of the Southern Alps: spring water, sake breweries and an Edo post town.
Kobuchisawa Station → Daigahara-juku by car: about 14 min (estimate)
The sunny east side: sunflower fields, Mt. Mizugaki and the Masutomi hot springs.
Kobuchisawa Station → the Akeno branch office by car: about 23 min (estimate)
Driving times checked on Google Maps. Last checked: 2026-10-24