Cafes
＊Clicking on a store name will take you to its website, which may be in Japanese only.
Jardin et Cafe, Etranger (Hirafuku)
Rustic atmosphere, beautiful flower garden in the backyard.
Why don't you enjoy herb tea, sweets, and light meals prepared by the owner who loves to talk?
JYUJIRO (Hirafuku)
A café in a converted sake brewery. Japanese sweets are carefully prepared using crops grown with care from the soil. Shaved ice is very popular in summer.
Cafe Farm Village Memories (Hirafuku)
Promenade with memories initial phase of the Edo period (17C). now "Cafe farm Village Memories" This was the environment for MIYAMOTO-MUSASHI with his mother in his childhood.
Restaurants
KUMOTSUKI (Hirafuku)
A fine restaurant in a renovated sake brewery.
A chique atmosphere with furniture made by local craftsmen using old sake barrels.
Rikan Castle can be seen from the windows.
The cuisine includes locally raised Kobe beef, vegetables, locally baked bread, and specially brewed sake made from locally grown rice. This is the only place in Sayo, besides high-end restaurants in Tokyo and Kobe, where you can enjoy A5-rank Kobe beef from Morimoto Farm.
Uryubara (Hirafuku)
A restaurant that retains the characteristics of a Banshu-style townhouse. You can enjoy handmade buckwheat noodles in a tatami room with a view of Rishin Castle. The warehouse is a small museum displaying local artworks.
Roadside Station Hirafuku (Hirafuku)
Roadside Station Hirafuku is currently under renovation and will reopen in the spring.
The restaurant at Hirafuku Roadside Station serves local specialty deer croquettes as well as udon, buckweat noodles, and other typical Japanese dishes.
At the store, visitors can buy local specialties as well as fresh vegetables grown by local farmers.
Accomodations
NIPPONIA HIRAFUKU
POST TOWN (Hirafuku)
How about enjoying Japanese townhouse living in a relaxed atmosphere?
A renovated house of the Kimura family, who ran a sake brewery in Hirafuku.
This vacation rent hotel can accommodate up to eight guests in four beds and four futons. Guests can dine at the restaurant across the street, KUMOTSUKI.
glaminka SAYO (Sayo)
Are you looking for complete relaxation in deep nature?
"glaminka" is a villege with 4 vacation rent farmhouses which are renovated recently in an abandoned village deep in the mountains.
Each house can accommodate 4-10 people. Guests cook their own meals from local ingredients provided.
COBACO WORK & CAMP (Downtown Sayo)
Best Convenience in Sayo and Reasonable Accommodation Rates
Coworking space and accommodation directly in front of JR Sayo Station.
It is very convenient and you will enjoy chatting with the friendly staff and locals.
Inside the workspace, there is a space where crafts and goods by local artists are displayed and sold.
For meals, please enjoy local food at nearby restaurants.
Activities
Armor Dressing Experience (Hirafuku)
Wouldn't you like to wear armor like a warlord in the Warring States period? But don't you want to wear heavy armor? You can feel like a warlord easily with our authentic cardboard armor experience.
Participation Fee: 3,000 yen per adult, 2,000 yen per child.
＊Height 140 cm, 4'7” or less is considered a child size.
The dressing process takes about 30 minutes. Afterwards, walk around the post town for a short while and take a commemorative photo. The total time required is 1.5 hours.
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This activity is provided by the Sayo Mountain Castle Guide Association. Please inquire when registering tour.
Katana, Small Knife Making Experience
Kikyo Hayamitsu Japanese Sword Smithy (Aioi City)
You can make a small sword using authentic Japanese sword making methods.
Have you ever seen a real Japanese sword?
Japanese sword, regarded as the world's sharpest swords, are now becoming very popular overseas.
Today, Japanese swords are not for fighting, but are made as artworks and for performing the martial art of Iaido. Of about 200 swordsmiths in japan, only several of them provide a small sword making activities.
In a quiet mountain village like from an old tale, here at Kikyo Hayamitsu Swordsmith in Aioi City, you can experience forging, hardening, and polishing a small sword under the guidance of a sword smith, Mr. KIKYO Hayamitsu.
Why don't you spend a precious time at a swordsmith workshop to create your own small sword? The finished knife is engraved with your name and
can be taken home in a leather case.
Address: Rakan no sato' 28 Uryu Yano,Aioi City,Hyogo,Japan *about 30 min. by car from Hirafuku
Resv. required.