
Yamagata Cycling: Nature and Craft
Tour around Yamagata City by e-bike, enjoy learning about the history and culture and create pottery in the Hirashimizu artisan hamlet. After pottery, visit a local restaurant for a lunch of Yamagata soba.
Whether you want to get a hands-on experience learning a local craft from a master craftsman or simply to get a behind-the-scenes look at how things are made, we have the experience or tour for you!

Tour around Yamagata City by e-bike, enjoy learning about the history and culture and create pottery in the Hirashimizu artisan hamlet. After pottery, visit a local restaurant for a lunch of Yamagata soba.

Zasu Pottery is one of the few remaining anagama (traditional wood-fired kilns) in the Tohoku region, continuing the tradition of producing unglazed, natural-fired pottery. Their work features everyday tableware as well as flower vases, tea utensils, and art objects, blending traditional techniques with designs that fit modern lifestyles.
During the experience, you will tour the old-style anagama kiln while listening to explanations from the pottery master.

After watching a live demonstration by a local washoku chef, participants can try their hand at preparing fresh fish themselves! Participants will learn about kitchen knives and experience the difference in ease of slicing before and after sharpening. After that, participants will prepare sushi and sashimi to savor for lunch.

Surrounded by the misty green mountains of northeastern Japan, hit the sightseeing highlights of Yamagata City and nearby areas on this specially crafted tour. Includes hands-on cultural and culinary experiences, a visit to a mysterious mountain temple, and a stay in a hot springs village near Mt. Zao.

From Niigata to Yamagata, experience the charm and beauty of traditions of craftsmanship in the Uetsu region of Japan. Experience Japan’s “monozukuri” tradition for yourself while learning about the history and charm of creation in each area.

Explore the deep craft of production of Japan, which have continued to the present day. See how Japanese fabrics are made and how old-style sake was brewed through this unique, exclusive one-day tour.

Experience Yamagata to the fullest, from dawn to dusk! This specially crafted three day tour includes bar-hopping, sake tastings, hands-on cultural activities, a visit to a mysterious mountain temple, and a stay in a hot springs village near Mt. Zao. The perfect short romantic getaway!

An easy, one-day guided cycling tour exploring the traditional side of Yamagata City. Ride to a Japanese garden, a minor holy mountain to explore a hidden shrine, and the artisan district Hirashimizu for a weaving experience.

As a means of purifying spaces and preventing evil from entering, shimenawa ropes are hung to welcome the god Toshigami into one’s home. This experience offers visitors the chance to make a shimenawa decoration using green wara.

A 5-day, 4-night private tour to experience the best of cuisine and craftsmanship in the Uetsu area of Japan. Observe and experience techniques for making outstanding kitchenware of the master craftsmen of Tsubame-Sanjo and enjoy cooking and dining experiences with chefs of Tsuruoka City, a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.

On this private brewery tour, we invite you to visit for a tour of this incredible natural water source and the sake brewery in Miyagi Prefecture. Afterwards, delight in the subtle flavors of this incomparable sake in a guided a tasting session with one of the sake makers.