Sushi Workshop in Yamagata City
Learn how to prepare nigiri and rolled sushi under the guidance of a master chef in the heart of Yamagata City.
February 2, 2023
No Comments
À la carte Experiences
From Sake Breweries and Silk Factories to Culinary Workshops, Martial Arts, and Spiritual Experiences, embrace local Japanese culture and craftsmanship through one of our unique private experiences.
Culinary Experiences
Tsuyahime Rice Workshops in Yamagata
Visit the vast rice fields of Yamagata Prefecture and meet the farmers and chefs behind what is widely regarded as Japan’s top commercially produced brand of rice: Tsuyahime!
May 18, 2025
No Comments
Tofu Workshop in a Traditional Japanese Storehouse
In this cooking workshop based in Yamagata city, you will learn how to prepare a local style of tofu with Yamagata soybeans from start to finish.
July 4, 2023
No Comments
Local Imoni Culinary Experience
Learn how to make Yamagata’s soul food, Imoni. Start from the local market and then learn from a Japanese chef how to prepare and cook this delicious food!
January 27, 2023
No Comments
Farm to Bar
Experience the fruit kingdom of Yamagata Prefecture. Meet a Yamagata farmer and visit their orchard to harvest fresh fruit, then head to a cocktail bar where the bartender will craft an original cocktail or mocktail just for you!
February 22, 2024
No Comments
Ishinomaki Culinary Adventure
On this private sea-to-table culinary adventure tour, experience the bounty of the Sanriku fishing grounds just off the coast of Ishinomaki for yourself! Fish, fry, flambe, and feast your way through this all-day immersive experience.
July 31, 2025
No Comments
Mochi-Pounding Experience
Experience an indispensable element of Japanese holidays: mochi-pounding! Using a traditional mallet and mortar, pound mochi rice into this staple chewy morsel, and then enjoy the result as part of a delicious local dish.
July 29, 2025
No Comments
Dewa Sanzan Shojin Ryori Meal
Shojin ryori, is an ancient cuisine found on the Dewa Sanzan Mountains developed by the Yamabushi mountain monks with a storied history dating back over 1,400 years from when these sacred mountains were first opened.
July 3, 2023
No Comments
Sea to Table Experiences in Yamagata
Catch your own fish or shop for some at a local market, then watch or work alongside as a professional Japanese chef prepares it.
September 12, 2022
No Comments
Taiyaki Workshop in Kurikoma
At old-fashioned sweets shop Kurikomaya in the Muikamachi neighborhood of Kurihara City, learn from the shop owner how to make taiyaki sweets, then try your hand at making one yourself.
October 23, 2025
No Comments
Soba Workshop in Yamagata City
Located conveniently in the heart of Yamagata City, create your own Japanese soba from scratch with the guidance of veteran soba masters.
January 31, 2023
No Comments
Washoku Culinary Experience with Knife Demonstration
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.
June 3, 2024
No Comments
Mt. Haguro Shojin Ryori and Harvesting Day Experience
Forage wild sansai vegetables on the slopes of Mount Haguro alongside yamabushi mountain monks, then use them to cook shojin ryori dishes.
July 28, 2022
No Comments
Craft Workshops
Kurikoma Festival Float Making Experience
This hands-on experience offers the rare opportunity to help construct the floats which are paraded up and down the streets during the summer Kurikoma Festival.
October 30, 2025
No Comments
Crafting Katana: A Behind-the-scenes Forge Experience
Swordsmith Norizane Miyagi has been making swords for 45 years, continuing to refine his skills even to this day. At the workshop of Norizane Miyagi, receive a demonstration and explanation of the steps involved in sword making, try your hand at some smithing yourself, and view some genuine samurai swords in a private showing.
October 29, 2025
No Comments
Kokeshi doll painting experience
The kokeshi doll, born in the Tohoku region first as a toy, took on new life as an item travelers visiting the hot springs of the region would take back with them as a souvenir. In this experience, paint their own original kokeshi doll using the same kind of brushes and electric lathe the artisans themselves do.
October 23, 2025
No Comments
Mini Tatami Mat Workshop
Established in 1836, Tadami Kogyosho is a tatami mat maker with a long history.This hands-on experience offers guests the opportunity to use the tools of a tatami craftsman to make their own mini tatami mat. Select from some 10 kinds of tatami mat bases, and over 300 styles of tatami mat borders. After selecting your base and border, make your original mini tatami mat—the only one like it in the world!
October 23, 2025
No Comments
Shimenawa Making 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.
July 30, 2025
No Comments
Date Masamune Culture: Suzume Odori Dance in Sendai’s Ryokusaikan
Learn the Suzume Odori, a traditional dance passed down from the times of the samurai. Enjoy the traditions of the samurai and townspeople from Sendai’s castle town days.
January 23, 2025
No Comments
Factory and Brewery Tours
Shiogama Tuna Auction and Fishmarket Tour
See the tuna auction and morning market of Shiogama through this locally guided day trip from Sendai. This tour incudes lunch.
August 19, 2025
No Comments
Sake Brewery Tour (Kanenoi Shuzo)
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.
July 30, 2025
No Comments
Wakayanagi Jiori Textile Factory Tour
In the Meiji (1868–1912) and Taisho (1912–1926) periods, the Wakayanagi area of Kurihara flourished thanks to the production of Wakayanagi jiori, a traditional cotton textile. Learn about the Wakayanagi jiori production process and the special characteristics of the Y-type loom, about dedication to craftsmanship and techniques passed down through generations, from third-generation owner Kojun Chiba.
July 30, 2025
No Comments
Outdoor Adventures
Cycling in Yamagata Prefecture
Leave the car behind and explore the wide open plains of Yamagata Prefecture on a guided cycling tour!
July 29, 2022
No Comments
Sunrise Forest Kayaking and Mountain Lodge Stay
Kayak through the submerged forests of Yamagata in the dams of Iide high up in mountains during the sunrise in spring time.
March 14, 2024
No Comments
Hanagasa Festival
The Hanagasa Festival is the largest festival in Yamagata City where thousands of dancers fill the streets. In 2026, join the dance yourself for the first time!
January 24, 2023
No Comments
Yamagata Forest Kayaking
Kayak through the submerged forests of Yamagata in the dams of Iide high up in mountains during the spring time.
April 8, 2023
No Comments
Private Performance: Hayakawa-ryu Suzunome Shishi Odori deer dance
Enjoy a private performance of the Yatsu Shika Odori deer dance, a folk performing art from the Kurihara Ichihasama area with a 400-year history, which has been registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Miyagi Prefecture.
October 29, 2025
No Comments
Dawn Reflections of Rice Paddies Hike
Around the end of May, rice fields of the Okitama region are filled with water. This hike aims to see the sunrise colors the surface of the rice fields and scattered villages below and travel to the summit of Mt. Kumano.
March 15, 2024
No Comments
Guided Migratory Bird-Watching Tour in Miyagi
Embrace the hobby sweeping the masses- bird-watching! The Izunuma-Uchinuma wetlands are one of the wintering grounds frequented by the migratory waterfowl that come to Japan each winter. Contemplate the relationship between man and nature as you observe waterfowl rising from their roosts in the early morning and returning at dusk.
July 30, 2025
No Comments
Experience the Yonezawa Uesugi Festival
The Uesugi Festival commemorates the samurai clan who once ruled Yonezawa. The main event is a reenactment of the Battle of Kawanakajima.
August 4, 2022
No Comments
Geibikei Gorge River Cruise
Drift through the Geibikei gorge, one of the most beautiful places in Japan, in a boat propelled by an oarsman maneuvering it with a single long pole. You may even get the chance to enjoy an “oarsman experience” in which you can try propelling the boat yourself!
July 30, 2025
No Comments
Martial Arts
Yagyu Shingan-ryu Martial Arts Experience
Observe the sophisticated techniques of Yagyu Shingan-ryu sword style in action on the Mori Butai Stage at the Tome City Dento Geino Densho-kan, then try out some of the techniques for yourself!
July 30, 2025
No Comments
Samurai Spirit Experience
Experience what it felt like to be a retainer of the castle town of the Sendai Date clan. You will have the opportunity to try out drawing a real sword, which is something you don’t usually get to do, and try out tea at the Zangetsu-tei teahouse, where you will experience the mindset of a samurai.
January 24, 2025
No Comments
Iaido Samurai Experiences in Murayama City
Experience Iaido, a traditional sword-based martial art, at the very place it was founded: Iai Shrine in Yamagata Prefecture.
July 29, 2022
No Comments
Experience the Yonezawa Uesugi Festival
The Uesugi Festival commemorates the samurai clan who once ruled Yonezawa. The main event is a reenactment of the Battle of Kawanakajima.
August 4, 2022
No Comments
Crafting Katana: A Behind-the-scenes Forge Experience
Swordsmith Norizane Miyagi has been making swords for 45 years, continuing to refine his skills even to this day. At the workshop of Norizane Miyagi, receive a demonstration and explanation of the steps involved in sword making, try your hand at some smithing yourself, and view some genuine samurai swords in a private showing.
October 29, 2025
No Comments
Spiritual Experiences
Explore the Ancient Forest of Mt. Haguro
A guided hike up the 2,446 stone steps of holy Mount Haguro, with a lunch of Dewa Sanzan shojin ryori mountain monk cuisine.
July 29, 2022
No Comments
Yamabushi Training on Mt. Kinbo
Venture into the nature of Yamagata with yamabushi mountain monks along their ancient training paths on Mount Kinbo.
July 28, 2022
No Comments
Be a Shinto Miko Shrine Maiden For a Day
Experience being a miko, a shrine maiden, for a day at a largely revered shrine. Wear traditional miko clothing, learn about shintoism, create your own lucky amulet and participate in a formal
ceremony, then enjoy a local lunch.
March 14, 2024
No Comments
Spirituality and Culture at Jionji Temple
A one-night, two-day tour program at Jionji, an ancient temple in the mountains, sure to enrich your mind and improve your physical health. Experience authentic shojin ryori vegetarian cuisine recreated from ancient recipes, try a Shugen trekking tour with a yamabushi mountain ascetic as your guide, and immerse yourself in the spiritual culture of this ancient temple.
October 4, 2024
No Comments
Recenter Your Body & Mind with Shojin Ryori Dinner & Zen Meditation at Sendai’s Zen Temple
Rinnoji Temple, which has one of the best gardens in the Tohoku region, offers a private tour and immersion in Japanese culture as you learn about the history of Rinnoji Temple and Zen culture. After a prayer and zazen experience, enjoy a meal of shojinryori.
January 24, 2025
No Comments
Waterfall Training on Mt. Yudono
The Gyo Experience: Join yamabushi monks for traditional spiritual training at a waterfall on Mount Yudono of the Dewa Sanzan.
July 28, 2022
No Comments
Yamagata Cycling: Goma Fire Ritual
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.
February 13, 2024
No Comments
Yamadera Guided Experience
Experience the wonders and history of this legendary temple complex with a professional and skilled English guide.
July 27, 2022
No Comments
Private Night Tour of Historical Zuihoden
In this special experience, make a night visit the mausoleum of Date Masamune, the samurai who built the foundation of Sendai. After a special viewing of the main hall, enjoy a performance of Japanese musical instruments in a solemn atmosphere, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the experience at this remarkable place.
January 24, 2025
No Comments