admin | Japanese Countryside Travel Notes

2024-08-25

Don’t believe the time required on the Ojira River Valley flyer

I made the mistake of entering the valley with a lighthearted attitude, believing in the information flyer that appeared to be a flat road running along the valley with an appropriate time required, hoping to feel the natural cooling effect of the valley during the hot summer. At the entrance to the valley, a suspension bridge with a sign that says max 5 people are allowed invites a sense of adventure, but all we pass are children in swimsuits with floats. Apparently, the waterfall basin (Senga-Fuchi) at the very entrance of the valley had been turned into an improvised pool. The bright green waterfall basin looks like it has been filled with bath salts, and if you miss your chance to take a photo, it will be crowded with people.

valley (3)play ground for children

valley (4)senga-fuchi

ojira valley flyer

Since it was a valley with so many small children around, I saw a flyer that said it would take 35 minutes to get to the next stop (Asahi-Fall), so I headed deeper into the valley, thinking it would be a nice walk. After that, I could no longer hear the sounds of children playing, and after 35 minutes of climbing up a steep mountain path that took a long detour to get over a waterfall with steps, and climbing up and down chains and iron ladders, I finally arrived at Asahi fall after 50 minutes. I’m already drenched in sweat, my throat is parched, and my legs are tired. However, there was no signboard for the waypoint mentioned in the flyer, and after walking up the mountain road for another 20 minutes, there was a signboard (Asahi-Fall) for the waypoint. The flyer said it would take 35 minutes, but it actually took 70 minutes. After that, I continued walking faster and faster until I reached the turnaround point (Jinja-Fall), but I still couldn’t get there in the time specified in the flyer. Normally, I think the time written on such flyers is written with sufficient margin, but don’t believe the time required on the flyer for Ojira River Valley.

valley (5)

valley (6)

valley (7)

valley (8)

valley (9)

valley (10)

valley (11)asahi fall behind cliff

valley (12)Building blocks that are about to collapse

valley (13)yuriga-fuchi

valley (14)

valley (15)

valley (16)return point

valley (17)jinjya fall

I was only complaining about the time required on the flyer, but the valley itself is full of large white granite rocks, their whiteness is dazzling, and the clear water is flowing everywhere, making it refreshing. My clothes are soaked with sweat, which is the exact opposite. The ridge path on the way back was relatively flat, and we stayed on time here. In the end, it took about 3 hours to turn around at the turnaround point.

2024-08-212024-08-26

People in the know line up to buy outlet peaches

In Yamanashi Prefecture, alluvial fans are formed everywhere where rivers flow from steep mountains, and fruit cultivation is popular there. Hokuto City and Nirasaki City are famous for producing peaches, and the peach blossoms, which bloom a little earlier than the cherry blossoms, are enchanting.

If you can, visit in early summer and buy outlet peaches in bulk at a bargain price. At JA(Japan Agricultural Cooperatives) Rihoku, there are several yards (common selection yards) where peaches brought in from producers are sorted and shipped, but peaches that are not of standard quality and are not shipped to the market (this is called “Hangedashi”,meaning out of standard) are sold directly to consumers here. The taste is the same, except that it cannot be shipped to the market due to serious reasons such as a slight scratch on the appearance or a slight problem with the color of the surface. They could be normally displayed in European markets. One box of about 20 pieces costs 2,200 yen. People from neighboring prefectures have been lining up for this event since early morning. In my case, I was late in the morning, so I arrived at 9am and my ticket number was 64.

selection yard1

selection yard2

The system is such that producers bring the peaches they harvested on the day to the common selection yard, sort them, and when the “Hangedashi” boxes are made, people who have tickets are called in turn. I was nervous, but finally, at 11:30, I was called and was able to get a top quality item. Please note that even if you have a numbered ticket, if you are not careful, there are some people, especially elderly people, who will cross your path, so even though there is shade, you will have to wait in line when it is near your turn.

Everyone was looking for the big box, and I witnessed people with ticket numbers far behind the turn snatching up unpopular small boxes. There were also several large fans installed for people waiting outside in the hot weather, but you should be careful as there are times when large ladies occupy the space in front of the rotating fans.

When I spoke to the sorting guy who was waiting for the peaches to be brought in, he said that if the sugar content is high, some parts of the peaches will become bitter due to the hot afternoon sun, so they are removed from even though the “Hanedashi” peaches and they are washed in a special washing machine, and apparently processed into juice after the bitter part is removed.

It is said that peaches will not last long in the hot summer unless they are not only sweet but also sour. By the way, if you buy peaches in bulk and still hard, they will last longer if you store them in the back of the refrigerator compartment where the temperature does not change much. If you take it out 2-3 days before eating, it will become softer and more sweet.

While I was waiting there, I visited the shrine adjacent to the yard, which has a long history with military commander, Takeda Shingen. It looked like the red helmets of the Takeda army.

shrine gate near selection yard

shrine near selection yard

Detour

Kinseiken, a long-established Shingen mochi(rice cake) shop, only sells Water Shingen mochi on weekends from June to September. This summer water confectionery is made by trapping the delicious water of the valley in agar that has been reduced to an absolute minimum, making it fluffy, and eating it with soybean flour and black sugar syrup, but it dissolves quickly, so it can only be eaten locally. It’s like drinking delicious water. The stores are located in Nirasaki and Daigahara-shukuba. The Daigahara store is located in front of Sake Brewery Shichiken.

2024-05-26

Miyakonojo is completely flat

Miyakonojo is located upstream of the Oyodo River, which has its mouth in Miyazaki City, so it should be in a basin, but when you look at the map, it’s too flat to be called a basin. Since it was cherry blossom season, I went to the observatory of Mochio Shrine to see the row of cherry blossom trees that were selected as one of the top 100 cherry blossom trees. If I go to a shrine on a hill just to get a view, I will might be punished, so after praying at the shrine, I tried to go to the observation deck and noticed that there was a group of megaliths behind the shrine. I could feel an inexplicable spirit. Trembling, I proceed to the observation deck.

miyakonojyo (1)mochioka shrine

miyakonojyo (2)

miyakonojyo (3)giant stones

miyakonojyo (4)

miyakonojyo (5)

From the observation deck, you can get a good view of the completely flat Miyakonojo. I have never seen such flat land. There is an explanation that it was a lake in ancient times, and was flattened by pyroclastic flows from the Aira Caldera in Kagoshima next to Miyakonojo. I had often heard on the news that avian influenza had broken out in Miyakonojo and the chickens at the poultry farm had to be culled, and I thought that the area was so flat that migratory birds would also land there. I came to see the row of cherry blossom trees from the observation deck, but my attention was drawn to the vast, flat basin.

miyakonojyo (6)

miyakonojyo (7)

miyakonojyo (8)

miyakonojyo (9)

miyakonojyo (11)

miyakonojyo (10)

2024-05-242024-05-25

Kochi is not home to the largest catch of skipjack tuna in Japan by pole-and-line fishing

Meitsu Port is located halfway along the Nichinan coast. A banner reads, “This is the port with the largest catch amount of skipjack tuna in Japan using the pole-and-line fishing method.” Fishing begins at the end of February, and the lively bonito that arrive on the Kuroshio Current are traded at the fishing port market ahead of the rest of the country. It is said that a wide variety of fish are landed each season. At the port, boats with many fishing rods are preparing for tomorrow’s fishing trip.

meitsu fishing ship (2)

The restaurant at the portside station Meitsu opens at 10:30, but people start writing their names in the reservation book before then. There were clearly more locals than tourists waiting for their turn.

meitsu fishing port (1)

What you order here is a set meal of bonito marinated in soy sauce and grilled over charcoal by yourself. At the end, you ask for green tea and served it with bonito and rice. This is the only place where you can enjoy bonito dishes while looking out at the port where they are caught and landed.

meitsu fishing port (3)bonito

meitsu fishing port (4)grilled bonito

I bought bonito flakes as a souvenir at a portside station, but when I got home and took a closer look, it turned out to be from Makurazaki, Kagoshima Prefecture, and not even from Kochi.

Detour

Lion Rock is located in the open sea of Aburatsu fishing port. If you approach it from the south, it looks like a lion’s profile, but if you approach it from the north, most people will miss it.

meitsu fishing port (5)lion

Continue reading “Kochi is not home to the largest catch of skipjack tuna in Japan by pole-and-line fishing”

2024-05-232024-05-23

The wild horses of Cape Toi are always eating or scratching their necks

Kushima, which includes Cape Toi, was an enclave of the Takanabe clan (Akizuki family) in central Miyazaki Prefecture, serving as a buffer zone between the Satsuma clan (Shimadzu family) and Obi clan (Ito family), who had a grudge against each other during Edo period. Even now, locals don’t seem to think of the Akizuki family very well, as they were one of the families who betrayed their allies in the Battle of Sekigahara, so the guide explained this part in hushed tones.

wild horses in toi cape road (1)

Since ancient times, this area has been breeding horses and supplying them to various regions as warhorses and agricultural horses to earn foreign currency. After the Meiji Restoration, they have been protected in a wild state without human intervention. The only things humans do are maintain water fountains and fences, burn the fields (apparently horses can’t chew if the grass is long), and conduct annual health checks and check on the number of horses. Horses used to have numbers branded on their legs, but now using a method called frostbite branding, only white hair grows over the numbers. I was very convinced when I heard that once the pigment is gone, only gray hair will grow again, similar to how we only grow gray hair as we get older.

wild horses in toi cape road (2)

Breeding is managed by leaving it to nature, so even if many foals are born in the spring (it is called “harukoma”), only a few born in early spring when the season is good will survive. It is said that foals born during the rainy season will die if their mothers do not protect them from the rain because their body temperature will drop due to the rain. In order to preserve their wild state, humans do not dare to help them with their fate.

wild horses in toi cape (13)

wild horses in toi cape (9)

wild horses in toi cape (10)

wild horses in toi cape (7)

wild horses in toi cape (8)

wild horses in toi cape (11)

wild horses in toi cape (12)

In addition, young stallions make up a harem, and drinking water among them is determined by seniority. The question arises as to what happens to other stallions, but it makes sense that stallions only come into heat at a certain age, while females come into heat at any age. In other words, a stallion that is no longer in heat will leave the harem and form a herd with young stallions that are not in heat. It is said that when young stallions are in heat, they will approach females even as old as their mothers and leave the male herd.

wild horses in toi cape (6)

wild horses in toi cape (2)

wild horses in toi cape (3)

wild horses in toi cape (4)

wild horses in toi cape (5)

When horses stand still, they are either paying attention to their surroundings or are sleeping. Therefore, it is dangerous to approach them at times like this. When they get excited, they kick or run, but they usually spend most of their time either eating grass, or pressing their necks against the fence to scratch themselves because the insects around their necks are itchy. Unlike cows, which eat the same grass, horses only have one stomach, so they defecate every two hours to keep their bodies from getting too heavy so that they can run when they sense danger. Therefore, there is feces all over the meadow, but it doesn’t really smell because it hasn’t fermented in the intestines, and many people step on it without even realizing it. We often see pictures of horses raising their heads and running, but this is not a normal situation for a horse, but an emergency situation for the horse.

wild horses in toi cape (16)scratching

wild horses in toi cape (18)

wild horses in toi cape (19)

wild horses in toi cape (17)

wild horses in toi cape (14)

wild horses in toi cape (15)

All of the above is based on the guide’s explanation. As I asked for a guide and observed the horses, I realized that there was so much I didn’t know. Instead of just staring at the horses and taking close-up photos of just the two of you and a horse without worrying about the risks, please ask for a guide.

Typical of regular horse-related tourism

Yabusame in Tono City and horseback hockey in Hachinohe City show the close relationship between horses and people. On the other hand, the wild horses of Cape Toi can be observed in their completely natural state, offering new discoveries never seen before in tourism.

horseback archery back

hacchi cavalry13

2024-05-222024-05-22

Is this the West coast? No, it’s the Nichinan coast

The rows of Washingtonian palm trees planted along the Nichinan coast from Aoshima to Cape Toi make this coast the West coast. I’ve never been to the West Coast. . . . Probably like this. In Japan, cars drive on the left, so it’s best to drive from north to south for a comfortable drive along the sea side. Beware of distracted driving. Here we will introduce five of the highlights, starting from the north.

1. The biggest one of Demon’s Washboards widely distributed on the Nichinan coast. If you leave Aoshima and immediately take a side street on the left from main road toward Horikiri Pass, you will find the roadside station “Phoenix” with a symbolic Phoenix trees. The view of Demon’s Washboard from here is spectacular.

west coast (1)

west coast (4)phoenix

west coast (3)mango soft serve ice cream

2. Nanatsuiwa (Seven Rocks) seen from the Inozakihana observation deck. After passing Aburatsu Fishing Port and entering a side street on a small hill, there is a parking lot that may seem a bit worrying. From here, if you continue along the sidewalk, which makes you even more worried, you will come to a wooden observation deck.

west coast (7)seven stones

west coast hashiguiiwa in wakayama — hashiguiiwa in wakayama

The seven steep rocks look like the remains of magma that has erupted from cracks on the ocean floor and solidified. This is similar to Hashigui Rock at Kushimoto (Wakayama Prefecture) in the southern tip of the Kii Peninsula.

west coast (5)

west coast (6)

west coast (8)

3. The beauty of the coast seen from the roadside station Nango. No explanation needed. The handmade sweets you can get from roadside stations shop are delicious.

west coast (9)left

west coast (10)center

west coast (11)right

west coast (12)

west coast (13)road station nango

west coast (15)

west coast (14)

4. White sand beach on the Ishinami beach. It is famous as a spawning ground for loggerhead sea turtles. That’s why the coast is beautiful. Let’s watch from a distance. On the opposite shore is Kojima Island, which is home to wild monkeys.

west coast (17)

west coast (16)

west coast (18)

west coast (19)monkey island

5 Koigahama beach which is a surf point.

west coast (20)surf point

2024-05-212024-05-25

The stonework in Obi is too manic

How many Japanese people can read the kanji “Obi”? This land was the site of a dispute between the Ito clan and the Shimazu clan, both of whom were officials dispatched from the Kamakura shogunate, but it is said that after the Toyotomi administration, the Ito clan took over the land. The Ito clan is said to have immigrated from Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture during the Kamakura Shogunate era, and took the surname Ito, so it has a really long history. That’s why a commemorative tree (Cherry Blossom) was planted in Obi Castle by Mayor Ito.

obi (1)

obi (2)komura jyutaro memorial hall

obi (3)castle entrance

obi (6)kuruwa for protection

obi (7)four happy cedars

obi (8)peach

obi (9)ito connection

obi (10)cherry blossoms

obi (11)

obi (15)

obi (16)

obi (17)museum

obi (18)

obi (19)

obi (23)

obi (33)clan school

obi (24)

obi (25)

obi (26)

obi (28)

obi (27)

obi (31)

obi (29)

obi (30)lord’s house

obi (32)

It was the first in Kyushu to be selected as an Important Preservation District for Traditional Buildings by Agency for Cultural Affairs. The town layout from the early Edo period remains intact, and it is one of the Little Kyotos throughout the country. The beauty of the stonework of both Obi Castle and samurai residences is unparalleled in the world. What’s more, the techniques used are too maniacal, such as stacking them in a large curve or at an angle instead of stacking them straight. The nearly 500-year history gives the moss on the stone walls a wabi-sabi feel. I have never seen such beautiful stonework. Definitely worth seeing.

obi (4)

obi (5)

obi (20)

Also, the Obi cedars, which can often be seen inside Obi Castle, are beautiful as they grow straight through a carpet of moss. There is a wonderful cedar forest on the hill at the very back of the castle ruins. Because they contain oil inside and grows quickly, it is also light, so it was valued as a material for ships and construction.

obi (12)

obi (13)

obi (14)

There is a seated archery course near the tourist information center that was popular among samurai at the time, so be sure to give it a try. 8 arrows cost 500 yen. If you underestimate them because they are close, your arrows will have a hard time hitting the target. If you miss too many arrows, the person in charge will feel sorry for you and add a few more arrows. By the way, there is a black cat living at this archery range, and he appeared on the NHK program Iwago-san’s “Cat Walks,” and when I was struggling with my bow and arrow, he came and sat behind me quietly.

obi (34)shihan-mato

obi (35)

obi (36)appeared on TV program cat walking

Detour

Miyazaki is the home of sweet potato shochu. Strangely enough, the alcohol content shipped outside the prefecture is the usual 25%, but the one distributed within the prefecture is as low as 20%. It is said that the technology for making shochu was brought to Miyazaki from Okinawa, and people who moved from Okinawa to Miyazaki after the world-war2 created moonshine with a low alcohol content, and it was legalized by setting a low alcohol tax on it. It is still distributed in Miyazaki Prefecture. There is a famous sake brewery in Nichinan City, and a dojo where young people can learn brewing techniques has opened.

nichinan city (1)

nichinan city (2)sake brewery

nichinan city (3)shochu production training center

2024-05-18

Who decided to throw the luck ball with the left hand?

udo shrine (5)left

udo shrine (6)center

udo shrine (7)right

Udo Shrine is called “Jingu,” so it has a high status among shrines. The myth is a continuation of the story of Aoshima Shrine, where Yamasachihiko, who had a great time at the Sea Palace, formed a vow with the daughter of the Sea God. The origin of Udo Shrine is said to be that a birthing house for his wife was built in a cave that was created when the strata rose diagonally.

udo shrine (1)

udo shrine (2)

udo shrine (9)pocket monster

udo shrine (19)

udo shrine (20)

The name Udo was given because its roof was covered with cormorant feathers, and since the rabbit, which has the same zodiac sign as the pronunciation of cormorant, has been worshiped as a messenger of the Gods, rabbit figurines have been donated everywhere in the shrine. Japanese people really like playing with words. At temples, for example at Zenkoji in Nagano, there are statues “Nade-botoke”(Buddha being stroked) who heal people’s diseased parts by be stroked on the same parts of them, but this is the first time I’ve seen statues “Nade-usagi”(Rabbit being stroked) moreover at a shrine.

udo shrine (3)sculptures rabbit donated

udo shrine (4)please give me

udo shrine (11)rabbit being stroked

Now, the famous attraction here is the luck ball toss. If you can toss and place an unglazed ball into a 60cm square hollow on the back of a stone resembling a turtle at the bottom of a cliff, your wish will come true. If that’s the case, why do people visit shrines? Moreover, women are told to use their right hand and men are told to use their left hand. Although it doesn’t say that left-handed men should throw with their right hand. This is complete sexism. Who decided that? That’s strange!

udo shrine (16)luck ball thrown

udo shrine (17)goal

udo shrine (18)

By the way, the luck ball that goes into the hollow is later collected by the shrine staff, placed in an amulet bag, and sold for 500 yen. They charge you 200 yen for throwing balls, and sell them for an additional 500 yen, so you’re paying double. If someone does not realize this and is making a fuss and throwing luck ball, please think carefully about what he is doing.

geibikei senryutan

geibikei throwqing stones for lucky

geibikei stones

By the way, there is a similar attraction as above at Geibikei Gorge in Iwate Prefecture where you throw a luck ball into a hole in a cliff. There is no right or left hand restriction here. I got in 3 out of 5 times. Each ball you throw has a different letter engraved on it, which is supposed to help you read your fortune, but I completely forgot to check what was engraved before I threw it.

udo shrine (12)concretion — udo shrine (12)concr etion

Another highlight is the concretions, which are spherical calcified bodies of dead jellyfish and other creatures trapped in the sandstone, which can be seen all over the cliffs. The water that permeates through the ground contains lime and falls into the cave as water droplets, creating a structure similar to a limestone cave. Although it does not have icicles like a limestone cave, from a distance, the water droplets look like a mother’s nipples, and there is an explanation that says that these are the milk for the baby born in the birthing center. At shrines, these water droplets are collected and sold as milk candy.

udo shrine (10)

udo shrine (14)tits

udo shrine (15)mother’s milk of earth

The concretion at Udo Shrine is broadcast on the NHK program Buratamori, and the details are written on a signboard inside the shrine grounds. It’s in Japanese though.

udo shrine (13)Concretion description

2024-05-162024-05-16

Can young people and foreigners understand “Demon Washboard”?

aoshima botanic (1) — Washintonian palm trees in aoshima botanic

Immediately after the low-pressure system passed, strong winds blew away the leaves of the Washingtonian palm trees planted along the road, but the 20 meter tall trunks remained motionless. It is said that the founder of Miyazaki Kotsu Co.,Ltd. started planting trees as a tourist attraction, but pruning businesses in Miyazaki City now use cranes to carry out the heavy maintenance work. Nevertheless the work can’t keep up, chunks of skin are falling all over the town.

aoshima shrine (1)

The Nichinan Coast, which is lined with Washington palm trees, is made up of layers of hard sandstone and soft mudstone that rise diagonally and have been washed by waves for long time. As a result, there are many landforms where only sandstone layers appear stacked up like plates. Due to its size, it is called the demon’s washboard, but it is a long time ago that laundry was scrubbed with a washboard by hands to remove dirt, and in the era of fully automatic washing machines, very few people were aware of this. Probably not. I think it might be a good idea to come up with a new name to replace the demon’s washboard.

aoshima shrine (8)

aoshima shrine (21)

aoshima shrine (4)soil of aoshima

There is a theory that in Aoshima, seeds that washed up from the Pacific Ocean germinated on the small amount of soil that had accumulated on this demon’s washboard, and subtropical plants flourished there. Aoshima Shrine is enshrined surrounded by these subtropical plants, and the vivid vermilion of the shrine, the vibrant deep green of the subtropical plants, and the blue of the sea that can be seen from the shrine create a color collaboration. This combination is special.

aoshima shrine (7)

aoshima shrine (9)

aoshima shrine (10)

aoshima shrine (11)

aoshima shrine (16)baseball team Giants prayer for victory

aoshima shrine (12)subtropical plants

aoshima shrine (15)

aoshima shrine (13)find special shell

aoshima shrine (14)matchmaking paper twist

aoshima shrine (17)

aoshima shrine (18)

aoshima shrine (19)

aoshima shrine (20)tuk tuk

The myths surrounding Aoshima Shrine were written in the oldest classic, the Kojiki. Yamasachihiko, who borrowed a fishing hook from his brother Umisachihiko, dropped it in the sea and ended up at the Sea Palace looking for it. After living a rich life there for three years, he came back and returned the fishing hook to Umisachihiko, but the relationship between the two did not go well and there was some quarrel. However, it is a story that doesn’t quite make sense. Most Japanese myths don’t have a punch line, so you might be left with a feeling of being empty. Similarly, Rakugo, which tells a comic story just by copying the form of the voice, has a punch line at the end of the story, but it’s not as interesting as the middle of the story.

aoshima shrine (2)

aoshima shrine (6)slab eroded as skeleton

The only thing here is to enjoy the creations of nature, not myths. To do this, check the low tide time in advance and go sightseeing around that time. Otherwise, the demon’s washboard would be submerged in the sea. Some of the sandstone slabs have structures that make you wonder how they were eroded to form such patterns. However, when I look at the neatly lined sandstone slabs, am I the only one who notices that they look like mahjong tiles stacked on top of one another?

aoshima shrine (5)sandstone slabs

Detour 1 (Botanic Garden)

aoshima botanic (3)

On the way from the parking lot to Aoshima inland, we passed a subtropical botanical garden. It really makes you feel like you’re in a tropical country. Admission is free.

aoshima botanic (9)

aoshima botanic (4)

aoshima botanic (2)

aoshima botanic (6)

aoshima cafe life (1)

aoshima cafe life (2)

Detour 2 (Chicen dishes)

Miyazaki’s specialty is chicken dishes. Charcoal-grilled chicken is cooked over a strong fire until it is charred and eaten with wasabi. Addictive taste. On the other hand, fried chicken “Nanban” is on the menu at all times of the day, and depending on the restaurant, different parts of the chicken are used, such as breast, thigh, or chicken fillet. The chicken fillet is the most recommended. Eat with special homemade tartar sauce. This makes it even more delicious. Please enjoy Miyazaki night!

miyazaki night (3)charcoal-grilled chiken with wasabi

miyazaki night (4)fried chiken with tartar sauce

miyazaki night (2)nishitachi

2024-04-30

Where there is famous water, there is famous sake

A sake brewery in Daigahara, a post town on the old Koshu Highroad, produced a famous sake called Shichiken. The brewed water in the backyard that you can drink freely is soft and delicious. There is also sake that is similar to champagne. Would you like to eat koji(malt) dishes at the attached restaurant, or have cold soba noodles at the soba restaurant across the street? In either case, good water is the deciding factor.

shichiken3 pine tree

shichiken2 inside

shichiken4 restaurant

shichiken6 lunch

shichiken5 natural water

soba kubota

Whiskey brewing and tasting

suntory3 tasting

Japanese Sake is not the only type of brewing that uses delicious water. The Suntory Hakushu factory is located towards Kobuchizawa from the post town. You can tour here, but the most fun part is the tasting. Advance reservations are required to tour, but be sure to take advantage of the hourly free shuttle bus from Kobuchizawa Station. Drivers are only boring. In case of the Suntory Yamazaki factory in Osaka, it is near the station, so you can easily go for a tasting. The founders of both Suntory and Nikka Whiskey were closely related.