(Special Event) 2-Day Tour: 'Shimotsuki' Winter Festival, Traditional Food & Sake Experience

Be spirited-away deep into Central Japan on this immersive two-day tour including attendance at the winter ‘Shimotsuki Matsuri’ and overnight stay at Shimabata Ryokan – a local inn renowned for its traditional ‘gibier’ (wild meat) menu. Along with visits to the floating village of Shimoguri-no-sato and Kikusui Sake Brewery and all led by a locally-based guide, this intimate and unique tour reveals a side of Japan that few international visitors experience.

Highlights

• Attend the raucous and unforgettable ‘Shimotsuki Matsuri’, an intimate festival said to be the inspiration for Studio Ghibli’s acclaimed and much-loved film, ‘Spirited Away’

• Follow the Toyama River into the mountains and discover a traditional food culture over two days including one of the region’s best winter ‘gibier’ (wild meat) dinner courses at Shimabata and lunch on both days

• Be spirited high into the mountains above to the floating village of Shimoguri, one of the region’s most iconic destinations – a place of myth and fable – before visiting the region’s most famous sake brewery, Kikusui

• Including accommodation on Day 1 – with dinner and breakfast included- along transport to and from all destinations and led by a locally-based guide

Description

The tour begins at Hiraoka Station, where your guide will greet you, have you board the tour vehicle and on your way along the Toyama River. Ascending from the high mountains above, Toyama River feeds into the larger Tenryu River and is the source of life and identity in this hidden pocket of Central Japan – a place where locals are proud of their traditional food culture and honour the spirits that are said to inhabit its forested mountains and meandering waterways.

First stop on the tour is lunch at ‘Genya’, a popular restaurant offering local specialties including your choice of Shinshu salmon, ‘soba’ noodles with Toyama ‘jidori’ chicken or a ‘gibier’ (wild meat) plate. You’ll receive a warm welcome from the owner and lots of information about the local food you’re enjoying – a great start to a two-day getaway all living traditions faraway from the city.

From there you make the short journey to the festival grounds, where you will meet the local community and enjoy the early proceedings. ‘Shimotsuki Matsuri’ celebrates the long-held belief that the region is inhabited by a large number of spirits – a belief you will see manifest that night as residents commune with those spirits including their ancestors through dance and raucous celebration. You guide will explain the meaning underpinning the festival and what you will witness later in the evening before you head onto your accommodation – Shimabata – for an early check-in and to relax and unwind before dinner.

Shimabata is a homely local guesthouse known best for its unique menu of ‘gibier’ (wild meat) and traditional side dishes including ‘hachi’ (wasps) and ‘bata’ (crickets). For guests with a sense of food adventure, this meal promises to be a highlight of their time in Japan as the owner serves an ever-changing menu of wild meat including ‘inoshishi’ (wild boar), ‘shika’ (deer), ‘ayu’ (river fish) with the promise of the best wild meats in season – for more information, see ‘About Your Accommodation’ below – and noting the vegetarian meals can also be served.

Following dinner you will make the short journey back to the festival and inside Jugosha Daimyojin Shrine. The festival will be in full swing by that time with the shrine packed with local residents including those wearing traditional clothing and masks, who perform to the delight of the audience. Dancers circulate around a cauldron of steaming water over a fire, with the most experienced performers charged with using their bare hands to spray the hot water over the crowd as a ritual purification. Male residents then take turns wearing masks and dancing and should they wish to, male guests are also invited to wear a mask and dance.

The festival is said to be one of the inspirations for Studio Ghibli’s loved film ‘Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi’ (Spirited Away), after acclaimed animator Miyazaki Hayao personally attended the festival. Your guide will stay with you throughout proceedings allowing around 2.5 hours inside the shrine, over which time a memorable array of spirits appear to dance each with story or purpose to its entrance. The overall experience and the photographs you will capture will be among the most treasured of your time in Japan – before you return to your accommodation around 21:00.

Day 2

The second day begins with a traditional Japanese breakfast before your guide will have you board the tour vehicle for the thirty minute drive into the mountains above and onto the hamlet of Shimoguri. Sitting at 1200 metres above sea level, Shimoguri clings to the steep mountain sides – one of Central Japan’s most striking vistas. Your guide will lead you along a forest trail to the view point, from where the village often appears float among the morning clouds of winter.

A place of myth and fable, Shimoguri seems to float among the clouds – a realm in which you’ll get a strong sense of the spirits said to inhabit the mountains, forests, rivers and of course, local shrines. From there you’ll begin your journey back to modernity as you head toward Iida City and lunch at the renowned Imamiya Hanbei. Arriving for lunch around 12:30, you will enjoy a traditional menu of multiple dishes including the restaurant’s acclaimed ‘gohei mochi’ – glutinous rice balls on a skewer and coated in sauce. Imamiya Hanbei has been serving it the same way since 1872 and the full vegetarian menu acts as a delicious balance to the previous day’s dinner course.

Once done, it’s onto Kikusai Sake Brewery for the final stop of the tour. Established in the 19th century, Kikusui Sake Brewery has a long history of producing some of southern Nagano’s best ‘sake’. At first an independent brewery, the devastation of the Second World War put pressure on local breweries to come together and consolidate their efforts with the limited resources that were available. In 1944, thirty-seven breweries joined together under the banner of Kikusui, creating one of Nagano’s most famous and successful sake breweries.

Arriving around 14:20, you will enjoy a guided tour of the modern brewery followed by guided sake tasting. Brewed in winter, it is the ideal time to visit, see the brewing process firsthand and enjoy the best seasonal sake.

It’s then short drive to Iida Station where your guide will say their goodbyes and the tour – and the most memorable of experiences – comes to an end at 15:40*.

*the tour end time is scheduled to fit with Limited Express ‘Inaji’ service departing Iida Station at 15:58 and arriving at Toyohashi Station at 18:31. Toyohashi Station is a stop on the Tokaido Shinkansen line running to Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka – making your onward journey to those and other cities easy to navigate.

ABOUT YOUR ACCOMMODATION

This tour includes accommodation on Day 1 at Shimabata, a local guesthouse located in the Toyama-go area. Guests will be allocated a Japanese-style room with ‘tatami’-matting, on-floor ‘futon’ bedding, low furniture and small television. Rooms do not include a private toilet, shower or bath. In-keeping with many traditional guesthouses, guests are required to share toilet and bathing facilities. Dinner and breakfast are included with the evening’s ‘gibier’ (wild meat) dinner course sure to be a highlight of your time in Japan. All meat is sustainably and lawfully hunted in the surrounding mountains of Toyama-go, with the owner taking great pride and care in its preparation. While it might take a sense of adventure to try it, the meat and fish is beautifully cooked and offers a truly memorable traditional food experience… and that’s even before the wasp or snake liquor you’re sure to be offered through the course of your meal! Should it be required, Shimabata can also cater to vegetarian diets.

GETTING TO HIRAOKA: ENJOY THE BEAUTY OF THE IIDA LINE

This tour is designed to take you far from the city and deep into the beauty and tradition of the Tenryu Riverlands. For visitors coming from Tokyo or Nagoya, or even further afield from Kyoto or Osaka, this is surprisingly easy to do using the Limited Express ‘Inaji’ service on the JR Iida Line from Toyohashi Station. As a stop on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line running from Tokyo to Osaka via Nagoya and Kyoto, Toyohashi is quick and easy to reach – taking 80-minutes from Tokyo and less than 30-minutes from Nagoya. Once there, the Limited Express Inaji service runs to Hiraoka in under two-hours, in which time passengers can enjoy one of Japan’s most scenic rail lines – see FAQs below for Limited Express Inaji times to and from Toyohashi.

MEETUP POINT

This tour operates from the following meetup point:

1 / HIRAOKA STATION @ 12:00

The meetup point is at the entrance of Hiraoka Station. Please wait at the bottom of the stairs. It is a small station with only one entrance / exit so you should have no problem finding it. Please be there in advance of the tour departure time of 12:00.

NOTES

Included

• Transportation fee from / to all listed destinations and activities

• English-speaking guide on both days

• Attendance at the ‘Shimotsuki Matsuri’ on Day 1

• Guided visit to Shimoguri on Day 2

• Guided tour / tasting at Kikusui Sake Brewery on Day 2

• Lunch at ‘Genya’ on Day 1 and ‘Imamiya Hanbei’ on Day 2

• Accommodation on Day 1 (inc. dinner and breakfast)

Excluded

• Additional transport costs to / from Hiraoka Station or Iida Station i.e. train fares

• Additional food, snacks or drinks

• Additional accommodation (unless requested)

Other Information

• This tour is not wheelchair accessible and may not be suitable for mobility-impaired travelers. Should you have any concerns about your ability to join the tour, please contact us to discuss prior to booking.

• This tour includes lunch at ‘Genya’ in Toyamago on Day 1 and ‘Imamiya Hanbei’ in Iida City on Day 2. In the unlikely event that we cannot access either restaurant on the day of your tour, we will arrange a comparable nearby restaurant.

• This tour includes accommodation at Shimabata on Day 1. Accommodation includes dinner and breakfast, with guests allocated a standard Japanese-style room with on-floor ‘futon’ bedding and shared bathing / toilet facilities.

• Dinner at Shimabata is a multi-course ‘gibier’ (wild meat) meal. Meat served at dinner is lawfully and sustainably hunted in the surrounding mountains and is in-keeping with the region’s traditional food culture. Meat varies depending on the season and can include deer, wild boar, duck, bear, river fish and other specialties. Please note, Snow Monkey Resorts does not decide the menu and cannot guarantee what you will be served on the day of your tour. Should you be offered something you do not wish to eat, please feel free to decline it but for those with a sense of food adventure, we are sure you will enjoy one of Central Japan’s most enjoyable food experiences.

• If required, Shimabata can also serve a vegetarian dinner however we cannot guarantee that it can cater to vegan and other dietary requirements such as gluten-free.

• On Day 1 of the tour you will attend the ‘Shimotsuki Matsuri’. The festival is very local and intimate and in the evening you will spend between 2 to 2.5 inside a small shrine watching and should you wish to, also participating. During the festival performers spray hot water over the crowd while others might jump into the crowd. The festival concludes with a performer slicing paper prayers that hang from above with a sword. Needless to say it’s a raucous affair and while you are unlikely to experience anything adverse, you may well be sprayed with water or be pulled into proceedings. It is also important to note that there is nowhere to sit inside the shrine there guests must be able to stand for the entire period and we ask that you come with a good sense of fun and this is one festival intended to be raucous and get you involved.

• This tour visits Shimoguri on Day 2. Shimoguri is an alpine hamlet located around 1200 metres above sea level. In winter, the morning weather is typically ideal to visit and enjoy the view of the village with the possibility of seeing it in the clouds. This however cannot be guaranteed and it is possible, that should the weather be bad, we might be able to access the village. Should this occur, please understand that the decision will be made to ensure the safety of our guests and staff. Should we not be able to access the village, we will instead head toward the lunch restaurant early and first walk around Tenryukyo Gorge.

• The legal drinking age in Japan is 20. Persons under this age are welcome to join the tour however they cannot participate in tasting of alcoholic beverages. At Kikusui, non-alcoholic options will also be provided to all guests.