Countryside Stay JapanCountryside Stay Japan
Experience farming life at a rustic lodge on a global agricultural heritage site

Fuefuki City, Yamanashi Prefecture

Local stories

Embark on a four-day, three-night adventure in the city of Fuefuki and discover the history and techniques behind Yamanashi’s pomiculture, which developed thanks to the fertile alluvial fan formed by Mt. Fuji’s eruptions. Venture near the Fuefuki and Hikawa rivers with a guide by your side and trace the roots of Yamanashi, the “Kingdom of Fruit.” Sample wine from GI-certified vineyards, pick Japanese tea using chagusaba practices (a GIAHS), and more to experience the agricultural traditions and everyday wisdom of Yamanashi and Shizuoka, shaped by the natural environment of Mt. Fuji. Your encounters with cultural traditions and the people behind them will surely leave a deep impression on you.

Take a seat at an inviting dining table laden with regional dishes to help you experience the local everyday life and culture through interactions with the community. You can also try some home cooking with local residents. Lastly, take commemorative photos with everyone and receive a kinship passport as a memento of the bonds you forged.

You can also enjoy a walk around Koshu, one of three cities in the region collectively certified as comprising a GIAHS, and a stroll through history on a visit to the Seven Lucky Gods, all while dressed in a Western-style kimono. Experience the culture of mindfulness through a shojin ryori lunch (traditional Buddhist vegetarian cuisine) and a visit to the Seven Lucky Gods. You can also enjoy panoramic views of Mt. Fuji from a scenic vantage point, making for some unforgettable memories of Yamanashi’s side of Mt. Fuji.

Local culinary delights

Yamanashi is the largest producer of grapes in Japan. Vineyards that craft GI-certified wine can be found throughout the prefecture’s alluvial fan. Here you can visit various wineries and experience wine-making yourself. You can also try to make a parfait from dried Koshu Hyakume persimmons and other fruits. A variety of other activities are also available, such as tea picking and hojicha-making in Shizuoka as well as workshops where you can learn to make local cuisine and bento. You can even try hoto noodles, a Yamanashi specialty.

Recommended model course

Journey beyond Mt. Fuji to uncover the bounties of agriculture and the wisdom of living in harmony with nature in a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS)

Example itinerary

Themed around exploring agricultural bounties beyond Mt. Fuji, this experiential tourism plan invites you to immerse yourself in the agricultural traditions and ways of life of Yamanashi and Shizuoka. It’s packed with opportunities to connect with the community and Japanese culture, including enjoying local wine and food pairings, arranging flowers, pruning trees in a garden, and strolling around town in a Western-style kimono.

Schedule

Day One

Depart from ShinjukuArrive at Katsunumabudokyo StationMeet with the guide and see the alluvial fan landscape and the Wine Tunnel Cave, then join a GI-certified vineyard and winery tour and enjoy a glass of wine wherever you like on a foldable chair at Toumu Winery

Come experience making bento boxes and parfaits at the Marusa Marche Niwa Cafe 03

A café offering a variety of hands-on experiences. Try making bento boxes featuring Yamanashi regional cuisine and Japanese home-style dishes, or crafting fruit-filled parfaits.

Go to Teien no Ie, your accommodations, where you can hear auspicious tales concerning the garden’s trees and experience activities such as pruning and flower arrangementExperience Yamanashi’s mujin tradition by having dinner and interacting with local residents, receive a kinship passport, and take commemorative photos

With the help of local residents, become a temporary member of the community and experience mujin, Yamanashi’s unique tradition of mutual support and the purest form of community bonds, rarely known even to Japanese people. Then relax as if you were living in Japan yourself while taking in the beauty of a Japanese garden. Lastly, take commemorative photos with your mujin pals and receive a kinship passport as a memento of the bonds you forged.

Day Two

Breakfast is the bento you made the day before.Have a local kimono dresser arrange a Western-style kimono for you

Learn about history and culture in Koshu, one of three cities in the region collectively certified as comprising a GIAHS. Next, have a local kimono dresser arrange a Western-style kimono for you at your accommodations and experience the quality of Japanese fabric while strolling around town. For lunch, have shojin ryori made from local ingredients at Hokoji, a historical heritage site. Then enjoy a stroll through history on a visit to the Seven Lucky Gods, all while dressed in your Western-style kimono.

At Hokoji, eat shojin ryori, search for happiness on a visit to the Seven Lucky Gods, and experience Japanese culture while looking out over the alluvial fan, part of a GIAHS

Fruit Tea Making Experience at Salsa MarcheEnjoy pairing GI-certified wine with local ingredients for dinner at Kaze, a winery restaurant in the Fuefukigawa Fruit Park

Enjoy a guided stroll through a wine tunnel where you can catch a glimpse of the history behind this GIAHS site’s alluvial fan and the local industries it nurtured. Visit the winery to sample your favorite wines. Have your commemorative photo taken at your preferred location, then take it home with you—printed on a label for your chosen bottle. There’s nothing better than enjoying a glass of wine while taking in the vineyard vistas overlooking the alluvial fan.

Walk around the Fuefukigawa Fruit Park (one of the New Three Major Night Views of Japan)

The Fuefukigawa Fruit Park offers breathtaking panoramic views. During the day, gaze ahead at Mt. Fuji and look over the Misaka Mountains with peaks like the Southern Alps in the distance. At night, take in the beauty of the stars and the nighttime view of the Kofu Basin, which was certified as one of the New Three Major Night Views of Japan.

Arrive at your accommodations

Day Three

Take commemorative photos with Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi in the background at Fujiyama Twin Terrace

A new addition to the Shindo Pass, Fujiyama Twin Terrace is a popular vantage point with a sweeping view of Mt. Fuji. At the scenic photo spot, snap pictures with Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi in the background to commemorate your time on the Yamanashi side of the mountain.

Depart for ShizuokaVisit GI-certified tea production areas in Kakegawa and Kikugawa that practice chagusaba techniques and experience cutting grass, picking tea, and making hojichaInteract with tea farmers and experience tea-centric life as well as Japanese tea-based hospitalityArrive at the experiential inn Tabinoya, a traditional house that used to belong to a tea farmer

At Tabinoya, experience tea-centric life as well as Japanese tea-based hospitality. You will also stay the night here. At night, let the fatigue of travel melt away in the traditional cauldron-like bathtub.

Day Four

Also known as the Kapposhi Terrace, the Awagatake GIAHS Chagusaba Terrace offers great vistas of Mt. Fuji, allowing you to take in the Shizuoka side of the mountain and the tea-dominated landscape.

From the terrace, you can enjoy a gorgeous view that seamlessly blends the Shizuoka side of Mt. Fuji with the vast tea plantations developed using traditional chagusaba agricultural techniques. This is the last stop on the itinerary. Reflect on the two Japanese GIAHS sites stretching north and south of Mt. Fuji and relive every moment of your journey.

Reflect on the two Japanese GIAHS sites stretching north and south of Mt. Fuji as you travel back to Tokyo from Shizuoka Station by bullet train.

Access

From Shinjuku Bus Terminal to Ichinomiya bus stop on the Yamanashi Kotsu Fujikyu Bus or on the Keio Bus Highway Bus Shinjuku-Kofu Line (1 hour and 30 minutes + 10-minute walk)
From Shinjuku Station to Isawa Onsen Station on the JR Chuo Line Express Train (1 hour and 30 minutes), then by taxi to Marusa Marche Fuefuki (20 minutes)

Contact

Fuefuki City Farm Stay Tourism Promotion Council (Marusa Marche / Niwa Café 03)

Recommended Accommodation

Togen-no-ie

This comfortable vacation rental is in a renovated traditional farmhouse. The spacious one-story building has a garden with a veranda where guests can try their hand at smoking food, making a campfire, or lighting firework sparklers (for an additional fee). From the adjoining vineyard of Shine Muscat grapes, visitors can get a panoramic view of the nearby peach orchards. This popular inn offers a wide variety of activities, including cooking and hunting.

  • Address :

    379-1 Shioda, Ichinomiya-cho, Fuefuki-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture

  • Telephone Number :

    +81 (0)553-47-4447 (Marusa Marche Fuefuki)

  • Telephone Languages :

    Japanese

  • Access :

    10-minute walk from Ichinomiya bus stop or 18-minute drive from JR Isawa Onsen Station

  • Check-in :

    11:00 a.m. (varies by stay plan)

  • Check-out :

    10:00 a.m.

  • Rates :

    ¥25,000 per night with 3 meals (6 years old and above)

  • Accepted Credit Cards :

    VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB

  • Bedroom :

    6 bedrooms for up to 15 people; futons and beds

  • Bathroom :

    Bathtub available from check-in to checkout

  • Toilet :

    Western style

  • Meals :

    Dinner, breakfast, and lunch

  • Wi-Fi :

    Available

Recommended Accommodation

Teien-no-ie

This farmhouse inn, situated on 1,000 square meters of land, offers six roomy bedrooms on its two floors. Relax in the large garden, which was created by a veteran gardener and is equipped with a dog run. The bold stone garden design creates a truly mystical atmosphere that invites you to slip into the slow-living lifestyle of the Japanese countryside, far from the hustle and bustle of the city.

  • Address :

    140 Mitsukunugi, Sakaigawa-cho, Fuefuki-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture

  • Telephone Number :

    +81 (0)553-47-4447 (Marusa Marche Fuefuki)

  • Telephone Languages :

    Japanese

  • Access :

    10-minute walk from Ichinomiya bus stop or 18-minute drive from JR Isawa Onsen Station

  • Check-in :

    From 3:00 p.m.

  • Check-out :

    10:00 a.m.

  • Rates :

    ¥80,000 for up to 6 people (with breakfast), plus ¥8,000 for each additional person over 6 people

  • Accepted Credit Cards :

    VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB

  • Bedroom :

    6 bedrooms for up to 15 people; futons and beds

  • Bathroom :

    Bathtub available from check-in to checkout

  • Toilet :

    Western style

  • Meals :

    Breakfast

  • Wi-Fi :

    Available

Recommended Restaurant

Marusa Marche / Niwa café 03

This fruit parlor offers a dazzling menu of seasonal fruits from Yamanashi. In addition to delicious parfaits bursting with fresh fruit, diners can enjoy peach or grape pizzas and pastas, homemade treats like additive-free gelato, jams made with Yamanashi fruit, and fresh fruits in season.

  • Address :

    238 Sueki, Ichinomiya-cho, Fuefuki-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture

  • Telephone Number :

    +81 (0)553-47-4447 (Marusa Marche Fuefuki)

  • Telephone Languages :

    Japanese

  • Access :

    10-minute walk from Ichinomiya bus stop or 18-minute drive from JR Isawa Onsen Station

  • Opening Hours :

    10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

  • Closed :

    Tuesdays (if Tuesday is a holiday, closed the following day), open every day in July and August

  • Cuisine :

    Desserts

  • Foreign Language Menu :

    Available

  • Accepted Credit Cards :

    VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB

Recommended Restaurant

Kominka Shokudo “ZU”

This unique teishoku (set menu) restaurant is in a renovated 100-year-old farmhouse. Tuck into Japanese favorites like karaage (fried chicken), egg on rice, and ginger pork. Soak up the Japanese atmosphere in this nostalgic and spacious tatami room with its low tables and soft floor cushions.

  • Address :

    517 Aramaki, Ichinomiya-cho, Fuefuki-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture

  • Telephone Number :

    +81 (0)80-7140-9997

  • Telephone Languages :

    Japanese

  • Access :

    10-minute walk from Ichinomiya bus stop or 15-minute drive from JR Isawa Onsen Station

  • Opening Hours :

    11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

  • Closed :

    Tuesdays and Wednesdays

  • Cuisine :

    Japanese cuisine

  • Foreign Language Menu :

    Not available

  • Accepted Credit Cards :

    VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB

Recommended Experience

Create an original parfait using seasonal fruits!

Discover your inner dessert chef by making your own fruit parfait. Cut the fruit and arrange the pieces with toppings and other ingredients. When it’s completed, snap a photo and then dig in before the ice cream starts to melt! This hands-on café offers many other creative hands-on activities using local ingredients.

  • Address :

    Marusa Marche Fuefuki, 238 Sueki, Ichinomiya-cho, Fuefuki-shi, Yamanashi

  • Telephone Number :

    +81 (0)553-47-4447 (Marusa Marche Fuefuki)

  • Telephone Languages :

    Japanese

  • Access :

    10-minute walk from Ichinomiya bus stop or 18-minute drive from JR Isawa Onsen Station

  • Duration :

    30–40 minutes

  • Fee :

    ¥2,000 per person

  • Languages Supported :

    Japanese, English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and French (via machine translation)

  • Accepted Credit Cards :

    VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB

Recommended Experience

Learn the basics of Japanese cooking by preparing dinner

Try a cooking class taught. Learn how to make the Yamanashi specialty hoto from scratch—includes noodles, tempura, and fresh vegetables straight from the fields. In this experience, you will learn how to prepare fish and make dashi (soup stock) while becoming acquainted with Japanese cuisine in a fun and delicious way.

  • Address :

    Marusa Marche Fuefuki, 238 Sueki, Ichinomiya-cho, Fuefuki-shi, Yamanashi

  • Telephone Number :

    +81 (0)553-47-4447 (Marusa Marche Fuefuki)

  • Telephone Languages :

    Japanese

  • Access :

    10-minute walk from Ichinomiya bus stop or 18-minute drive from JR Isawa Onsen Station

  • Duration :

    2 hours

  • Fee :

    ¥7,800 per person (minimum of 2 people)

  • Languages Supported :

    Japanese and English

  • Accepted Credit Cards :

    VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB

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