Hand-made Soba in Takumi no Sato (たくみの里)

Our final stop on the Minakami tour was at Takumi no Sato (たくみの里). Their website is sadly all in Japanese. The main event at Takumi no Sato was making soba by hand, the entire process of which you can see in my video:

Our hand-made Soba

After making soba, we walked around the area a bit and I snapped a few last-minute photos:

Part of our tour group--the more pictures I took, the more weird their poses got

Hiking in Tanigawa Dake

The morning after the stargazing event, we returned to Tanigawa Dake in order to hike to Ichinokura Dake (一ノ倉岳). I don't usually like hiking, nor long walks, but I have to admit that the views were absolutely stunning, as you can see from my pictures and video:

 Our hiking guide, Mr. Kimura

Stargazing at Tanigawa Dake (谷川岳)

After dinner at our hotel, we took a bus to Tanigawa Dake (谷川岳). In the winter this is a popular skiing area, but in the summer there are lots of nice trails to walk and other activities as shown by their website.

 The proper way to attend an event after using the onsen is by wearing your hotel-issued yukata (cotton robe)

We took the gondola or "ropeway" to the top of the hill where the stargazing started:

 

Inside of the gondola

 Unfortunately, due to the rainy weather, there were no stars to see, but we got to watch a few good presentations about astronomy

The rainy weather meant there were no stars to see

 Presentations about constellations and planets in our solar system

 

Hotel - Tatsumikan (辰巳館)

After touring the glass factory, we checked into our hotel, Tatsumikan (辰巳館). Although their website is only in Japanese, there are some good pictures of the onsen (hot springs) that are available in the hotel. As with most onsen ryokan (traditional Japanese inns with hot springs) the "mens" and "womens" hotsprings are swapped in the evening, meaning that guests can enjoy both during their stay. I went to the onsen a total of 3 times during our one night stay--once when we first arrived at the hotel, once after dinner and once in the early morning before breakfast.

 View from our hotel room

 Traditional kaiseki dinner photos

Breakfast photos

Since you must remove your clothes in order to use the hot spring, I wasn't able to take any photos. For those who are curious, the following is the proper way to use a Japanese hotspring:

1. Enter the hotspring corresponding to your sex (男 = men, 女 = women)
2. Remove your clothes and put in a bin in the dressing room. Take only a wash cloth with you
3. Enter the main hot spring room where there are showers. Wash yourself VERY thoroughly (you should spend a solid 5-10 minutes washing yourself). Also make sure to shampoo your hair, etc. Note, there are little benches to sit on and you take this shower sitting down. You can also use the washcloth you brought with you.
4. After rinsing yourself thoroughly, enter the hot spring. If you are lucky, there will also be an outdoor hot spring (this hotel had one and it was lovely).
5. While in the hot spring, make sure not to let you wash cloth in the water. Most people seem to keep it on their head (myself included)

Glass Factory Tour

Next we went to Vidro Park (website, Japanese only) where we toured a factory that makes hand-made glass products.

I didn't take many photos inside the factory, but took a decent amount of video:

Folk Tales at Sarugakyo

After the fruit extravaganza, we stopped in for a quick visit to the at the Sarugakyo Hotel (猿ヶ京ホテル), located in the Northern part of Minakami right next to lake Akaya (赤谷湖). The hotel's website is only in Japanese.

Views from around the hotel 

The main reason we stopped in was to hear the folktales by a master story teller. Given my limited Japanese ability, the stories were very hard to understand, but after the performance we were each given a book with the transcription of the stories in Japanese.

BBQ Lunch and Grape Picking @ フルーツ公園桃李館

Our first stop on the tour was フルーツ公園桃李館 (furûtsu kôen tôrikan), where we walked through the rows of apple trees, picked grapes and ate a BBQ lunch. Their website is only in Japanese, but has a lot of good pictures. I snapped a few pictures of the local scenery.

We were also met by Ms. Arai who gave us a number of pamphlets in English explaining many interesting places in Gunma prefecture.

Lunch was Japanese BBQ pork, a local specialty of northern Gunma. For those who do not eat meat or pork, there were also vegetarian options like Udon available.

After lunch, we took a tour under the grape vines and sampled the three varieties of local grapes. After comparing the different styles, we set out to pick our own bunch.

 

The grapes were Pione (ピオーネ), Beni izu (紅伊豆) and Takasumi (高墨) from left to right, respectively

This is the bunch I picked--beni-izu grapes that were still a little green (and tart)

After selecting the perfect grape to take as a souvenir, we headed back inside to enjoy Gelato.

Minakami (9/11 - 9/12)

The following posts are about the trip I took to Minakami, Gunma prefecture from Sept. 11 ~ 12, 2011. I joined a bus tour organized by JTB Kanto with 13 other foreign students from the Kanto area.

Part 1: BBQ Lunch and Grape Picking @ フルーツ公園桃李館
Part 2: Folk Tales at Sarugakyo
Part 3: Glass Factory Tour
Part 4: Hotel - Tatsumikan (辰巳館)
Part 5: Stargazing at Tanigawa Dake (谷川岳)
Part 6: Hiking in Tanigawa Dake
Part 7: Hand-made Soba in Takumi no Sato (たくみの里)

 View from the end of our hike up Tanigawa Dake

Our guide, Ms. En.

Disclosure: This trip was provided free for those who attended, with the requirement that we had to take photos, write a blog, etc to introduce our friends and family to Gunma Prefecture.