Sightseeing Spots

Hiruzen (Maniwa-City)

Hiruzen Highland is one of the most famous resorts in western Japan. The area is filled with picturesque pastoral spots for recreation and is known for its lush dairy farmland. Its specialty is Jersey milk, also known as 'golden milk' loved by the British Royal Family.
POSTED on 2025/01/22

Hiruzen Plateau Map

ひるぜん高原マップ

ひるぜん高原マップ

 

The most scenic spots are the Jersey Cow Fureai Square and the Hiruzen Jersey Land, where you can enjoy the famous cheese fondue and Jersey soft serve with grazing cows in the background. You can get on a horse for a pleasure ride, try a variety of workshop classes, or enjoy an amusement park.
After a hard day's play, refresh your body at Hiruzen 'Yatsuka Hot Spring Kaiyukan,' a hot spring spa facility that takes advantage of the natural hot spring gushes out in Hiruzen Kogen.
The area is also known for being blanketed with gorgeous foliage in autumn.

Let's go to Hiruzen Highland (Okayama Hiruyama Tourism Association) ⇒http://www.hiruzen.info/

 

Hiruzen sights narrow on the theme

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Yamazakura

Yamazakura in Hiruzen is a dog-friendly and cat-friendly rental villa.
You can also stay here without having a pet, but please refrain if you are allergic to dogs or cats.
POSTED on 2025/02/19
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Cottage Hoshi no Mori

A hidden cottage located off the beaten path.
Antique furniture and lovely interiors provide a luxurious experience.
There are two cottages, and a café laid out with antique furniture is also adjacent to the house with tables, chairs, decorations, and other lovely items from overseas in the store. Please spend a relaxing time with homemade cakes and coffee.
POSTED on 2025/02/13
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Fairfield by Marriott Okayama Hiruzen Kogen

Fairfield by Marriott can be your base for enjoying the attractions of Hiruzen Highland.
Rooms are compact at 25 square meters but designed to provide a relaxing and comfortable stay, with Simmons beds ideal for healing the tiredness of traveling. Shared spaces include a wood-filled lobby lounge and a community counter with power sockets for remote workers.
You can also stay with your dog. (Partial rooms)
POSTED on 2025/01/14
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Hoshizora Resort (Starry Sky Resort) HIRUZEN

Hoshizora Resort(Starry Sky Resort) HIRUZEN has exclusively five glamping domes and grand cabins on the vast land of 20,000 square meters of grassy land where you can overlook the magnificent view of the Hiruzen Highland, surrounded by seasonal trees, like cherry blossoms in full bloom in spring, a star-filled night sky and, depending on the weather, a sea of clouds in the early morning.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
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cafe＆garden M Terrace

Cafe＆Garden M Terrace is on the Hiruzen Highland. Pets are welcome.
The open café, surrounded by seasonal flowers and highland breeze, offers a relaxing place to spend time in the shade of the trees with your family, friends, and pets. Our menu is homemade pizzas, rice plates, and hot sandwiches made from locally produced fresh vegetables and home-grown herbs. Sweets made from fresh seasonal Okayama fruit and berries from the garden and drinks are also available.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
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Hiruzen View Spot

Hiruzen View Spot overlooking the Hiruzen Three Peaks and Mt.Daisen is the perfect place to have lunch or tea while enjoying the expansive scenery. Please come and visit. The location is 500 m west of the Torii-ga-tawa (Daisen shrine gateway pass) on the cycling course around the forest road Kawakami 1.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
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Wind Pallet HIRUZEN

This plaza allows visitors to enjoy the expansive scenery and nature of Hiruzen Highland.
It was named 'Wind Palette HIRUZEN' image from the palette of a painting, as the wind brings colors from season to season. Inside the park, children and adults can enjoy nature to the fullest, with a Chibikko (kids) plaza, a dog run, a Kogen(highland) piano that anyone can play, and a BBQ terrace. The park center also offers a deck terrace, a kids' play area, a wooden ball pool, and a nursing room for smaller children.
POSTED on 2025/02/12
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Shared Office Hiruzen Hitotoki

The 'Shared Office Hiruzen Hitotoki' was established in May 2023 as a base for many people for remote work, manufacturing, and a place to socialize. The design office of world-renowned architect Kengo Kuma designed the office space by renovating the former rest house 'Shirakaba no Oka' with abundant use of wood and natural materials.
Counter seats separated by partitions are placed in the office space so that people can concentrate on their work while enjoying the magnificent view of the Hiruzen Highland.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
GREENable HIRUZEN

GREENableHIRUZEN

GREENable, a community brand from the local area
To a sustainable society, Maniwa City and Hankyu Hanshin Department Store have launched a new brand 'GREENable,' in collaboration with various players in government, local communities, fashion, and architecture through the Ministry of the Environment's Circular and Ecological Economy Project（Japan's vision to realize decarbonization and SDGs）.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
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National Park Hiruzen (Hiruzen Highland)

Exploring the Hiruzen with majestic panoramic highlands view‼
POSTED on 2025/01/08
Roadside station "House of the Wind"

Roadside station "House of the Wind"

The popular roadside station with an eye-catching giant windmill, is a landmark of Hiruzen leisure.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
津黒いきものふれあいの里

Tsuguro Ikimono Fureai no Sato Nature Park

A nature park spreading over approximately 16 ha in Satoyama (undeveloped woodland near a village.)
POSTED on 2025/02/19
Hiruzen kurumayama Kogen bike path

Hiruzen Highland Cycling(Hiruzen Highland Bicycle Path)

Hiruzen Highland Bicycle Path is approximately 30 km around the Hiruzen Highland.
You can enjoy cycling around the Hiruzen Highland while enjoying the great outdoors, including the Hiruzen Three Peaks over 1000 m high, and the scenery of Jersey cows grazing in the pasture.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
Several Zen Winery

Hiruzen Winery

At Hiruzen Winery, you can enjoy wine made from rare wild vine grapes from the Hiruzen Highland.
Visitors can enjoy the wine tasting, our popular product Fairies' Banquet, the soft drink made from wild vine grapes. The winery also offers tours of the winemaking process.
The café offers wine and cheese sets, coffee, and soft serve ice cream, and is ideal for a break.
(Pets are allowed on the terrace seats.)
POSTED on 2025/01/22
Hiruzen tridentate

Hiruzen Three Peaks

When you arrive at the Hiruzen, your eyes will catch three humps framed by the colors of the four seasons. These are the Hiruzen Three Peaks. Their volcanic activities ceased some 600,000 years ago.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
Hiruzen Daisen Skyline

Hiruzen Daisen Skyline

The Hiruzen Daisen Skyline runs along the border between Tottori and Okayama prefectures. It used to be a toll road, but is now toll free accessible road, except during the winter when the traffic is closed.
The road offers spectacular scenery of Okayama and Tottori prefectures and is perfect for driving, especially spring with fresh green leaves, and autumn colors.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
Ogress stand outlook resting place

Kimendai Observatory Rest Stop

One of the most spectacular viewpoints in the Hiruzen area at an altitude of 869 m, from which you can observe from Hiruzen to Mt. Daisen.
The panoramic 360-degree view is popular for a photo spot, driving course, and touring course and is especially busy during the fresh green and autumn colors season. At dawn in autumn, when the temperature difference is severe, you can sometimes enjoy the sunrise from the Hiruzen Three Peaks and the sea of clouds!
There is a shop in the rest area for local specialties and soft-serve ice cream.
POSTED on 2025/01/08

Hiruzen Kogen(Highland) Center

Hiruzen Kogen(Highland) Center is a vast amusement park surrounded by the green of the highlands.
The park is a wonderland with many attractions in the forest that make you feel as if you are in a fairyland.
POSTED on 2025/01/17
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Montego Café

The café in the Hiruzen Kogen Centre, inspired by the Jamaican resort of Montego Bay, is characterized by its pleasant reggae sound and open-air style. Some customers come for the coffee, a blend of specially deep-roasted beans. Café lattes carefully brewed with an espresso machine are also popular.
POSTED on 2025/02/12
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Restaurant Farmy

Restaurant Farmy is in the Hiruzen Kogen Centre, famous for its local specialty Jingisukan (Japanese mutton and lamb barbecue), which has remained popular among locals since the 1950s. It goes perfectly with beer! Please enjoy the healthy and juicy authentic taste. We also offer Hiruzen Yakisoba(stir-fried noodles with Miso source,) Genghis Khan (grilled mutton) rice bowl, and a wide variety of selections, which you can only experience here!
POSTED on 2025/02/12
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PLATEAU MUFFIN

Homemade muffin shop in the Hiruzen Kogen Centre that uses fresh local Jersey milk abundantly. The most popular flavor is milk cheese, but there are also blueberry, banana milk, walnut chocolate, fig, green tea azuki, and many other flavors. 6-piece sets are good value and will be great souvenirs. There is also an eating space.
POSTED on 2025/02/12
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Hiruzen Kogen Manju

The fluffy sponge cake is baked from freshly squeezed local Jersey milk and plenty of eggs and filled with the finest azuki beans from Hokkaido. A local Wagashi confectioner bakes and sells daily at the Hilsen Highland Centre. Enjoy hot and freshly baked Hiruzen Kogen Manju.
POSTED on 2025/02/12
Hiruzen Yatsuka Hot Spring Kaiyukan

Hiruzen Yatsuka Hot Spring Kaiyukan

The hot spring facility in Hiruzen Kogen Sports Park. The hot spring water contains weak radiation, and hydrogen carbonate springs are said to be effective for neuralgia, muscular pain, and skin diseases.
Get rid of your fatigue and refresh your body with one of the best natural radon hot springs in Japan. In addition to a large bath, a jacuzzi, sauna, and three open-air baths are available.
Each open-air bath offers views of Hiruzen's scenery and beautiful Japanese gardens, allowing you to enjoy the four seasons of Hiruzen.
The rest area is also available in the facility.
POSTED on 2025/01/17
蒜山ジャージーランド【見る】【体験する】

Hiruzen Jersey Land

Hiruzen Jersey Land is located at the southern foot of one of the Hiruzen Three Peaks, Kami-Hiruzen, and vast pastureland surrounds the site.
Adorable Jersey cows graze in the open pastures, with greenery spreading as far as the eye can see.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
塩釜の冷泉【見る】【体験する】

Shiogama Cold Spring

This natural mineral water springs from a valley at the foot of Mt Naka-Hiruzen (1,123 m), in the middle of the Hiruzen Three Peaks. The spring forms a gourd-shaped pond, 12 m east to west, and 5 m north to south, with an area of approximately 60 m2, with a depth of 1.9 m. A spring water volume of 300 liters flows each second, and the water temperature is around 11℃ all year round, which explains the name Cold Spring came from.
In 1985, Shiogama Cold Spring was considered one of the 100 best waters in Japan (Ministry of the Environment).
It is managed mainly by the local Shiogama Housankai Association, and the water is passed on as domestic water for the daily use of approximately 600 households in the area.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
Hiruzen Herb Garden Harvill

Hiruzen Herb Garden Harville

Everyone is gently welcomed by the healing scents and sights that surround you at the 3-ha site on the hill, which includes herb gardens with about two hundred varieties of herbs, a mountain food park with local wild vegetables and wildflowers, and a hydrangea garden.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
Hiruzen hotel

Hiruzen Horse Park

Interacting with horses through horse riding experience, the facility next to Hiruzen Jersey Land. Anyone can casually try horse riding on the highland, where the Hiruzen Three Peaks and the famous Mt. Daisen rise above.
POSTED on 2025/01/17
hiruzenbear

Hiruzen Bear Valley Ski Resort

Hiruzen Bear Valley Ski Area opened in the BEAR VALLEY area of Hiruzen. The name of this ski area comes from the theme and words Beautiful, Exciting, Adventure, and Resort.
This ski resort has excellent access just a 5-minute drive from the Hiruzen IC Exit on the Yonago Expressway, about a 70-minute drive from Kurashiki in Okayama, and a 160-minute drive from Kansai.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
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Hiruzen Red-crowned Crane Village

The Hiruzen Red-crowned Crane Village, a breeding and raising facility for red-crowned cranes, has been completed and is open to the public in the corner of the Mikigahara pastureland, right next to the Jersey Cow Fureai Square. This area will be a new attraction for visitors to meet Jersey cows and observe red-crowned cranes.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
水田

Kayabeno

Kayabeno is on the course of the Hiruzen Highlands Cycling Road, which offers a panoramic view of the Hiruzen Three Peaks and Mt. Daisen against a flat highland landscape. It is also a popular viewpoint, with vast meadows in early summer and buckwheat flowers bloom all around in September.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
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Yamanori Valley・Fudo Falls

The Yamanori Valley is surrounded by huge rocks reminiscent of a landscape painting. The 20m-high Fudo Falls, which rises upstream after a 400 m-long promenade, is one of the highlights, where you can feel the natural coolness and healing effects of ion mist. From mid-July to mid-August, you can also enjoy the taste of Soumen-nagashi(flowing somen noodles) in the great outdoors while listening to the sound of the Fudo Falls at the Ryosui-tei at the entrance to the trail.
POSTED on 2025/01/17
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Kuroiwa Wild Cherry Blossoms

An enormous wild cherry tree on the outskirts of Kuroiwa village is the largest wild cherry tree in Okayama Prefecture. The tree is 10 m in circumference around the tank and 16 m tall, estimated to be 700 years old, and is designated as a natural monument by Okayama Prefecture. Beautiful pale pink cherry blossoms bloom in late April.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
石の鳥居

Kayabe Shrine

This historic shrine was also known as ama-no-Iwakura(rock seat for the divine) and Junisho-gongen-sha(shrine for 12 incarnations of Buddha) in ancient times. In spring, beautiful cherry blossom trees line the 1 km approach to the shrine. The giant 13 m high Myojin-type stone Torii gate on the approach to Kayabe Shrine is the largest of its kind in Japan and is a designated cultural asset of Maniwa City.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
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Fukuda Shrine

Also known as Omiya-sama as a sign of affection and gratitude, the Omiya-odori Dance passed down in this shrine for centuries is designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. The shrine has many other cultural properties, including the treasured three votive swords designated as Cultural Properties by Maniwa City, as well as statues of deities, ancient masks, and Komainu (guardian dogs). The large 650-year-old ginkgo trees in the precincts are a popular spot for autumnal leaves in November. A golden carpet decorates the grounds.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
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Yotsuzuka Tumulus Cluster

The Yotsuzuka tumulus cluster is a group of 19 circular-shaped burial mounds in Kaminagata, east of the Hiruzen Highland. The name Yotsuzuka(four mounds) comes from the fact that there were four exceptionally large burial mounds built in the 6th century. From No.13 tumuli, which was excavated in 1952, a large quantity of chicken- and house-shaped Haniwa(clay figurines) and harnesses were unearthed. You can see these and other excavated items at the Hiruzen Local Museum adjacent to the Yotsuzuka tumulus cluster.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
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Fukuoji (Temple)

Fukuoji temple is a historical temple of the Shingon-shu Denomination, founded in 901.
It is the fourth temple of the 49 Yakushi Sacred Sites in the Chugoku region. Jibutsu-do(Buddha hall) and Kyakuden (guest hall) were newly built to the northwest of precincts, which can accommodate group Buddhist lectures, etc. (Capacity: up to 200 people).
POSTED on 2025/01/08
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Nagata Shrine

This ancient shrine's name is in the Engishiki, an ancient book for codes and procedures on national rites and prayers compiled in the Heian period.
The annual Otaue(rice planting) Festival, held on 5 May, combines prayers for a bountiful harvest and safe birth and is designated as Cultural Property by Maniwa City.
POSTED on 2025/01/08
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Daisen-Jinmon

Daisen-Jinmon Torii shrine gate is located on the Torii-ga-tawa (Torii gateway pass) at the boundary between Gohara and Fujimori villages in Hiruzen, Maniwa City. The current shrine gate, a granite gate rebuilt in 1821, was removed for road maintenance and discarded but was rebuilt at this location with support from the Okayama Prefectural Cultural Foundation. Daisen has long been a spiritual icon and a center of mountain worship since ancient times, attracting people from all over the country, and the Daisen Michi, an ancient road connected to Mt. Daisen, remains today. Since it was hard for women, children, and those who had weak legs to get to Mt. Daisen, they worshipped Mt. Daisen in the distance from here.
POSTED on 2025/02/12
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Hiruzen Local Museums

The museum provides history, nature, culture, and folk entertainment of the Hiruzen area through panels and videos such as artifacts excavated from the Yotsuzuka tumulus cluster, a nationally designated Historic Site, and the Omiya Odori dance, a nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Several valuable articles and artifacts related to Hiruzen are on display, and visitors can also see a restored pit dwelling outside.
Lectures and special exhibitions on the history, traditions, and culture of Hiruzen are held regularly.
POSTED on 2025/01/10

Gohara Lacquerware Pavilion

Gohara lacquerware is a traditional Hiruzen craft made from round sliced raw wood of mountain chestnut trees painted with lacquer collected from the forest. The more you use it, the brighter it shines.
POSTED on 2025/01/17
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Hiruzen Kids Snow Park

During the Hiruzen Winter Campaign, Hiruzen Kids Snow Park will open in Hiruzen Highland (Mikigahara).
The snow park offers sledding for small children, tubing with snow shooter, and other snow plays to the fullest.
There is also a conveyor belt for an easy climb back up after sliding down.
Tiger sliders, jungle gyms, and other play equipment are also available for visitors to enjoy snow playing.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Tsuguro Kogen(Highland) Campground

This campground is at the foot of Mt Tsuguro and has 30 auto-camping sites (20 with power supply) and 20 free sites.
You can enjoy Nagomi-no-yu hot spring baths at Tsuguro Kogenso nearby.
The surrounding area has many leisure facilities, such as the Tsuguro Ikimono Fureai no Sato Nature Park, a hot spring swimming pool, tennis courts, and playing fields.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
テント内

Hiruzen Shiogama Camping Village

Hiruzen Shiogama Camping Village is located in Daisen Oki National Park in Maniwa City, Okayama Prefecture, and blessed with abundant nature, including the Shiogama Cold Spring, one of the 100 best waters in Japan, which springs from the site.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Hiruzen Kogen(Highland) Campground

This campground is cool even in summer and is recommended for longer stays as well. You can enjoy camping in an excellent location in the nature of Hiruzen Highland. Permanent sites, auto sites (some with power supply), and bring-your-own-plot sites are available to meet various needs.
You can also bathe in the radon hot springs at the Hiruzen Highland Hot Spring Resort, a 3-minute drive away.
We also offer an "empty-handed" camping plan, so even beginners can stay at our campsites without worries.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Hiruzen Kogen Sports Park

Hiruzen Kogen Sports Park offers many sports facilities such as ground golf, a gymnasium, baseball and football fields, and tennis courts.
The park also has a golf driving range, a multi-purpose ground, and a youth training center for sports competitions and training camps is also available.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Maniwa Play Classroom

There are many experiences that can only be had in Maniwa. Both children and children at heart can enjoy these experiences together. We have programs packed full of discoveries and excitement with natural attractions!
Make your trip a memorable one by experiencing the popular handmade ice cream class and painting “Suiton,” a Yokai (monster/spirit) of Hiruzen Highland. These programs are also suitable for rainy day activities.
POSTED on 2025/01/17
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Hiruzen Shiogama Fish Farming Center

This is a fishing pond where you can catch delicious fish carefully nurtured in the natural mineral water of the Shiogama Cold Spring, one of the 100 best waters in Japan. You can grill freshly caught fish over a charcoal fire. Catching fish with your hands is also recommended during the summer.
POSTED on 2025/01/17
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Hiruzen Highland Cultivate Sightseeing Blueberry Garden

The Hiruzen Highland Cultivate Sightseeing Blueberry Garden is in the heart of Hiruzen Highland facing Hiruzen Three Peaks in front and viewing Mt. Daisen's South Face on the west.
POSTED on 2025/02/12
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Hiruzen Taisho (General Hiruzen)

Hiruzen Taisho is the only Genghis Khan (a grilled mutton dish) specialty restaurant in Hiruzen with a history and tradition of over 55 years in business.
The restaurant can seat up to 404 guests. Some of the popular seats are on the sky terrace seats with a view of Hiruzen Three Peaks and on the main terrace seats in the main building with a view of Mt. Daisen. Please enjoy Genghis Khan (a grilled mutton dish) while viewing the magnificent natural surroundings.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Wood Pao

We are a specialized gift shop focusing on locally produced and hand-crafted products. At the restaurant next door, visitors can enjoy delicious food made from carefully selected ingredients, such as Hiruzen's famous Genghis Khan (a grilled mutton dish) and grilled meat made from local Jersey beef. An outdoor barbecue corner is also available for visitors with pets. Bicycle rentals are also available, including bicycles for two people (tandem bicycles) and bicycles you can ride with small children.
POSTED on 2025/02/19
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Highland House

The restaurant has been in business for more than 30 years alongside a national highway.  We have a wide variety of menu items, including Yakiniku BBQ, set meals, rice bowls, noodles, and light meals.  The famous Hiruzen Yakisoba(stir-fried noodles with Miso source) and Shiohoru (salt-flavored beef hormone) Noodles are perfect for the last dish for Yakiniku BBQ dinner!  It is a feel-at-home restaurant often visited by not just tourists but also by many residents.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
外観

Charcoal grilled meat Ichifuku

We offer our customers a delicious and happy time with carefully selected Wagyu beef and handmade delicacies. 
Please enjoy the local specialty Hiruzen Yakisoba(stir-fried noodles with Miso source,) grilled meats, and lamb plates. We have 30 seats available.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Suitonbo

This restaurant is in Mikigahara, across from Hiruzen Kogen Center.
In addition to Hiruzen Yakisoba(stir-fried noodles with Miso source), we offer another local specialty, Hiruzen Okowa(glutinous rice), local game meat dishes, and various set menus. 
Hiruzen Yakisoba and Hiruzen Okowa are also available to take out. Please inquire in advance for groups.
POSTED on 2025/01/17
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Hiruzen Club Nadja

Auberge type (2-4 people), large room type (2-8 people), and log house type (2-14 people) rental villas.
There is also a handmade accessories shop in the restaurant where you can come in for lunch or use it as your café.  Our menu includes Jersey beef dice steak, small bowl set meals, bukkake egg rice, and Jersey beef curry.  We offer coffee, fruit tea, etc, and recommend Hiruzen Yokubari (greedy) dessert as part of the café menu.  Seasonal flowers decorate the restaurant's surroundings, and the terrace seats offer a relaxing and leisurely ambiance.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Hiruzen Yuyu

Chicken used for Hiruzen Yakisoba is not the tough parent chicken, but tender young chicken.  We want to make sure they are enjoyed by the elderly and children.  It also contains plenty of vegetables.  In addition to Hiruzen Yakisoba, Yuyu's specialty is “fried chicken,” which won the gold medal in the Western Japan Soy Sauce-based Tare (sauce) Category of the “7th Karaage Grand Prix.”  The water we use at the restaurant comes from Shiogama Cold Spring. We are proud of our Ramune collection, too.  Various other set menus are also available.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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French Restaurant Green Gables

Our French cuisine makes the most out of what our homeland, Hiruzen, blesses us with. Delicious produce and dairy products we use come straight from our local farms to the table. Reservations are required for dinner. Lunchtime reservations can be made on the day if seats are available. Please call us in advance as we are a small restaurant.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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The Sea of Clouds in Hiruzen

You can see the sea of clouds from anywhere in the Hiruzen Highland although it varies by day and depending on the weather conditions. The sea of clouds covers the whole of Hiruzen Highland, especially at dawn from October to November when the temperature difference is particularly severe.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Buckwheat flowers

Residents of the Hiruzen region have been cultivating buckwheat using vast expanses of land since 1997. The beautiful white flowers start to bloom in early September and can be seen everywhere in Hiruzen. Harvest begins in October, and new buckwheat crops are available in restaurants both inside and outside the Okayama prefecture. The white blooms of buckwheat flowers make their annual appearance throughout Hiruzen from early to mid-September.
Please refrain from entering the fields or disturbing the farmers, and please keep good manners.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Omiya-odori Dance

Omiya-odori Dance is a traditional Bon dance passed down since ancient times in the Hiruzen region. Dancers move around to different shrines and temples, even small temples in an alleyway during the Bon holiday period in August. The most lively performance is held at Fukuda Shrine, also known as Omiya-sama, with the Hiruzen Firework Festival at the same time in the evening. There are three types of dance 'Aoi,' 'Shisshi,' and 'Maneki,' people dance in a circle to a slow rhythm. A large lantern lit in the center of the dance circle is hung with beautiful paper-cutting pictures called Shirige, creating the atmosphere of the festivity.
POSTED on 2025/02/19
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Giant salamander

The northern part of Maniwa City (former Yubara Town, Nakawa Village, Yatsuka Village, and Kawakami Village) is designated as a giant salamander habitat.
The giant salamander is the largest species in the amphibian salamander order of 16 species. Adults are about 50 cm long, and some of the largest exceed 100 cm. Their lifespan is roughly the same as that of humans, but there are records of captive-bred ones living for 114 years. It is said to have remarkable vitality.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Mountain Burning in Hiruzen

Mountain burning is a tradition in the Hiruzen area that has continued for around 800 years.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Tokuyama Shrine

Tokuyama Shrine is located in the Hiruzen Tokuyama area. From early to mid-November, the maple and ginkgo trees on the grounds will show you a spectacular contrast of yellow and red during the autumn foliage season. The shrine is a hidden gem for autumn foliage photography in the Hiruzen.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Hiruzen Baikamo (Japanese water buttercup, Ranunculus japonicas)

Hiruzen Baikamo produces 1.5-2 cm pretty tiny white flowers that sway under the stream from June to September. You can only find them in the clearest sandy and gravelly streams in which water temperatures are low throughout the year.
Only the leaves from Hiruzen are long among the Baikamo species, which is why it is named Hiruzen and is considered endemic to this area.
People used to eat these by boiling and stir-frying in the Hiruzen area.
POSTED on 2025/02/12
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Mikigahara

Mikigahara, the most scenic spot in Hiruzen, is located on a gently sloping highland overlooking the Hiruzen Three Peaks at an altitude of about 500-600 m. The whole area is covered with vast pasture grasslands, creating a pastoral landscape.
The surrounding area has many leisure facilities, such as amusement parks, wineries, and places to enjoy a Genghis Khan(mutton) BBQ. A circular road runs along the pasture, making for a pleasant drive. It is also great for cycling and strolling while feeling the highland breezes.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Hiruzen Highland Sunflower Field

The sunflower field in Hiruzen Jersey Land boasts approximately 80,000 sunflowers blooming in a vast area. The flowers are in full bloom from late July to early August. It is a summer highlight of Hiruzen, attracting many tourists every year. The sunflowers near the Roadside Station Kaze no Ie bloom just after the sunflower at Hiruzen Jersey Land, and are their best around mid-August. You can also enjoy them just after the Hiruzen IC Exit. The sunflower is a symbol of summer in Hiruzen and welcomes you.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Rhododendron (Hiruzen Kogen Center Joyful Park)

Around 100 varieties of 20,000 rhododendrons bloom beautifully along the 'Highland Promenade' in Hiruzen Kogen Centre and Joyful Park. The best season to see the full bloom is usually in May, and the Hiruzen Highland Rhododendron Festival is held during the flowering period with multiple stages and photo contests.
POSTED on 2025/01/10
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Fireflies in the Tsuguro River

Fireflies fly along rivers in various parts of Hiruzen from late June to early July. You can watch particularly so many fireflies in the rivers around Tsuguro Ikimono Fureai no Sato Nature Park.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
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Cherry blossom trees at Kayabe Shrine

Beautiful cherry blossom trees line the 1 km approach from the stone Otorii big shrine gate to Kayabe Shrine. The trees, over 80 years old, are at their best around mid-April every year. The variety of cherry trees, Somei-Yoshino cherry blossoms, double-flowered cherry blossoms, and weeping cherry blossoms, bloom beautifully on both sides of the path, creating a tunnel of cherry blossoms. During the blooming period, local volunteers light up the road with Bonbori lanterns.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
2

Suitong《 Yokai(ghost) from the Hiruzen region》

Suiton is the local Yokai(monster) who has lived and flown around somewhere in Hiruzen for a long time. The legend says that Suiton 'sneaks'(Sui-) up out of nowhere and lands on one leg with a muted 'thud'(Ton-) on evil people. There have never been any bad people in Hiruzen because of the legend. Monuments of Suiton stand everywhere in Hiruzen, watching over us.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
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Kokera Sushi

Kokera Sushi is a taste of Hiruzen's, a hometown signature dish.
The name Kokera Sushi comes from its resemblance to the shape of a Kokera, a wood chip produced when carving wood with a hatchet.
A handful of sushi rice and Shime-saba (pickled mackerel) are placed on a bamboo leaf and weighted down in a tub overnight.
It is a festival feast that has been made in every household since ancient times.
POSTED on 2025/02/12
2

Genghis Khan (a grilled mutton dish)

Genghis Khan (a grilled mutton dish) is a standard menu in Hiruzen!
In the 1930s, as Hiruzen developed its tourism, Genghis Khan cuisine with its pastoral atmosphere was introduced as a tourism resource and took root in the area.
Immediately after the end of the war, there was a boom in raising sheep in Hiruzen. The fact that they were also used for food may have contributed to the acceptance and establishment of Genghis Khan as a local cuisine.
Although sheep are no longer raised for meat in Hiruzen, eating Genghis Khan cuisine while enjoying the view of the Hiruzen Highland has become a regular tourist activity in Hiruzen.
POSTED on 2025/02/12
蒜山おこわ

Hiruzen Okowa (glutinous rice)

Hiruzen Okowa (glutinous rice) is a local delicacy representative of the Hiruzen region. It has always been served at festivals and other celebratory events.
It is made with glutinous rice, chicken, fried tofu, shiitake mushrooms, butterbur, burdock root, carrots, chestnuts, etc. The flavor of soy sauce and the umami of the ingredients blend ever so elegantly and make you hungry. You can find Hiruzen Okowa served at events held in Hiruzen, such as the national Hiruzen Kogen Marathon, and at local restaurants.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
外観

Tsuguro Kogenso

The lodging facility Tsuguro Kogenso is located east of Hiruzen Highland(25 minutes by car) and north of Yubara Hot Springs(15 minutes by car). Guests can enjoy meals featuring mountain vegetables and wasabi (Japanese horseradish) from the rich natural environment of the Tsuguro Kogen and fresh seafood from the Sea of Japan, as well as Hiruzen Nagomi no Onsen(hot spring), heated with wood fire.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
1

Hiruzen Yakisoba

Hiruzen Yakisoba(stir-fried noodles) is a staple of local gourmet food. In the 1950s, eating Genghis Khan (a grilled mutton dish) and other dishes using miso sauce that each household in Hiruzen prepared became a boom.
among them, a mother who ran a local restaurant Masuya Shokudo started using her proud miso sauce to stir-fried noodles with Kashiwa (chicken), cabbage, and other ingredients.
Her Miso-flavored Yakisoba created a sensation and has become a staple local gourmet food since then.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
4

Gama Craft(Hiruzen Gama Craft Production Promotion Association)

Crafts made with Gama(bulrush) are used in daily necessities such as sandals, handbags, and snowshoes by carefully hand-weaving dried bulrush reeds. Gama has excellent waterproof and moisture retention properties. Gama craft uses a traditional technique handed down in the Hiruzen area and designated as a "Traditional Craft" by Okayama prefecture.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
外観2

Rental Villas Choppu Village Hiruzen Highland

Rental Villas Choppu is located in a peaceful forest in the Hiruzen Highland. There are only three log cabins for the guests in the spacious 1,800 square meters site. The capacity can be 8, 6, or 3 people, depending on the size of the logs and the number of guests. Each log cabin has covered BBQ space. Enjoy relaxing and leisurely time in the spacious garden under the big trees or in our rental villa surrounded by the beautiful nature of Hiruzen. Dogs are welcome to stay with you. There is also a mini-dog run. (Please note that the villa manager does not always stay there)
POSTED on 2025/01/14
内装1

Dog-friendly Rental Villa JUN's Log House Hiruzen

You can rent a vacation home with your beloved dog. There is no limit on the number of dogs. Large dogs are also welcome. Our villas are located in the vacation home area, back of the mountain village, 6.0 km from the Hiruzen Interchange Exit. Pets can stay freely on the ground floor according to your home's breeding standards. The living room opens onto a 20 square meters covered wooden deck, and you can enjoy BBQ even on rainy days. You can also stay at our villa without having a dog, but please refrain if you are allergic to dogs or cats.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
外観

Yubune Inn

The inn's tranquility is like time has stopped in the shade of the trees.
The sound of birds chirping is heard in the background. The rooms are filled with wildflower arrangements.
We want the inn to be a home away from home for everyone.
Cooking natural food is our priority. Our menu reflects seasonality and is handmade.
Try chestnut Manju(sweet buns), our specialty and highly recommended.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
外観

Musashiya Ryokan

Musashiya Ryokan is a quiet and quaint atmospheric inn along the clear waters of the Asahigaawa River. There is a bathhouse using Shiogama Cold Spring, one of the 100 best waters in Japan. You can enjoy delicious dishes from carefully selected ingredients such as wild vegetables, carp, and fresh seafood from the Sea of Japan for dinner. Lunch only and group dinner are available. Reservations are required. Please call us in advance.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
外観1

Hiruzen Inter Hotel

Hiruzen Inter Hotel is only a 2-minute drive from the Hiruzen Interchange Exit. The surrounding area has a quiet landscape of rice fields and the Nobusuke village, which once flourished as a post town on the Daisen Road(an ancient road connected to Mt. Daisenji temple). The hotel is ideal not only as a base for Hiruzen sightseeing but also for business use.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
赤

Okayama Hiruzen Rental Villa Peter Pan

This is a rental cottage where you can visit Hiruzen empty-handed. Just bring yourself. All cottages have covered outdoor decks where you can enjoy BBQ. There are 10 cottages, including a VIP log house made of authentic Canadian logs and Kominka, an old Japanese folk house with an open-air bath. Dogs are welcome to stay with you as precious family members. 6 of our cottages come with a private dog run. Please choose according to your budget.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
外観1

Cottage Rakkansou

At Cottage RAKKANSOU, enjoy BBQ in the spacious garden and spend a relaxing and leisurely time. The cottage is fully air-conditioned, and equipped with a TV, refrigerator, microwave oven, rice cooker, etc. Please forget about your hectic life and relax in the Hiruzen Highland.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
外観

Cottage Komorebi

Cottage Komorebi is conveniently located just a 3-minute drive from the Hiruzen Interchange Exit on Prefectural Road 422 known as Highland Road. It is a single private cottage built in a beautifully maintained vacation home area in the forest.
Enjoy a walk in the forest, BBQ in the spacious garden, or cook in the cottage kitchen. The cottage is air-conditioned and equipped with a TV, refrigerator, microwave, rice cooker, and other amenities. Spend a relaxing time by forgetting the busy life outside and be healed in the forest.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
漆器

Gobara Lacquerware (Gobara Lacquerware Pavilion)

Gohara lacquerware is a traditional Hiruzen craft made from round sliced raw wood of mountain chestnut trees painted with lacquer collected from the forest.
The more you use it, the brighter it shines.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
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Jersey Scones

The Hiruzen Highland is the largest producer of Jersey milk in Japan. Scones made with Jersey milk in the original Jersey region of England are world-famous a must-have treats for afternoon tea.
The grass-fed Jersey cows in the Hiruzen Highland produce high-quality milk, also known as 'golden milk.' Our Jersey scones are handmade with Jersey milk and Jersey butter. Try our scones while you are in Hiruzen Highland, you will love it.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
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Hiruzen Daikon Radishes (Black Earth)

Blessings of the black earth
The Hiruzen area contains a large amount of volcanic ash rich in organic matter, and the soil is black, hence called Kuro(black) Boko(earth). Daikon radishes grown on this black earth are fresh and sweet.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
2

Shirige (cut-out picture)

Traditional paper-cutting picture in the Hiruzen
A traditional Bon dance, Omiya-odori in the Hiruzen region is performed in a circle.
There is a large lantern in the center of the dance circle, decorated with beautiful paper-cutting pictures called Shirige hung at the bottom of the lantern together with zigzag-shaped white paper Shides.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
1

Jersey Beef

Hiruzen is the main production area for Jersey cattle.
Jersey cattle grown in the wild nature of the Hiruzen Highland produce delicious milk and tasty meat.
The meat is very healthy, with low fat and lean meat.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
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Jersey Dairy Products (Hiruzen Dairy Agricultural Cooperative)

Jersey milk is known for its rich nutritional value. The Hiruzen Dairy Agricultural Cooperative boasts the largest number of Jersey cows in the country. The cooperative has achieved an impregnable position by conducting everything from rearing cows to the development and production of Jersey dairy products under thorough management.
The cooperative is so particular that it only uses milk whose ingredients have been checked and approved, and this is only possible because it is confident in the quality of its milk. They continue to pursue the original taste of rich, creamy Jersey milk and produce a wide range of products, including milk, yogurt, cheese, and ice cream.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
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Hiruzen Wine (Hiruzen Winery)

Hiruzen Winery has been selecting and cultivating wild vine trees native to Hiruzen, bearing grapes with high sugar content and low acidity, and producing wine for over 10 years in Hiruzen Highland.
The wild vine grapes indigenous to Japan have long been considered good for the body and have been noticed as a healthy drink as they contain eight times more polyphenols than ordinary grapes.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
フサヒゲルリカミキリ

Fusahigerurikamikiri (Agapanthia japonica)

Fusahigerurikamikiri(Agapanthia japonica) is one of the longest-horned species, measuring about 16 mm, and has a beautifully colored body with a metallic sheen(Ruri), purple-blue to greenish-blue. Designated as a Rare Species of Wild Fauna and Flora by Okayama prefecture in 1992 and Critically Endangered by Japan.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
1

Post-towns on Daisen Michi(roads)

Mt.Daisen in Tottori Prefecture has long been a spiritual icon and a center of mountain worship since ancient times and there was Japan's largest livestock market at the foot of the mountain, attracting people from all over the country. The Daisen Michi, ancient roads connected to Mt. Daisen, remains today.
The Gohara and Nobusuke districts prospered as post-towns(providing accommodations) on the Daisen Michi(roads). The townscapes and the 'cattle-tie stones' still remain today remind us of the past.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
5

The starry sky of Hiruzen Highland

The starry sky shines in the clear Hiruzen Highland sky.
The Hiruzen Highland is surrounded by no major obstacles(buildings) and few artificial lights. The air is clean and clear for stargazing in the vast night sky.
You can enjoy the starry sky throughout the Hiruzen Highland. Please refrain from entering the private property or disturbing the neighbors, and please keep good manners.
POSTED on 2025/02/19
1

Chuka Shrine

The shrine was founded as the shrine at the foot of Kurumado Shrine in the Hiruzen Chuka area, upstream of the Uesugi River, and was renamed Chuka Shrine from the village name in 1913.
Since ancient times, people have worshipped this shrine as a guardian deity for cattle and horses and as a god of warding off evil, protecting against bad luck, and ensuring safety on the road.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
2

Jersey Cows Fureai Square

This is a place to meet Jersey cows in Mikigahara, the most scenic spot in Hiruzen Highland. Except in the winter season, Jersey cows graze here and can be seen up close. You can connect(Fureai) with nature and Jersey cows. A circular road runs from the Jersey Cow Fureai Square along the pastures of Mikigahara. Enjoy strolling and cycling with pastoral landscapes and highland breeze. Visitors can also watch the breeding and raising of red-crowned cranes at the neighboring Hiruzen Red-crowned Crane Village.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
3

Kamo Shrine

Kamo Shrine is in the Hiruzen Shimomi area. It is said that a spirit from Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto was sent to the shrine during the Hakuho period (1644-1868). The cedar in front of the shrine is called the 'Thousand Year Cedar' and is said to have grown large as a result of the wind and snow blowing down from the Hiruzen Three Peaks.
POSTED on 2025/02/19
1

Bakery HOME

At Bakery HOME, we sell baked products that make most of the Hiruzen ingredients, such as Jersey bread made with 100% Jersey milk premium. Our top seller is Cream-pan, a bun filled with cream from Jersey milk. This bun is packed with cream but not too sweet, so popular they sell out first sometimes. In addition, the bakery sells an assortment of seasonal products, pastries, savory Souzai bread, and hard dough bread. We have an eat-in space inside the store.
POSTED on 2025/02/13
2

Vacation Village Hiruzen Kogen (Highland)

Enjoy the highland resort at our Kyukamura Vacation Village hotel in an excellent location overlooking the Hiruzen Highland.
You can choose the accommodation plans from our seasonal cuisine, day-trip plans with meals, hot springs, and rest, and reasonable prices.
The natural radon hot spring leaves your skin feeling smooth and moisturized. The large Kogen no Yu(Highland hot spring) bathhouse with panoramic views of the three Hiruzen Three Peaks offers a relaxing and exclusive Hiruzen experience.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
3

Tsuruya Hiruzen Branch

The shop offers a wide range of Bento boxed lunches, Deli, snacks, sweets, and drinks.
There is also an eat-in space where you can enjoy rice bowls, curry, and Japanese noodles on the spot.
POSTED on 2025/01/14
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Kurayoshi City Kotoura Town Hokuei Town Yurihama Town Misasa Town Hiruzen(Maniwa city)
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