Have you ever felt like stopping somewhere during your travels and experiencing the local atmosphere and people?
Spending time not just looking around but also touching, making and tasting things with your own hands makes your trip that little bit more special.
Takashima City has many places where you can enjoy making things, eating, and playing while being close to nature throughout the seasons.
Here we will introduce five recommended experience spots that couples, couples, and families can enjoy at their leisure.
From fruit picking to candle making, all of these activities offer a uniquely Takashima experience.
Makino Pickland is an agricultural park located near the Metasequoia Avenue, a popular tourist spot in Takashima.
This is a popular spot in Takashima where you can experience fruit picking throughout the year, including cherry picking in the spring, blueberry and grape picking in the summer, and chestnut gathering and sweet potato digging in the fall.
For example, chestnut picking in the fall. The experience of collecting chestnuts that you have picked with your own hands in the pleasant autumn weather is somehow nostalgic and makes you feel relaxed and at ease.
Makino Pickland is a great place to stop by while out for a stroll and enjoy the rhythm of nature.
The park also has restaurants and cafes that use local ingredients, a farm produce direct sales store, and a souvenir shop. It's a fun place to stop by on your drive along the metasequoia-lined street.
Experiences such as chestnut picking and grape picking are only available during certain seasons, so we recommend checking the official website for event information before heading out.
Makino Pickland is the perfect place for an "adult detour" to experience Takashima's nature with all five senses.
▼Makino Pickland
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Takashima no Izumi in Shinasahi Town is a fishing facility where you can enjoy lure fishing, fishing ponds, and catching fish.
The vast fishing pond, which uses spring water, is so clear that you can clearly see the fish.
Because the water is fed by spring water, the temperature remains constant throughout the year, making it a great place to enjoy fishing regardless of the season. Even in the cold winter, the fish are still active, and you can often see the area bustling with anglers.
Rainbow trout, cherry salmon, and even the mythical fish, huchen, are stocked here, making it so popular that it attracts regular customers not only from the Kansai and Chukyo areas, but also from as far away as the Kanto region.
The area is divided into a lure-only pond, a fishing pond, and a grab-and-go area, making it enjoyable for everyone from beginners to veterans.
At the fishing pond, even children can safely fish and easily try their hand at rainbow trout fishing, and in the summer, the catching fish experience, where you chase the fish while touching the water, is also popular.
Fishing equipment rentals and bait sales are also available, so you can come empty-handed.
The adjoining wooden rest house has a rest area and snack corner, creating a comfortable atmosphere even for first-time visitors.
You can also enjoy grilling the fish you caught over charcoal in the covered barbecue area. The experience of grilling and tasting the fish you caught yourself is truly special.
Bustling all year round, Fishing Park Takashima no Izumi is a relaxing holiday spot born out of the unique environment of a town famous for its water.
▼ Fishing Park Takashima Fountain
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Located in the rural landscape of Imazu Town, the Yumeno Experience Center is a facility where you can experience making authentic soba noodles using locally produced buckwheat flour.
Since it is an indoor experience, you can enjoy it without worrying about rain.
Locals will be the instructors, teaching you carefully, so even beginners can feel at ease. In small groups, you will be taught at your own pace, and you will be able to experience the process of kneading, stretching, and cutting the flour with your own hands.
Here you can enjoy the local specialty, Hakodate Soba, a fragrant soba noodle dish made from carefully selected buckwheat grown at the foot of Mount Hakodate and carefully milled in-house.
Freshly made soba noodles have a rich aroma and a smooth texture.
After the experience, you can enjoy the soba noodles you cooked on the spot at the restaurant on the premises. Soba noodles you made yourself have a simple yet exceptional taste.
The interior of the building is a calming space where you can feel the warmth of wood, and you can relax surrounded by the aroma of soba and steam.
Many couples and married couples participate in this experience, making it a perfect way to create memorable trips. Of course, children are also welcome to join.
The soba noodle making experience requires advance reservations and can be participated by one person.
If you are a group of four or less, you will be charged the price for four people, but any leftover soba noodles can be taken home. You can savor freshly boiled soba noodles while reliving the memories of your experience at home.
Enjoying soba noodles at Yumeno while feeling the warmth of Takashima's nature and people will give you a moment to relax during your trip.
▼ Yumeno Experience Exchange Center
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In the Katsuno area, which is the gateway to Takashima, there is Takashima Village, a complex facility renovated from a merchant house from the Edo period, dotted with cafes, general stores, and experience workshops.
Located in one corner of the area is the popular Rosokumachi Candle Workshop, which offers candle-making classes that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike, as well as herbarium classes that are popular with women.
During the Edo period, there was actually a town called Rosoku-cho in this area, and the idea of making candles came from the desire to carry on at least some of that history into the present day.
Candle making is very popular as it can be enjoyed even by people who are not confident in their physical strength or on rainy days.
You can freely arrange it to your liking by layering your favorite colors on the melted wax or decorating it with flowers or shells.
You will be given detailed instructions on how to make the craft, so even beginners can feel at ease. The crafting time is about an hour, and you can take your finished work home with you.
It is common to see couples, couples, and families choosing colors and shapes to create their own herbarium, making it a perfect way to create memories of your trip. The herbarium experience is very popular among women.
This workshop, named after the former town name "Rosoku-machi" (Candle Town), is a place where people, history, and thoughts are quietly connected.
Lighting the candle in your hand will bring back fond memories of your time in Takashima.
▼Rosokumachi Candle Workshop
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Located in a quiet corner of a town surrounded by rural scenery, Jinzu Glass Factory is a workshop where you can experience glass fusing, which involves melting and combining pieces of glass.
You can combine colorful glass plates melted at high temperatures to design your own shape and color to create a one-of-a-kind piece of work.
The items you can make include plates, chopstick rests, pendants, lanterns, clocks, and more.
Glass artist Saburo will kindly teach you, so even beginners can feel at ease. Your work will be finished after firing and can be shipped at a later date.
Saburo's original works are also on display and for sale in the gallery attached to the workshop.
The time you spend carefully working with your hands while feeling the transparency of the glass and the reflection of light up close is a wonderful experience that allows you to feel a sense of tranquility that makes you forget about everyday life.
The glass experience at Shintsu Glass Factory can be enjoyed by families, couples, or friends, regardless of the season or weather.
This is a recommended spot for those who want to stop by and enjoy crafting during their trip.
▼ Shintsu Glass Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
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There are many other fun experience spots on Takashima.
If you are interested, please take a look at this page.
