Hyogo Learn about the indigenous culture nurtured in remote mountainous areas with our Hyogo Tamba-Sasayama Walking Tour.

Meet the local people and enjoy the traditional culture through local sake and Tamba-yaki pottery

Tamba-Sasayama City is located in the middle-eastern part of Hyogo Prefecture, an hour and a half by train from Osaka and Kobe. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the city has nurtured a unique culture in its natural environment.

Tamba-Sasayama is a castle town established in the 17th century, and its original townscape has been preserved to this day. Traditional culture, such as sake and pottery, has also been passed down from generation to generation, and visitors can enjoy a variety of traditional experiences. It is said this appreciation for traditional crafts and arts is influenced by the culture of Kyoto, located to the southeast.

On this tour, you will visit the spots where you can feel the culture of Tamba-Sasayama, and the lives of its residents.

In the castle town surrounding Sasayama Castle, traditional architecture, such as houses where samurai lived and merchant houses with hundreds of years of history, is still preserved. Here, you can go inside these historical buildings and feel the lifestyle of the past.

You will also visit the Tamba Toji Sake Brewery Memorial Hall, where you can learn about sake brewing, and the Homei Shuzo Sake Brewery, where you can taste different types of sake and enjoy the differences in taste resulting from the brewing techniques used. In the city, there is also a pottery museum showcasing traditional Japanese art and craftsmanship, and restaurants and Japanese sweets stores where you can taste the local specialties.

Why not take a peek at a different side of Japan in a mountain village where time flows leisurely?

The old streets with more than 400 years of history will take you back in time.

In the past, many samurai lived in the area of Tamba-Sasayama. Here, you can stroll around the castle, with its magnificent wooden architecture, and the castle town lined with samurai residences. Inside these residences, you will find armour, kimonos, and other daily necessities of the time, making you feel as if you have slipped back in time to the days of the samurai.

You can eat dishes unique to Tamba-Sasayama, such as sweet black soybeans, wild boar meat, and mackerel sushi.

On Nikai-machi Street, the castle town’s main street, you can enjoy lunch prepared with local specialties. During the tour, our guide will take you to carefully selected spots from among the many stores. One of the most recommended dishes is the "Kuromame Gozen," which is richly flavoured with Tamba black beans. Enjoy a local lunch that can only be found here!

Enjoy a variety of sake tasting at a sake brewery that has been in operation for over 200 years.

One of the highlights of the tour is a visit to a sake brewery that has been in business for over 200 years. After the tour, you can enjoy tasting the different flavours of sake, a result of the variety of brewing techniques used. Unique sake made with locally grown black soybeans and chestnuts is also available for purchase, making it a great spot to pick up a few souvenirs. Our guide will carefully explain the process, and even guests who are not familiar with alcoholic beverages will be able to fully enjoy the experience.