A nature experience for parents and children to enjoy! Enjoy nature at an experience-based guesthouse in TaikiTown!

Article production / Mie Travel Camera Club Hanachiro

▼Table of contents

• Enjoy nature experiences with your family! “Agriculture, forestry and fishery experience guesthouse” in TaikiTown!
• There are many attractive experience-based guesthouses!
• Kikiya where you can experience various nature experiences
• River nature experience
• Vegetable harvest experience
• Bamboo light making/woodcraft craft experience
• Kamado cooking experience/wood chopping
• A very satisfying dinner at the hearth hut!
• How to book an experience
• Experience country life in a quiet, secluded space!

Enjoy nature experiences with your family! “Agriculture, forestry and fishery experience guesthouse” in TaikiTown!

TaikiTown is located in the central-southern part of Mie Prefecture, and is a scenic and nature-rich town with a perfect catchphrase: "Mountains. Sea. Rivers. And sky, too."

What is currently popular in TaikiTown is the ``agricultural, forestry, and fishery experience guesthouse.''

Agriculture, forestry and fishery experience guesthouse

"Agriculture, forestry and fishery experience guesthouses" are small-scale guesthouses opened by people involved in agriculture, forestry and fisheries using their homes, and where you can experience activities such as harvesting vegetables and fishing in a relaxing environment surrounded by nature. can.

The agricultural, forestry and fishery experience inn in TaikiTown has obtained a business license for simple lodging that meets the standards set by the prefecture, and is attracting attention from people who are looking for country life and nature experiences!

There are many attractive experience-based guesthouses!

The experience-based guesthouses in TaikiTown are very popular not only for individual trips such as families and couples who want to fully enjoy the rich nature, but also as a destination for school trips and group tours from foreign countries!

As of November 2022, 19 experience-based guesthouses are open.

Each inn offers a variety of initiatives and experiences, and each inn is full of different charms, including gallery-like inns self-renovated by architects, barrier-free inns, and inns with campgrounds attached. !

This time, we visited Mokumokuya, a Japanese-style guesthouse nestled deep in the mountains with plenty of greenery, out of the many guesthouses available, and our family of four went to experience country life!

Kikiya where you can experience various nature experiences

Kikiya is an experience-based guesthouse located along the Fuji River that flows into TaikiTown Town.

Here, you can experience fishing in the river and fishing pond that flows right in front of you, as well as watching fireflies that come to the garden in the summer, collecting beetles in the nearby forest, harvesting vegetables in the field, and grilling charcoal in the irori hut. There are lots of experiences!

You can not only stay overnight, but also experience the charm of rural life.

River nature experience

When we arrived at Kikiya, the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Ogura, warmly welcomed us with smiles.

Even though they have only recently arrived, the children have become attached to Mr. and Mrs. Ogura as if they were their own grandparents and have begun preparing for fishing (lol).

River fishing experience

The stream flowing in front of you is extremely clear!
Even children who have never fished can feel at ease, as the guide will show them examples and explain how to do it.

The great thing about this is that you can go empty-handed, as the fishing rods, baits, and other fishing equipment will be provided by Kikiya. He will also give you detailed lectures on basic things like how to attach fishing bait.

All four of us in our family were beginners at fishing, but when we started following the instructions, we succeeded in catching fish! Parent and child were very excited about their first catch (lol)

River play/barbecue

I visited Kikiya in autumn, but in summer you can enjoy playing in the beautiful river and having barbecues. Adults and children alike can enjoy nature in a comfortable space surrounded by the murmuring of the river.

fishing pond

Next, we moved to the fishing pond in the garden to experience amago fishing!
By this time, the children were running after Mr. Ogura, calling him "Grandpa!" as if he were a relative (lol)

Just like river fishing, you will be taught the tips of how to fish, and if you try it, you will immediately get ``Amago''! ! Everyone was excited to see the amago, which were firmer and more energetic than the fish caught in the river.

There were times when I felt frustrated when the bait was taken by the amago, but by continuing to try, the children succeeded in catching the fish!

According to Mr. Ogura, it's a little more difficult than river fish, but as you keep repeating it, you'll get the hang of it, your fishing speed will increase, and your excitement will be at its peak!

Before we knew it, everyone was hooked on fishing.
My son's eyes lit up as he proudly showed me the sweetfish he had caught over and over again (lol).

Vegetable harvest experience

Next, let's go to vegetable harvesting experience!

Seasonal vegetables are grown here, and you can harvest them each season. At the time of our interview, it was autumn, so we got to experience harvesting komatsuna and shiitake mushrooms in the fields, which are in their harvest season!

During the harvest work, we were taught how to identify vegetables that are ready for harvest.

The shiitake hut is full of large shiitake mushrooms that are ready for harvest.

My son can't stop being excited about growing shiitake mushrooms for the first time.

I smiled when I saw the shiitake mushrooms that I had successfully harvested from the roots.

Bamboo light making/woodcraft craft experience

At Kikiya, you can also try your hand at woodcrafts such as making bamboo lights.

This time, we will be trying to make bamboo lights that sparkle at night using fine bamboo that grows in the mountains of TaikiTown! We will proceed by dividing the work according to the age of the person taking on the challenge of making bamboo light.

My son, who is only 3 years old, was able to observe the dangerous work using knives, but depending on the person experiencing the work, various tools will be used to create the pieces.

The bamboo light was successfully completed with the help of Mr. and Mrs. Ogura! The created bamboo lights can be charged with sunlight and become a fantastic piece of work that glows at night.

I took the completed bamboo light home as a souvenir and displayed it in my house♪

Kamado-cooked rice experience/wood chopping

After playing to the fullest in nature, you get hungry, right?

At Kikiya, you can eat the ingredients you have collected from the river or fields over a charcoal fire in the Irori hut!

Being able to enjoy rice cooked in a stove and freshly harvested ingredients is one of the best parts of living in the countryside.

We couldn't wait for dinner, so we split up the work and started preparing right away.
My daughter took on the challenge of preparing the river fish she caught so that she could grill it over charcoal.
We will move forward with careful instruction one by one.

My son, on the other hand, tried chopping wood to start the fire in the stove.
Since the children were still young, we had to hold them in their arms to prevent them from getting hurt, but they were able to finish chopping the wood without any problems and watch them light the stove.

When the stove is lit, the pot filled with rice boils all at once, giving off the pleasant aroma of the rice being cooked little by little.

Furthermore, this time we will also be steaming mitten crabs caught in the river in front of us in the oven.

Mitten crabs are a delicious crab that is famous in the local area, and if you put a trap in the river, you'll often find a lot of them caught in the morning.

The unexpected appearance of a magnificent crab caused the children to evacuate behind my wife in a panic (lol)

A very satisfying dinner at the hearth hut!

Dinner at the long-awaited hearth hut.
Fish and vegetables grilled over charcoal give off a fragrant smell that is different from when they are cooked in a normal kitchen.

The crabs and rice that we had prepared ourselves in the oven were cooked well.
Unlike a rice cooker, a stove has a strong firepower, so it takes no time until the rice is cooked. The mitten crab was also steamed to a beautiful red color with a delicious aroma.

The taste of the fish you caught yourself and the rice you cooked is exceptional! !
It must have been so delicious that the children, who normally prefer sausages and hamburgers to vegetables and fish, even ordered second helpings of rice and amago (lol).

One of the attractions of Kikiya is that you can relax in a quiet Japanese-style guesthouse after playing and eating a lot in the great outdoors.

How to book an experience

You can apply using the reservation form on the website below.

What is TaikiTown Regional Revitalization Council?

An organization that uses the catchphrase "Mountains, seas, rivers, and skies" to plan and develop experiential tourism projects that utilize TaikiTown 's rich local resources, as well as promote and promote local products. is.

In addition to ``minshuku'' such as the Kikiya we introduced this time, we also offer a variety of activities such as ``experiences'', ``sightseeing'', ``eating'', ``educational trips'', and ``beauty tourism'', as well as tours within TaikiTown. It is also the point of contact for coordination.

If you would like to know more about the experience and prices, please feel free to contact us.

Experience country life in a quiet, secluded space!

The experience-based guesthouse at Kikiya is a very satisfying nature experience where parents and children can enjoy the rich nature of TaikiTown.

When the children said goodbye to the owners, who were very friendly and warm, they said, ``I want to stay forever!''

Please come and visit Kikiya, which is filled with the charm of a secluded and lush nature!

Thank you for watching until the end.

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