This newest type of outdoor activity combines shower climbing, where you climb up an invigorating mountain stream, and regular caving, where you explore deep into exhilarating, dark caves. Discover a steep gorge filled with giant boulders and then follow the path of the rushing stream through the gaps in the rocks. Keep fighting forward as you crawl through parts of the course with your face centimeters from the surface of the water....

Located within Matsudaira-go, a garden of irises and hydrangea bloom at Kogetsuin Temple in the early summer. Also known by its original name, Jakusei-ji Temple, Kogetsuin Temple was reputedly built in 1367 by the monk Kanryu with the support of Ariwara Nobushige (the father of Matsudaira Chikauji’s wife). Tradition holds that it came to be known as Kogetsuin Temple in 1377, when Chikauji donated the main image of the Amida Buddha,...

Matsudaira-go Enchi Park is a five-acre expanse of greenery next to the main road in the village of Matsudaira, along the way from Matsudaira Toshogu Shrine to Kogetsuin Temple. The park was designed to represent the local landscape as it might have looked during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries when the Matsudaira family controlled these lands. Seasonal flowers bloom in the park from spring to autumn. There are cherry blossoms...

Matsudaira Toshogu Shrine consecrates Chikauji Matsudaira, the ancestral patriarch of the Matsudaira clan, to which shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu traced his roots. The shrine grounds were once the villa of Matsudaira. Immediately adjacent to the worship hall is the Matsudaira-Go Hall, which features various items tied to the Matsudaira and Tokugawa clans. There you will also find the well whose water was used to bathe newborn babies of the ...

Matsudaira-Go was the birthplace of the Matsudaira clan, said to be the origin of the Tokugawa family. In addition to Matsudaira Toshogu Shrine, there are many other historic sites connected with the Matsudaira clan, including Kogetsuin Temple, where founder Matsudaira Chikauji is enshrined, and the Matsudaira Castle Ruins. There are also many wild-growing plants, so visitors can enjoy a variety of natural scenery throughout the four...

On a now heavily forested hill overlooking the road into the village of Matsudaira is the site of a small medieval fortress where the Matsudaira samurai family were prepared to retreat in the event that their estate down in the village should fall into enemy hands. Though known as Matsudaira Castle, this stronghold is thought to have consisted mainly of rudimentary fortifications around the top of the hill, around 300 meters above se...

Enjoy the beauty of nature in this 1.8 kilometer long gorge carved by a river that drops 148 meters along the span. In the summer, it's a perfect place for barbeques. In the gorge, there are five park areas and plum gardens, two suspension bridges, and the 90 meter long Lake Otaki Bridge over Lake Otaki. The well-maintained walking paths along huge and unique boulders, the pristine river, and trees offer great hiking.

Rokusho Shrine is a Shinto sanctuary that traces its history back to Matsudaira Chikauji (d. 1394?), the founder of the Matsudaira samurai family that ruled the lands around the village of Matsudaira from the late 1300s onward. According to legend, Chikauji established the shrine on the summit of Mt. Rokusho so that the enshrined deities would watch over his family who lived in the valley below. However, the mountain itself is though...

Along with Odo Onsen Hot Spring and Sasado Onsen Hot Spring, Sakakino Onsen Hot Spring is one of the Oku-Yahagi Onsen-go hot springs. The water is good for neuralgia and rheumatism. People come here mainly for recuperation. Nearby are a turtle farm, orchid garden, and the Oshiinomagai-butsu stone Buddha carved on a natural stone wall. Asahi’s local gifts include natural yam.

Odo Onsen Hot Spring's main attraction is the radon bath. It can help ease rheumatism, neuralgia, high blood pressure, and other ailments. Many people come here seeking the hot spring's therapeutic effects. In summer, you can fish for sweetfish and red-spotted masu salmon in the stream or catch sweetfish with your hands in the weir. Shimazaki Park also has tennis courts. The local cuisine changes with the seasons. Mountain vegetables...

Approximately 3,000 weeping peach trees flourish in the Asahi district's Kaminaka-cho. The walking paths in the area are lined with beautiful weeping peach blossoms for about 1 kilometer. Early to mid-April is usually the best time to view the flowers, though they can bloom at different times in some years.

Discovered in the Muromachi Period over 600 years ago, Sasado Onsen Hot Spring is Aichi Prefecture's oldest hot spring. Hot spring inns line the clean Yahagigawa River. The hot spring is good for neuralgia, skin diseases, arthralgia, and other ailments. It attracts casual bathers as well as people seeking therapeutic effects. With the natural scenery, the sounds of nature, and the warmth of the hot spring, you can feel totally refres...

A multipurpose leisure facility on a highland elevation of 650 m. Enjoy various activities such as camping, barbecue picnics, a petting zoo, hands-on classes, and astronomical observations. In winter, kids can enjoy the Snow Sled "Gelände" Slope. Inside the building is Restaurant Genki-Tei and Genki Market. Genki-Tei has dishes with locally-grown yam while Genki Market sells fresh vegetables, pickles, and local gifts.

This commemorative hall operated by Toyota Motor Co. adjoins Kuragaike Park. Toyota Motor Co. built this hall in 1975 to commemorate reaching the production of its 10 millionth vehicle in the 35th year after its founding. Designed by the architect Fumihiko Maki, it presents a beautiful geometric form amid an environment surrounded by greenery. Inside the hall is the Toyota Establishment Exhibit Room, which is filled with passion fo...