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...

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...

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...

Myoshoji is a small Soto Zen temple with deep ties to the Matsudaira samurai family that ruled the lands around the village of Matsudaira from the late 1300s onward. The temple is located in Otaki Gorge on a terraced plot supported by moss-covered stone walls. It is a few minutes’ walk uphill along the river from the parking lot at the entrance to the gorge. The structures include the main hall built in 1854, a somewhat older gate th...

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.

Zofukuji Temple—otherwise known as “Furindera Temple”, meaning the “Wind Chime Temple”—is a Buddhist temple in the small, 300-person town of Odo. In 2002, the temple became the first in Japan to receive wind chimes as donations after Zofukuji Temple’s chief priest answered the wishes of the younger generation to revitalize the Odo area. Over 7,000 of these wind chimes, known as Odo’s “Yumekake Furin Wind Chimes”, are enshrined withi...

Yahagi Dam is an arched concrete dam that embanks the Yahagi River, creating Oku Yagahi Lake. Oku Yagahi Lake is located in a resort area offering numerous natural spectacles, such as cherry blossoms, wisterias, and fall leaves, making it a popular tourist attraction.

Here you can catch sweetfish and enjoy sweetfish cuisine. In summer, the place is bustling with families enjoying the river. You can catch fish with your bare hands at the weir from mid-July to the end of October.

This concert hall is located in the Toyota Sangohkan, part of an urban redevelopment project. This is a classical music hall designed with a structure that takes into mind both the players and audience. The warm space features wood and stone accents and employs a “shoebox” style for the best acoustics. The large pipe organ at the front of the hall is constructed based on the Northern German baroque style and acts as a symbol for the ...

Sanage Onsen is Aichi Prefecture's largest natural radon hot spring. The hot spring water rises up from 1,200 meters underground. Nicknamed "Medical Spring Water", it is also one of the few hot springs in Japan that you can drink. You can take in the radon spring water’s beneficial ingredients through the skin while bathing, through the lungs by breathing, and by drinking it. It is popular for its therapeutic effects. There are bathh...

Umekou Peach, Pear, and Strawberry Farm is a highly popular and delightful strawberry picking farm located in Toyota City. A highlight of strawberry picking is the Akihime strawberries, which are sweet with hardly any tartness. The farm also grows Beni-Hoppe strawberries, which can be purchased in take-home packs. Strawberry picking can be enjoyed from January to mid-May. 45 minutes of all-you-can-eat strawberries is 2,500 JPY for ...

A Noh theater in the Toyota Sangohkan urban redevelopment building. Featuring a Kirizuma-style roof and a stage of hinoki wood, or Japanese cypress, it draws visitors into the world of Japan's traditional arts. A true Noh stage patterned after those in the Momoyama period in the late 16th century when Noh thrived, it hosts children's events and interpretive lectures in addition to Noh and kyogen performances. Visitors can also enjoy ...