Miyazawa Lake Hot Spring Kirari Villa

You'll spend a delightful time with family and friends at Metsa Village, whether shopping for Nordic brand goods that give you a taste of Nordic lifestyle, perusing handicrafts at the market, enjoying a Nordic meal at the restaurant, taking part in arts and crafts workshops, renting a boat to cruise the lake, or through various seasonal events. There's plenty to experience at this lakeside forest.

At the Moominvalley Park in Saitama Prefecture, based on the popular creation, ‘Moomins,’ by Finnish author and artist Tove Jansson, you can immerse yourself in the delightful world of Moomin and its popular characters. The first theme park of its kind outside of Finland, it was opened in March 2019 in Hanno, Saitama, and is easily accessible from Tokyo via train. There are four main attraction areas, featuring a variety of theater venues, a large three-story museum, a playground with Moomin landmarks that appear in the story, delicious restaurants, a cafe, and the world’s largest Moomin store! For additional fun, outside Moominvalley Park lies the Metsä Village, where visitors can enjoy a Nordic experience with shopping and dining options, relax around Lake Miyazawako in comfortable outdoor seating viewing the lake and surrounding forest, or take part in various hands-on activities. At Moominvalley Park, there’s fun to be had for everyone!

The Kinchakuda Park was formed by the zigzagging flow of the Koma River that runs through Hidaka City, and is called Kinchakuda because its shape resembles a kinchaku (traditional drawstring money pouch). The park is a 500 meter diameter flatland surrounded by a river with a surface area of about 22 hectares. Flowers such as rape blossoms and cosmos bloom every season, but the highlight is the 5 million red spider lilies that dye the park crimson every autumn, like a giant, beautiful red carpet.

This residence, built during the end of Edo period to the first half of the Meiji period, centering around the main building and guest hall including a barn and two storehouses, features stone and white walls built facing the road, creating a beautiful representation of Komago scenery. The residence was designated as a national tangible cultural property in 2014.

A fermentation theme park run by Pickles Corporation, a tsukemono (Japanese pickles) maker. There are select shops for fermented foods, cafes, restaurants, and workshops available. You can eat dishes made with koji (rice with added fermentation culture) and lactic acid bacteria, and buy pickles and fermented foods carefully selected from all over the country. You can also experience making fermented foods yourself, such as kimchi, nukazuke (rice bran pickles) and seasonal dishes, in one of the many workshops.