Our search for the “next best” tourist spot continues in Minakami Town in Gunma Prefecture. We visit places recommended by 100 locals who were surveyed on delicious food, great scenery and hidden gems. On the second day, we first check out Terihakyo Ravine, which boasts 11 waterfalls and beautiful autumn leaves. The ravine is about 10km long and many locals enjoy driving through the area to see the gorgeous autumn leaves. As only the locals know about this place, it does not attract many tourists and is truly an unexplored gem.
Our next stop is a famous dam that is one of the biggest features of Minakami, attracting dam enthusiasts. The town has five dams fed by the Tone River. The year’s biggest event is the release of water from the Yagisawa Dam. Locals and people from outside the prefecture would gather to witness this. In addition, Suwakyo Restaurant has a curry dish that recreates the shape of the dam. A Minakami speciality, the dam curry uses rice as the “embankment” and curry as the “water”. It comes with three types of toppings according to the varying forms of the dams.
Takaragawa Hot Spring is our next destination. A gigantic hot spring theme park, it boasts Asia’s largest open-air bath. It comprises four open-air baths covering a total area of 9,200 square feet. The most popular one is called Kodakara, while the rest are named Maka, Hannya and Maya. Takaragawa Hot Spring Onsenkaku, an inn next to the Takaragawa River, is surrounded by nature. Opened about 100 years ago, it is famously known as the filming site for the popular movie Thermae Romae. It has been ranked No. 1 on Lonely Planet’s “Japan’s Top Ten Hot Springs” and was also featured in the travel book “Lonely Planet”. We soak in the Kodakara Bath surrounded by nature and beautiful autumn leaves. It spans more than 3,900 square feet, making it the largest open-air bath at Takaragawa. The water relieves nerve pain, joint pain and muscle pain.
We are hungry so decide to head to Futamimi, which is on the recommended list. It uses Minakami’s finest-quality rice to make Japan’s top-ranked rice balls. The rice grown and produced in Minakami is called Minatsukiyo. It has clinched the top prize at various rice competitions. In one contest to compare the aroma, flavour and stickiness of the rice, for example, it beat 372 brands of high-quality rice from all over Japan. Futamimi only does takeaways and it is open just on Sunday mornings. Many a time, the rice balls are sold out within 15 minutes of the store’s opening, so they have been nicknamed “phantom rice balls”. We buy the most popular item, salted rice balls. We also get to meet Yoshimitsu Honda, the farmer who created Japan’s number one rice, Minatsukiyo.
After this, we make our way to Minakami Roadside Station, where people can buy souvenirs. It also sells locally produced fresh vegetables. Maitake mushroom steamed buns are its most popular item. The mushrooms are cooked with a sweet and spicy seasoning and made into steamed buns. They are so popular that they are often sold out before noon. Other items sold here include cookies made with Minatsukiyo rice, Konjac balls and Japanese sake made with water from the Tone River.
One of the biggest draws of Minakami is that there are many places for outdoor activities. So we visit a paragliding school called Grand Volee. We first take a car to the summit of a mountain and then ride a trolley. After 10 minutes of going uphill at a maximum angle of 35 degrees, we arrive at the paragliding departure location, 400m above the ground. It is located in a valley surrounded by mountains. During our “remote walk through the sky”, we are wowed by the beautiful scenery of Minakami. We can see the Tone River, rice fields and many other geographical features of Minakami Town while paragliding for 10 minutes.
Minakami attracts about 10,000 tourists from Taiwan each year and a place they love to go to is Takumi no Sato. The area is big enough to fit 70 Tokyo Domes. More than 20 workshops, where one can learn about Minakami’s beautiful traditions, are held here. Minakami Town and Tainan City are both home to numerous hot springs and they have always promoted each other’s local fruits and specialities. Their relationship has grown over the years and in 2013, they became “Friendship Cities”.
A popular activity among Taiwanese tourists is apple picking. Gunma is the largest exporter of apples in the Kanto region. In Minakami Town, there are 20 spots where people can enjoy apple picking. At Fruits Land Pommier, 13 types of apples are grown and it is a popular place among Taiwanese tourists. We too indulge in some apple picking and also get to try some fresh apple juice.
We next go to Plus Hakuousha and attend a workshop where red and blue castanets are made. Seventy years ago, the first-generation owner was asked by a music teacher to make castanets. He has since been making them for all the schools in Japan. The shop produces up to 2.3 million of them in one year.
Our last stop is Gunma Cycle Sports Centre, a “weird” bicycle theme park located inside a warehouse. It is a popular spot for family outings where they can enjoy riding more than 40 different kinds of weird bicycles. Examples a bicycle without pedals, a face-to-face bicycle for couples and even a “seesaw” bicycle.
Now that we have visited several places recommended by the locals, we decide that the “next best” tourist spot is Minakami’s Takaragawa Hot Spring, where one can view the gorgeous autumn leaves and hear the trickling of the river while soaking in the open-air baths.
Tips:
1) A must-see spot in Minakami is Terihakyo Ravine, with its waterfalls and beautiful autumn leaves
2) Onsen lovers should visit Takaragawa, a huge hot spring theme park
