Experience Visiting a Local Farmer and Mochi Rice Cake Making
Kyoto, Japan
Rating: 
Trip Type: Cultural Tours
Duration: 3 hours
Visit and experience a local village’s lifestyle and food culture where terraced rice fields, continuously cultivated for 1300 years, cascade down the mountains as far as the eye can see.
First, take a stroll to visit the local shrine while surrounded by the beautiful views with Lake Biwa glimmering far below.
The friendly and good-natured farming couple that hosts the mochi rice cake-making experience will welcome you wholeheartedly. They will demonstrate mochi rice cake making following the traditional method using homegrown rice. Freshly pounded with your own hands, they will taste exceptionally delicious.
First, take a stroll to visit the local shrine while surrounded by the beautiful views with Lake Biwa glimmering far below.
The friendly and good-natured farming couple that hosts the mochi rice cake-making experience will welcome you wholeheartedly. They will demonstrate mochi rice cake making following the traditional method using homegrown rice. Freshly pounded with your own hands, they will taste exceptionally delicious.
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Visit and experience a local village’s lifestyle and food culture where terraced rice fields, continuously cultivated for 1300 years, cascade down the mountains as far as the eye can see.
First, take a stroll to visit the local shrine while surrounded by the beautiful views with Lake Biwa glimmering far below.
The friendly and good-natured farming couple that hosts the mochi rice cake-making experience will welcome you wholeheartedly. They will demonstrate mochi rice cake making following the traditional method using homegrown rice. Freshly pounded with your own hands, they will taste exceptionally delicious.After a 20-minute train ride from JR Kyoto station, you will arrive at JR Ogoto Onsen station (Kosei-Line).
Enjoy countryside views during your train ride.
After arriving at the farmer’s house, who is the seventh generation of the family, you will enjoy a short walk through the village and rice fields. Ogi Village has been continuously cultivating the large area of terraced rice fields using spring water for 1300 years.
The legend is that when a severe drought hit the city, the emperor enshrined the Shinto spirit of rain in Ogi village. Soon, spring water started running from the exact same location saving many peoples’ lives. You'll visit Ogura shrine where the spirit is said to be held. A large festival is held here in May, just before the rice planting, to pray for a good harvest.
The view of terraced rice fields surrounding the villages is stunning, portraying the changing colors of the natural surroundings according to each season. In spring, the rice fields are flooded - reflecting the sky like in a mosaic of mirrors. In summer, the fields turn a fresh green color vibrant with the growing rice plants. In autumn, they are transformed to gold from the ears of rice plants.
After taking a stroll through the rice terraces in the area, you will visit the local rice farmer’s house. There, you'll experience exciting mochi rice cake making. You can pound the steaming sticky rice into delicious mochi rice cakes while enjoying the fun atmosphere of feeling like a child again.
Enjoy the freshly made mochi with a variety of different toppings. Freshly pounded mochi is soft and exceptionally delicious. You will be guests at the farmhouse for an enjoyable mealtime and can enjoy chatting further with the farmer and his wife to learn more about traditional Japanese lifestyles. This extraordinary experience, and seeing a bit of Japanese daily life, will make your trip a memorable one.
First, take a stroll to visit the local shrine while surrounded by the beautiful views with Lake Biwa glimmering far below.
The friendly and good-natured farming couple that hosts the mochi rice cake-making experience will welcome you wholeheartedly. They will demonstrate mochi rice cake making following the traditional method using homegrown rice. Freshly pounded with your own hands, they will taste exceptionally delicious.After a 20-minute train ride from JR Kyoto station, you will arrive at JR Ogoto Onsen station (Kosei-Line).
Enjoy countryside views during your train ride.
After arriving at the farmer’s house, who is the seventh generation of the family, you will enjoy a short walk through the village and rice fields. Ogi Village has been continuously cultivating the large area of terraced rice fields using spring water for 1300 years.
The legend is that when a severe drought hit the city, the emperor enshrined the Shinto spirit of rain in Ogi village. Soon, spring water started running from the exact same location saving many peoples’ lives. You'll visit Ogura shrine where the spirit is said to be held. A large festival is held here in May, just before the rice planting, to pray for a good harvest.
The view of terraced rice fields surrounding the villages is stunning, portraying the changing colors of the natural surroundings according to each season. In spring, the rice fields are flooded - reflecting the sky like in a mosaic of mirrors. In summer, the fields turn a fresh green color vibrant with the growing rice plants. In autumn, they are transformed to gold from the ears of rice plants.
After taking a stroll through the rice terraces in the area, you will visit the local rice farmer’s house. There, you'll experience exciting mochi rice cake making. You can pound the steaming sticky rice into delicious mochi rice cakes while enjoying the fun atmosphere of feeling like a child again.
Enjoy the freshly made mochi with a variety of different toppings. Freshly pounded mochi is soft and exceptionally delicious. You will be guests at the farmhouse for an enjoyable mealtime and can enjoy chatting further with the farmer and his wife to learn more about traditional Japanese lifestyles. This extraordinary experience, and seeing a bit of Japanese daily life, will make your trip a memorable one.
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