5 Cultural Experiences You Can Have in Hitoyoshi-Kuma

Hitoyoshi-Kuma has nurtured its own unique culture as a hidden village. We will introduce you to experiences that allow you to get up close and personal with the lifestyles and culture that people have protected and nurtured in the magnificent nature of Hitoyoshi-Kuma.

• Table of Contents
• Walking/cycling course around historical heritage shrines and temples (Yumae Town)
• Experience 10 types of Japanese tea
• Unsun Karuta is a game that both adults and children enjoy playing.
• Experience painting Kijiuma and Hanatebako boxes with traditional Hitoyoshi Kuma designs
• Experience blacksmithing techniques rooted in everyday life! Make your own knife with this blacksmithing experience

Walking/cycling course around historical heritage shrines and temples (Yumae Town)

Start by getting a map from the Yumae Town Tourism and Products Association "Utopia". There are courses available that take you around the shrines and temples in about 2-3 hours. There are also recommended photo spots and places to buy local snacks, so be sure to ask the guide for more information.

Walking Course

Cycling Courses

Arrangement of guide

It is possible to arrange for a guide (for a fee) with prior reservation (7 days in advance).

Yunomae Town Guide Association Outline :

・Application deadline: 7 days in advance

Guide fee: 1,000 yen per person per hour, plus an additional 1,000 yen for every hour over that.

*However, the maximum guide fee is 6,000 yen per day.

*If the meeting place (start) and the parting place are different, a separate 1,000 yen will be charged in addition to the guide fee as a transportation fee for the guide.

・Minimum and maximum number of people: One guide will guide from 1 to 20 people in principle.

・Applications: Yumae Town Tourism and Products Association 1822-4 Yumae Town, Kuma District, Kumamoto Prefecture, 868-0606 ☎ 0966-43-4143

Yumae Town Tourism and Products Association

Experience 10 types of Japanese tea

This area has delicious teas nurtured by the abundant waters of the Kawabe River, Japan's cleanest river, and the Kuma River, Japan's three fastest rivers. Tea leaves can be purchased at souvenir shops and product centers, but it's also fun to find your favorite tea at a specialty tea shop. At Tateyama Shoten, you can experience tasting 10 types of tea. Since its founding in 1877 (Meiji 10), the shop has been making delicious Hitoyoshi Kuma tea by adhering to traditional methods. The tea made by Shigeru Tateyama, a fifth-generation Japanese tea instructor, won the Japan Tea Award at the National Tea Competition for two consecutive years. The location of Kajiya-cho, a beautiful old townscape, is also excellent. Flower arrangement and kimono dressing experiences are also offered here, so you can have a very satisfying time in one stop.

Photo: Tateyama Shoten website photo gallery

Tateyama store

[Telephone] 0966-22-2566

[Business hours] 9:00-17:30 [Closed] Irregular holidays, January 1st-3rd [Price]

[Parking lot] Available

[Nearest station/bus stop] 2 minutes by car from Hitoyoshi Station

[Others] Credit cards accepted, toilets available, instructors available, how to make tea, matcha experience, kimono wearing experience, etc.

Tateyama Shoten Experience Application

Unsun Karuta is a game that both adults and children enjoy playing.

There is a game of the common people that remains only here. It is Unsun Karuta, a Nanban karuta that was introduced from Portugal in the mid-16th century and is an important intangible cultural property of the prefecture. After its introduction, it spread nationwide as Unsun Karuta, but it was banned during the Kansei Reforms (1787-1793), and Unsun Karuta disappeared nationwide. However, it remained in the hidden village of Hitoyoshi Kuma, where it has been passed down since. The designs of the 48 cards, which resemble tarot cards, are also attractive. Tournaments are also held, and many people enjoy it, regardless of age, gender, or country.

Photo: From the Hitoyoshi Kuma Guide website

[Telephone] 0966-22-2566 (Association for the Preservation and Revitalization of the Kajiyacho Street Streetscape (Tateyama Shoten))

[Parking lot] Available

[Nearest station/bus stop] 3 minutes by car from Hitoyoshi Station

Unsun Karuta

Experience painting Kijiuma and Hanatebako boxes with traditional Hitoyoshi Kuma designs

"Kijiuma" and "Hanatebako" are traditional crafts of the Hitoyoshi-Kuma region. It is said that they were first made by fugitives from the Heike clan. There are various theories about the background of their creation, including that the fugitives who hid in the Hitoyoshi region were nostalgic for the capital and painted with colorful designs, or that they were made to earn a living. Kijiuma are painted with vibrant yellow, green, and red pigments, and are popular as lucky toys that bring good luck to children's growth. Hanatebako are boxes made from woodblocks with camellias painted on them, and it is said that the expressions vary exquisitely depending on the artist. Both are souvenirs that represent Hitoyoshi-Kuma, and can be seen in various situations in the region.

Photo: From the Hitoyoshi Kuma Guide website

Photo: From the Hitoyoshi Kuma Guide website

Hitoyoshi Craft Park Ishino Park

[Telephone] 0966-22-6700

[Business hours] 9:00-17:00 (last experience reception 16:00)

[Closed] December 29th to January 1st

[Parking lot] Available

Experience blacksmithing techniques rooted in everyday life! Make your own knife with this blacksmithing experience

Forestry and agriculture were thriving in the Hitoyoshi and Kuma regions, and so the technique of cutting blades for farm tools, field blacksmithing (for kitchen knives, farm tools, forestry blades, etc.), developed there. During the Showa period, there were around 50 blacksmiths in the city, and there was even a street named Blacksmith Town, but now there are only a few. There are blacksmiths who have weathered the waves of the times and have continued their traditions for 250 years since the Edo period. At Hitoyoshi Craft Park Ishino Park, they also hold a "Make Your Own Knife Blacksmithing Experience" (reservation required) where you can learn directly from such a valuable blacksmith.

Knife making experience

Every Wednesday, one group in the morning and one group in the afternoon (reservations required by phone only)

*Please note that we cannot accept reservations on the day.

Reservations: Contact Ishino Park Management Office (0966-22-6700).

Knife making experience