I spend my holiday in Tokyo every year with my family. During our holiday there in December 2012, our getaway from Tokyo was Oshino town, the main objectives being to experience staying in a 200-year old thatched-roof inn “Masu-no-Ie” and exploring nearby Oshino Hakkai. It was a memorable breakaway from Tokyo. We enjoyed the nature and relaxed pace there as well as the magnificent views of Mt Fuji.
Oshino Hakkai
Oshino town is located in the Fuji Five Lake region in Yamanashi Prefecture. The key tourist attraction at Oshino town is the picturesque eight-spring ponds - Hakkai (literal translation is “Eight Seas”). The melting snow and rainwater of nearby Mt Fuji filters down the mountain through porous layers of lava beds and emerges as crystal-clear spring water in these ponds. The photos below show one of the bigger ponds – the Naka-ike (Central Pond). You can find trouts (masu), chars (iwana) and grass carps swimming amongst the water plants in the pond.
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| The Naka-ike, the central attraction of Oshino Hakkai |
The souvenir and retail shops are strategically located such that access to the Naka-ike can only be made via these shops. The must-try snacks are the freshly-roasted senbei, grilled mochi (rice cake) with red bean paste fillings and the macha ice-cream.
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| Senbei (rice cracker) store that roasts senbei on the spot |
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| Kami-no-Mizu (Sacred Water) |
The site has been designated as one of the 100 best water sites in Japan due to the abundance of quality water as well as the scenic views of the ponds and Mt Fuji.
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| Lunch at Ikemoto Teahouse at Oshino Hakkai |
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| Grilled Iwana |
We enjoyed our lunch of Yamakake Soba noodles and grilled iwana (char) at the Ikemoto Teahouse which has a table that directly overlook one of the ponds – see photos above and left. The soba is made from buckwheat flour milled daily using the water wheel – see photos below. The Yamakake Soba is actually soba in soup topped with freshly-grated nagaimo (mountain yam). The soba is firm and the nagaimo topping is creamy.
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| Water wheel-powered milling machine that churns out the buck-wheat flour to make soba |
Masu-no-Ie Inn
We put up at Masu-no-Ie for a night. The inn is run by a grandmother, Hitoko Osada in her 70s, her eldest son and daughter-in-law. Hitoko opened the inn with her late husband in 1966.
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Masu-no-Ie: a 200-year old thatched-roof inn in Oshino with a magnificent view of Mt Fuji
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It was a pleasure strolling around the inn’s compound which comprises sprawling garden with ponds, spanning about 2 hectares. The inn, the water wheel hut and the pond with Mt Fuji in the background, is a must-see spot in Oshino. See photos below. Awesome views right ? Many visitors to Oshino Hakkai are also drawn to Masu-no-Ie because of these picturesque sites. The inn is only about 10 to 15 minutes leisurely walk from the Naka-ike if you walk by the stream.
Trout Farm at Masu-no-Ie
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| Common sight in Oshino - bright orange corn hanged out to dry |
Dinner at the inn was excellent, comprising farmed trouts served in various ways - as sashimi, deep fried and grilled with salt, rice fried with nozawana, and grandma Hitoko's pickled cucumbers.
A night stay at the inn cost 8,500 yen per person and includes a good breakfast and dinner. Note that payment is by cash only and reservation has to be made via phone call. For more information on the inn, you can go to www.afp.co.jp/Masunoie.
Getting There From Tokyo
Taking the Keio bus is easier and a lower cost option, but it may be more interesting to take the train and you can get to see more of the countryside. If you choose to take the train, you might want to take the Keio line (Shinjuku Keio station) to Takaosan-guchi station and then change to JR Chuo line from Takao to Otsuki station. Train fare on the Keio line is lower than that on JR. I took the Keio bus to Oshino but returned to Tokyo via train.
Fujikyu Otsuki line starting from Fujisan station
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