Tour overview
First, we will take you to a Japanese restaurant called “Kobanten” where you will enjoy authentic Japanese cuisine for lunch. This Japanese cuisine uses Hatcho miso to bring out the umami flavor.

Afterwards, you will visit the miso brewery where Hatcho miso is made, listen to an explanation about Hatcho miso, and then have a tour of an actual miso brewery, experiencing firsthand how traditional miso is made.

After the miso brewery tour, you will cook your own stewed udon noodles using Hatcho miso. You will experience how anyone can bring out the flavor of Japanese cuisine by using Hatcho miso.

The tour will conclude with a speech from the miso brewery owner.

Inuyama Castle is said to have been built by Oda Nobunaga’s uncle, Nobuyasu, around 1537 during the Muromachi period.
The castle tower is the oldest surviving castle tower in Japan. The view from the top floor of the tower is truly spectacular.
Every April, the Inuyama Festival is held in the Inuyama Castle area. At the festival, floats carrying Karakuri puppets are paraded around and Karakuri puppet performances are dedicated to the local Haritsuna Shrine. Karakuri puppets are like medieval Japanese robots that can dance, transform, and fly in the air without the use of any power source. The advanced techniques for making Karakuri puppets have been passed down from generation to generation, and are currently carried on by the ninth generation, Tamaya Shobei.
On this tour, participants will make parts for a Karakuri doll under the guidance of the 9th generation Tamaya Shobei. Through this experience, you will learn about some of the advanced techniques used in Karakuri dolls, which became the foundation of modern Japanese manufacturing industry.
In the castle town, honeysuckle wine has been brewed since ancient times as a medicinal drink with health benefits. On this tour, you can stay at an inn that was renovated from part of a sake brewery where honeysuckle wine was brewed. Enjoy the relaxing experience of a genuine Japanese inn stay, unique to a Japanese house that you cannot get at a hotel.

Tour highlights (estimated number of participants: 2 to 4 people)
1. Take a stroll around the national treasure Inuyama Castle and the Japanese garden Urakuen, and experience matcha tea at the national treasure teahouse Joan.
2. Learn about the history of Karakuri puppets and watch demonstrations at the Inuyama Karakuri Museum
3. Learn how to make doll parts under the guidance of the 9th generation Karakuri puppeteer, Shobei Tamaya
4. Participants will operate the Karakuri puppet and experience a puppet demonstration.
5. A cameraman will film the participants’ demonstrations and edit the videos.

Arimatsu shibori is a tie-dyed textile produced mainly in the Arimatsu and Narumi areas of Midori Ward, Nagoya. It is typically made by dyeing cotton fabric with indigo, and the pattern changes depending on how the thread is tied. It is a traditional craft of the Arimatsu and Narumi areas of Nagoya, and almost all of the processes are done by hand, so it is very time-consuming and labor-intensive. Another feature of Arimatsu shibori is that each piece is handmade, so there are no two exactly the same. Even outside of Japan, “SHIBORI” means Arimatsu. Although it is a traditional craft, many techniques have been continuously developed and improved.
During the tour, you will receive direct instruction from an Arimatsu Shibori designer and be able to create your own original Arimatsu Shibori piece. From traditional Arimatsu hand towels to fashionable scarves, you will work while listening to an experienced Arimatsu Shibori designer’s instructions, so even beginners can feel at ease. All materials and tools required for the work are available on-site, so you do not need to prepare them yourself.

There is a miso storehouse in Hatcho Village (now Hatcho-machi), eight cho (approximately 870m) west of Okazaki Castle. Miso has been made here according to a recipe devised by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was Shogun at the time, for his own health. This recipe has been passed down for 360 years and has been passed down to the present day as Hatcho Miso, a high-quality miso that carries on the tradition. At this miso storehouse, you can see the ingredients placed in wooden barrels, weighted down with stones, and the miso being aged over two summers and two winters in a natural fermentation process.

After touring the miso brewery, you can enjoy stewed udon noodles made with Hatcho miso at the adjacent restaurant. You can experience the difference in umami and depth of flavor that is created by using Hatcho miso in stews. How about some miso ice cream for dessert after your meal? The rich spiciness of Hatcho miso and the sweetness of the ice cream create an exquisite balance, and you can feel it melt in your mouth.

Located in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, Okazaki Castle is the birthplace of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who became Shogun during the late Sengoku period of medieval Japan. During the Sengoku period, it served as an important base in the Mikawa region (located halfway between Kyoto and Edo). The current castle was restored in 1959 using reinforced concrete, and its exterior has been recreated to resemble its former appearance. Here, you will tour Okazaki Castle, and your tour guide will provide detailed explanations about the history and culture of the Sengoku period. Travel back in time to the Sengoku period and immerse yourself in the historical context in which the culture of the Shogun and Daimyo was born in medieval Japan.

Okazaki City is the number one producer of Japanese candles in Japan. Japanese candles are traditional Japanese candles made primarily from vegetable oils and Japanese paper. Unlike typical Western candles, Japanese candles use Japanese paper and rush for the wick, which gives them a large, flickering flame and creates a unique atmosphere. They are also known for producing less soot and a long burn time. At Isobe Candle Shop, a specialty shop for Japanese candles, you can not only see the traditional manufacturing process of Japanese candles, but also have the mystical experience of watching the flickering flames of Japanese candles in a quiet studio.

There are certain dishes that are always available at traditional izakayas in Nagoya. One of them is the Nagoya specialty “Dote-ni.” “Dote-ni” is a dish made by simmering pork offal and beef tendons in red miso and mirin. In Nagoya, this dish is made with “Haccho miso,” a traditional miso made in Okazaki City.
“Haccho miso” is a high-quality soybean miso made only from soybeans, salt, and water, and is aged for two years while strictly adhering to a 370-year-old manufacturing method. Hatcho miso has a deep richness and unique astringency, and because the smelly innards are simmered in this miso, the distinctive taste is eliminated and the flavor is enhanced.
Another dish is “fried chicken wings.” It is a dynamic dish in which half a young chicken is fried and grilled as is, then dipped in a secret sauce that has been aged and flavored with various condiments. This has become a taste that many Nagoya residents desire. There are many izakayas in Nagoya that serve “fried chicken wings,” and each store competes with each other to come up with the best secret sauce, creating a taste that is unique to Nagoya.