Toei Town is the only place in Japan where high-quality sericite, the raw ingredient used for making powder foundation, can be mined. Here you can enjoy making your own foundation, lip cream, or bath bomb in a hands-on workshop. Afterwards, relax in a hot spring and try delicious sweetfish cuisine at a traditional Japanese ryokan.
Course Contents
Visit Point No.1
- Nokiyama School
- Toei Town hosts a chainsaw art competition, and the impressive works of chainsaw art welcome you at Nokiyama School. Here, you can see the elementary school scenery that all Japanese people feel nostalgic about. It's no wonder that they feel this way—Nokiyama School is a community facility housed in a repurposed wooden elementary school that has been closed down. When you enter, the classrooms where children used to study are filled with small desks and chairs, wooden play equipment, and an altogether gentle atmosphere where you can almost hear the voices of children even now. The drinks made of Toei Town blueberries that are served at the cafe are delicious and highly recommended. At Nokiyama School, you can try all sorts of experiences, including naori's mineral foundation-making, brick-oven pizza-making, a wadaiko workshop taught by professional taiko drummers, and a woodworking workshop.
Overview
Visit Point No.2
- naori
- Japanese foundation is very popular because it is fine-grained and easy to blend into the skin. The ingredient that makes it so is a mineral called sericite, and the only place in Japan it can be collected is here in Toei Town. High-quality sericite is also called "miracle powder." Drop by the mine and see this cosmetic ingredient with your own eyes. You can also try making your own cosmetic items with a combination of natural ingredients that you choose yourself.
Overview
Visit Point No.3
- Toei Onsen Hanamatsuri no Yu
- All the locals that visit this spring agree that the best thing about it is its spring quality. This sodium-calcium-chloride spring is one of the few natural therapeutic springs in Japan. Gentle on the skin, the water warms you from the core, relieving fatigue and leaving you feeling refreshed. Behind the facility runs a waterfall called the "Niagara Falls of Okumikawa" (or Tsuta no Fuchi). Kick back, relax, and enjoy the sound of the waterfall.
Overview
Visit Point No.4
- Osakiya Ryokan
- This ryokan is known as the place where leading scholars of folklore who were fascinated with Toei Town's Flower Festival stayed. It was built over 130 years ago, and has very tasteful tatami rooms with simple, beautiful furnishings. The food in particular is delicious, and the staff take pride in their Japanese cuisine using plenty of fresh, local ingredients. Foreign guests who know a lot about Japan particularly love the salt-grilled sweetfish. It's soft enough to eat everything, including the bones, and once you try it, you'll be forever taken by sweetfish cuisine. In the winter, you can also enjoy wild game cuisine (hot pot) using ingredients like boar and deer meat.
Overview
Visit Point No.5
- Niebuchi
- Enjoy an impressive view of the potholes from the red suspension bridge. A pothole is formed from a hollow in the bedrock. The current moves rocks around in the hollow, expanding it over a long period of time. Come see this dynamic and impressive rock formation, and you will experience the wonder of the Earth and begin to understand how it took these potholes and rocks over a hundred million years to form. These potholes were left behind after waterfalls receded, and there are now multiple holes about 5 meters or so in diameter each in the middle of the river.
Overview
