Trees & Tradition: The Living Forest Behind Japanese Architecture

After exiting the ticket gate at Higashi-Agano Station, surrounded by rich nature, please look for the guide holding a tour placard. You’ll meet your fellow participants for the day, receive a briefing from the guide, and then travel to the activity site by car with the guide.

At the woodworking studio Kirari, where the craft experience takes place, you’ll receive a lecture from a forestry master—known as a “mountain artist”—about Nishikawa timber and the history of local forestry. Next, you’ll visit a certified forest site that’s normally closed to the public. The tour begins with a visit to a shrine dedicated to the mountain guardian deity. You’ll then explore the forest, learning about the care of centuries-old trees, unique cultivation methods, and the surrounding ecosystem. Enjoy the scents of three different types of wood, find a tree that resonates with you, and relax at its base, quietly “conversing” with it. Back at the studio, choose a kanji character and use a pyrography pen to inscribe it onto a wooden piece shaped like Edo Castle. This hands-on craft becomes a one-of-a-kind smartphone stand to take home as a special souvenir.

The guide will drive you back to Higashi-Agano Station, where the tour concludes. Around lunchtime, you’ll arrive at Hannō Station—feel free to enjoy lunch at one of the guide’s recommended local restaurants! (Please note that the guide will not join you for lunch.)