Trip by e-bike to enjoy beautiful Satoyama landscape nurtured by　the Tateyama Mountain Range

We recently often hear about e-bikes. What is its attractiveness?

Tateyama Town has abundant nature and is located at the foot of the Tateyama Mountain Range. Amazing scenery of nature can be seen in the mountainous area, and the beautiful Satoyama landscape spreads out season by season on the plains. You can enjoy attractive Tateyama Town as follows when you dare to go around by e-bike and not by car.

- You can relax and enjoy the scenery of abundant nature at your own pace.
- There are many routes for hill climbing, taking advantage of the height difference and the rough terrain of Tateyama Town.
- You can enjoy the scenery from season to season, such as the Tateyama Mountain Range with residual snow in spring, the pastoral scenery in summer, and autumn leaves.
- You can rent an e-bike at three locations in the town and can enjoy cycling even on rough terrain because the e-bike is an electric-assisted vehicle.
- There are 19 rest spots called Cycle Stations in the town where you can use the restrooms and refill water bottles.

Where are you going by riding an e-bike? There are a lot of experiences you can have only in Tateyama Town. We will introduce to you three places which we especially recommend from among them.

Have you ever felt somewhat unwell, depressed, or languishing? It is a condition called the pre-symptomatic state. People are under a lot of stress due to the hectic pace and information overload of modern life. The project of Healthian-wood contains the hope that they would help people improve and eliminate stress by making use of the power of plants, mainly herbs, as precautionary measures and health promotion.

Riding on a bike while looking at Mt. Tate, you will see a very stylish building in the middle of rice fields. With the aim of creating a new village and developing human resources for the 22nd century, Healthian-wood stands in the middle of rice fields overlooking the Tateyama Mountain Range. It consists of five facilities: a restaurant, event space, and an aroma workshop, which were designed by the architect, Kengo Kuma, as well as a spa and treatment, and a sauna hotel.

The Workshop is for aroma oil extraction. It is a facility that can be said to be the base of Healthian-wood, along with an herb garden called The Garden. Since the building has fully glass windows, you can view the surrounding herb garden and scenery from inside. There are Japanese and Western herbs grown in The Garden. The herb harvesting experience in summer is an event recommended and enjoyable to see because The Garden turns beautiful colors with lavender and other herbs. Harvested herbs are used as ingredients for aroma oil and are used in cooking and in herbal teas. In Europe, herbs are traditionally used as natural drugs.

The Workshop is designed so that visitors understand the efficacy of herbs, which are also used as natural drugs, with clear explanations, and visitors learn about herbs while feeling much closer to them. In addition, various workshops are held by instructors with specialized qualifications. Through those workshops, you will be able to learn about the characteristics and efficacy of herbs, as well as your current conditions, and will be able to blend herbs according to your individual needs.

Moreover, at The Workshop, essential oils are extracted by the steam distillation method, using spring water from Toyama. The oil that can be extracted from 3 kg of lavender flower spikes is only 90 g, which is 3% of the spikes used. As such, the oil is extremely valuable. This essential oil is processed into a variety of products, such as massage oil, skin lotion, and room spray, under the Taroma brand. The calming and relaxing aroma will envelop you.

The Field is an all-weather event space with a distinctive triangle roof. You can enjoy such events as a wedding party, farmers’ market, and yoga. At The Kitchen and The Table surrounded by rice fields, you can savor special course meals with scenery overlooking the Tateyama Mountain Range. Moreover, the buildings made of natural materials provide visitors with comfort.

The Hive is a semi-underground sauna hotel with the theme of aroma and sound. It is a perfect experience for refreshing the mind and body where you take a sauna bath, view the herb garden and the Tateyama Mountain Range while enjoying the original “The Tea.” The Hive is reserved for exclusive use. We suggest that you have an immersive experience with your family or friends in a relaxed way.

At the Shiroebi Senbei Factory near Tateyama IC, you can take a factory tour of the manufacturing process for shiroebi senbei (glass shrimp rice crackers) and enjoy shopping at the Sasaraya Tateyama Main Store. It features a café area to stay relaxed, and a kids’ space and playground equipment for family fun. It also sells freshly made dango (sweet rice dumplings) and okowa (steamed glutinous rice) every day.

At the senbei workshop, you can experience baking and eating shiroebi senbei. When you pour soy sauce over fresh hot rice crackers, they make a sizzling sound. Freshly baked rice crackers are so savory that you can enjoy the taste of Toyama rice and the flavor of glass shrimp.

The Okome dyaya serves freshly made sweet rice dumplings and steamed glutinous rice. The sweet rice dumplings made with rice from Toyama Prefecture are delicious and loved by the locals. Please try this gem.

Tateyama Green Park Yoshimine is a natural theme park full of greenery located in Tateyama Town, Toyama Prefecture. At the park, you can enjoy camping and making pottery. The Tateyama Yoshimine Onsen Yu-Land is a natural hot spring in Green Park and is located at the foot of Mt. Tate. You can enjoy four types of baths, including an open-air bath boasting with rustic natural stones in addition to a sauna and an herbal bath.

The simple, transparent, colorless hot spring is effective in recovering from neuralgia, joint pain, sensitivity to cold, and fatigue. In 2017, Mayumi Yamazaki, onsen essayist, visited Yoshimine hot spring, too, and evaluated it as “extremely warming your body and excellent in its skin lightening effect.”

Refresh and relax in the hot spring after cycling and having fun at the Green Park Yoshimine. Use the breakroom and dining room attached to the hot spring.

The traditional craft of Etchu Seto ware is produced in the Seto District of Tateyama Town. It is said that it began 430 odd years ago by potters invited from Owari Seto (in Aichi Prefecture), who built kilns there and began making Seto ware.

Tounoukan is a facility whose purpose is to pass on the culture that integrates Etchu Seto ware and agriculture into one. As works of Etchu Seto ware artists are being exhibited at the entrance, you can enjoy each artist’s style while comparing their works.

Pottery classes are held as well. Participants can use pottery clay that was dug and refined by the staff to create the shape you like by stretching the clay with a stick or bending it with your fingers. You may choose a glaze to be used from 10 different types, and you can enjoy the gentle color shades unique to Etchu Seto clay.

There are a wide variety of the items displayed from tea utensils to wares of daily use at the Tounoukan. You can purchase teacups and small plates as souvenirs. Come visit the Etchu-sue-no-sato surrounded by Satoyama’s rich greenery and appreciate the works of five Etchu Seto ware artists.