Idyllic Scenery and Traditional Crafts: 10 Destinations in Kyoto’s Mountainside

Kyotamba is a town in Kyoto bordering Hyogo Prefecture. This area boasts beautiful scenery of rolling hills crossed by the energetic flow of Yuragawa River. Kyotamba boasts a multitude of folk performing arts that still thrive here; these include the Wachi puppet theater, Wachi daiko drumming, Obata Manzai (a type of traditional stand-up comedy), and a folk dance called Wachi Bunshichi odori.

Kyotamba can be accessed by local bus from Sonobe Station on the JR Sagano Line. Roadside Station Nagomi can be easily reached from Wachi Station on the JR San’in Main Line.

Roadside Station Nagomi, or Michi no Eki Nagomi, is a center that handles local products and hosts community events. Visit the shop to find food products and handicrafts from Kyotamba.

The Hall for Traditional Performing Arts located within the adjacent building hosts regular performances of local arts on the fourth Saturday of each month.

If you have the chance, come watch a performance of Wachi puppet theater, also known as Wachi ningyo joruri. The roots of this folk art can be traced back around 200 years, when a professional puppet theater group settled down in this area. The puppet theater stole the hearts of the locals, who continued performing it with love and dedication to this day.

The repertoire and the puppets used are the same as in regular Japanese puppet theater. However, in Kyotamba, the puppets that are usually maneuvered by three puppeteers are handled by a single person! This distinctive feature requires great skill and led to Wachi puppet theater being designated an intangible cultural asset of Japan.

Watching the beautiful puppets come to life in the hands of the skilled puppeteers is an amazing experience, so be sure to visit Nagomi on a day when they hold a performance!

Tamba Wine is one of the famous brands of Kyotamba. The company producing this wine was established in 1979, with the aim of creating a type of wine that pairs well with Japanese cuisine. Currently, their line-up includes more than one hundred wines, as well as grape juice and other products that have garnered much attention for their excellent quality and flavor.

Visit Tamba Wine House to enjoy exquisite local wines. You can also take part in 40-minute winery tours that include a walk in the vineyard, a factory tour of the facility where the wine is bottled, and wine tasting.

Our recommendation is Sumeragi, available in white, red, and sparkling variations. This wine captures the essence of Tamba Wine, pairing particularly well with dishes containing soy sauce or miso paste. The red wine goes particularly well with fish dishes, while the white wine is an excellent companion to side dishes containing pickles.

* Due to the COVID-19 outbreaks, the facility has stopped the winery tours, tastings, and restaurant operation as of January 2021. To check the latest information, please visit the official website of the facility.

One of the features of Kyotamba is the terraced land created by Yuragawa River. Climb one of the hills surrounding the Wachi area and you’ll be able to notice that the land is terraced in four levels. This phenomenon occurred naturally and the locals use the terraced riverbed to grow rice.

Please inquire at the Kyotamba Tourist Association about places where you can enjoy this scenery. On cool mornings in the fall and winter, you can actually view a sea of clouds covering the area.

Visitors to Fukuchiyama won’t want to miss destinations like Fukuchiyama Castle, which was built by famous warlord Akechi Mitsuhide (?-1582), and the sacred Motoise Sansha Shrines. Mt. Oe (832.5 m) is well-known as the setting of legends featuring demons; particularly famous is the legend of Shuten-Doji, a formidable demon defeated by the hero Minamoto no Raiko, who knew that the demon’s only weakness was his love for sake. A local alcoholic beverage called doburoku was named Onibaba after this legend. (The Japanese word for “demon” is “oni.”)

The Yakuno Plateau is renowned for its sea of clouds, a phenomenon that can be enjoyed on clear mornings in the fall. It is also one of the very few areas where natural lacquer is produced.

Fukuchiyama can be easily accessed by train from Kyoto. We suggest renting a car to tour the area efficiently.