Scarecrow Workshop Tour

Scarecrow Workshop

+ Deep Iya Tour

Share an artist's vision

The rugged mountain-side farms of the Iya Valley are famous for growing excellent soba (buckwheat) and Iya's long tradition of hand-made soba noodles is legendary. By far the valley's most renowned artisan of this craft is Ms. Tsuzuki, and with her and your guide you will learn to grind the grain with a stone mortar, kneed and roll out the dough, and then hand chop each noodle. She may even burst out with a classic soba-making ballad with her beautiful voice, for which she has won manyawards. After cooking, you will feast on your creation along with a bounty of other local Iya dishes prepared by your teacher.

Her 3 hour private classes are held at the village's old Kindergarden (now her workshop and utterly packed with her creations) and the lesson mainly focuses on sewing the head. She will also show how to construct the body which you can then do yourself at home. You can also tour the village (where her scarecrows are simply everywhere), including a visit into the old Elementary School which is full of scarecrow students diligently learning.

Afterwards, you'll go with your guide out to the beautifully secluded Double Vine Bridges, and then later tour the inside of a historic thatched-roof farmhouse. You will also go to various viewpoints including Manpu Gorge and its fantastic suspension footbridge.

Base Time:

6.5 hours

Add On sights possible, see below
If traveling both to and from Oboke Station, you may want to add an extra 30 minutes of taxi time, see below

Price:

Small Taxi (1-3* people) ¥49,300

Jumbo Taxi (3-8 people) ¥63,900

+ ¥3000 per person Activity Fee

This is total price per private group (not per person), except for the additional per person activity/lunch fee
All prices include tax
Includes all scarecrow lesson materials, vehicle, driver, and English speaking local guide
3 people in Small Taxi is only recommended if 3rd person is a child
Meal fees not included
Please pay your guide's lunch fee (about ¥800)
Entrance fees not included (¥550/person Double Vine Bridge. Children are discounted)

Itinerary:

Pick-up from any Iya Valley accommodation or JR Oboke Station
Ryugugake Park and Manpu Gorge Wire Bridge
Scarecrow Village Walk
Scarecrow Making Workshop
Local Bento Lunch (see "Lunch Options" below)
Oku-Iya Double Vine Bridges
Nagaoka-ke Historic House or Ochiai Viewpoint
Drop-off at any Iya Valley accommodation or JR Oboke Station

Details About this Tour
- Available April to November (limited availablity in winter, please ask for details).
- This tour has an extra ¥3000 per person Activity fee.
- This tour can start anytime between 8:00am and 11:00am.
- Pick-up and drop-off can be from any Iya Valley accommodation or JR Oboke Station* (see below). Other locations that are not in Iya can also be arranged but may include an additional fee and require extra time.
- For this tour, the driver will usually pick you up alone and you will then meet the guide at the first stop at Manpu Gorge.
- The Historic Farmhouse we usually visit is closed on Wednesdays, so on this day we will visit an alternate historic farmhouse instead.
If via Oboke Station

- For those traveling both to and from JR Oboke Station, please understand that it requires about 15 minutes to travel each way between the station and the Iya Valley. This tour can be completed in 6.5 hours if going to/from the station, but we may need to shorten some stops a bit and/or skip a point, and we will explain when you contact.
- Alternately, you can extend this tour by 30 minutes of taxi time for ¥2200 to allow for more time for travel to/from Oboke Station.
Lunch Options

- Lunch options will depend on when and from where you begin this tour. There is no restaurant out near the Scarecrow Village, so it may be best to bring a bento lunch box to eat at Ms Ayano's workshop amongst dozens of scarecrows (you are welcome to do so), or eat out at the nearby Double Vine Bridges at the picnic area here.