Every journey is privately arranged and tailored to your interests, preferred travel dates, and the season. Rather than following a fixed schedule, each itinerary is carefully planned around the daily lives of the local people you will meet. This allows every journey to feel natural, personal, and connected to the rhythm of everyday life. Tours are available for groups of two or more guests. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your ideal journey.
Two Women, Two Paths, One Snow Country
In Tokamachi, one of Japan’s snowiest regions, you’ll meet two women who have built very different lives for themselves.
Misako Takahashi runs a farmhouse inn, works the land, hunts in the mountains, and prepares wild game. When something she needs doesn’t exist, she has a habit of creating it herself—including her own game-meat processing facility.
Chiho Takagi followed a different path. After years of city life, she moved to Tokamachi and began working with the local community. One thing led to another: selling local vegetables, opening a place where she could enjoy the craft beer she loved, and eventually starting Tsumari Brewing when visitors kept asking, “Where’s the local beer?”
Neither of them arrived in Tokamachi with the life they have today already mapped out.
Over two days, you’ll step into both of their worlds. Visit Chiho’s brewery, stay at Misako’s farmhouse inn, taste wild game and locally brewed craft beer, and end the day with both women around the same table.
Come for the food, the beer, and a glimpse of rural Japan. You may leave thinking about all the different ways a life can be built.
The transfer at Echigo-Yuzawa Station is straightforward, and we can provide detailed directions before your journey.
Where This Journey Fits into Your Japan Itinerary
If your journey includes several days in Tokyo, Tokamachi offers an opportunity to experience rural Japan without traveling far.
Located around two hours from Tokyo by train, it is close enough for a one-night journey. Leave your larger luggage at your hotel, travel light, and return to Tokyo the following evening.
One night gives you time to do more than simply visit. Meet two women who have built their lives here, share wild game and craft beer around the table, stay at a farmhouse inn, and experience the everyday rhythm of life in Japan’s snow country.
The journey may be short, but the time spent with Misako and Chiho can become one of the most personal parts of your travels in Japan.
One Example: A One-Night Journey from Tokyo
Tokyo
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Joetsu Shinkansen
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Echigo-Yuzawa
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Hokuhoku Line
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Tokamachi
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2 Days / 1 Night in Tokamachi
This is one simple way to spend time with the people of Tokamachi during a stay in Tokyo. You can return to Tokyo the following evening or continue your journey through Niigata and other parts of Japan.
Perfect for Travelers Who…
- Are staying in Tokyo and would like to spend one night in rural Japan
- Want to experience Japan through the people who live and work there
- Are curious about local food, craft beer, and everyday life in Japan’s snow country
- Enjoy sharing meals and conversations with local people
- Prefer real local experiences over a typical sightseeing itinerary
Why You’ll Love This Journey
Meet Chiho at her craft brewery and hear how a love of beer became part of her life in Tokamachi
Spend time with Misako at her farmhouse inn and discover how farming, hunting, food, and snow-country life come together
Share Misako’s wild game and Chiho’s craft beer around the same table, with both of them joining you for dinner
Wake up at Kayaya and step into Misako’s everyday life, with the day shaped by the season and what needs to be done
Only Through KMJ
Our journeys are built on relationships with the people who live here. These connections open doors to experiences that are rarely available to ordinary visitors.
Spend Time with the Woman Behind Tsumari Brewing
Meet Chiho over lunch before visiting her brewery together. Rather than simply touring a brewery, spend time with the person behind the beer and hear how her life in Tokamachi led to Tsumari Brewing.
Share Wild Game and Craft Beer Around One Table
In the evening, Chiho joins you at Misako’s farmhouse inn. Sit down together over wild game prepared by Misako and craft beer brewed by Chiho—a meal shaped by the two people you have spent the day getting to know.
Step Into Misako’s Everyday Life
The next morning is not built around a fixed activity. Depending on the season and what needs to be done, you might help in the fields, gather wild mountain vegetables, split firewood, clear snow, or take part in a hunting-related experience. This journey follows real life, not a fixed activity program.
Meet Misako & Chiho
Farmer, Hunter, Innkeeper — and Much More
Misako Takahashi
Kayaya / Yukiguni BASE
It is difficult to describe Misako Takahashi with just one job title. She runs a farmhouse inn. She farms. She hunts. She works with wild game. And when something she needs doesn’t exist, she has a habit of creating it herself.
She found an old house and turned it into Kayaya, her farmhouse inn. She got a hunting license, began heading into the mountains with her hunting dog, and eventually built her own game-meat processing facility. Why? Because there wasn’t one that did what she needed. That is very much Misako.
One day she might be working around the inn. Another day she might be plucking a duck with a smile, heading out to deal with an animal caught in a trap, preparing wild game late into the evening, or getting through another heavy snowfall.
Her life can look busy—sometimes wonderfully chaotic—but the different pieces somehow connect: the mountains, farming, hunting, food, welcoming guests, and living through the seasons of one of Japan’s great snow-country regions.
None of this seems to have come from a perfectly mapped-out life plan. She simply kept moving forward, solving what was in front of her and creating what she needed along the way.
Spend time with Misako and you may find yourself thinking, “I didn’t know you could live like this.”
See More Through Photos
From a Love of Craft Beer to Her Own Brewery
Chiho Takagi
Tsumari Brewing
Chiho Takagi never came to Tokamachi with a plan to start a brewery. After years of studying and working in cities, she moved to Tokamachi through a rural community revitalization program, returning to a place connected to her family roots.
One of her first projects was selling vegetables grown by local farmers at farmers’ markets and supplying them to local restaurants, with the aim of supporting local production and local consumption. Orders gradually increased, but not enough to make a living from the business.
So she changed direction. There was something else missing in Tokamachi: a place where she could drink the craft beer she loved. Chiho and her friends opened one, serving craft beers from around Japan alongside dishes made with locally sourced vegetables.
Then visitors started asking: “Where’s the local beer?”
There wasn’t one. So Chiho decided to make it herself.
Starting a brewery was far from easy. There were plans that didn’t work, costs that seemed overwhelming, and plenty of challenges along the way. But with support from people she had worked with before, Tsumari Brewing eventually became a reality.
Today, Chiho is still busy brewing, running the business, and taking her beer to events around the country. Yet whenever you meet her, there is that unmistakable laugh—and, when a camera appears, quite often a cheerful old-school peace sign.
Chiho loved craft beer. She never imagined it would become her work. One thing simply led to another—and eventually to a beer of her own.
Two Different Paths, One Table
Misako and Chiho have taken very different paths, but there is something they share. When something they need doesn’t exist, both have a tendency to think, “Then maybe I’ll do it myself.”
For Misako, that has meant everything from hunting to creating her own game-meat processing facility. For Chiho, it eventually meant brewing the local beer that visitors kept asking for. Neither seems to have started with a perfectly mapped-out plan. Their lives simply took shape through the choices they made along the way.
During this journey, you’ll spend time in both of their worlds. Then, in the evening, the two come together at Kayaya—Misako’s wild game on the table, Chiho’s beer in your glass.
There is no formal talk or presentation. Just food, beer, conversation, laughter, and time together.
Sometimes, that is the best way to get to know someone.
Your Night at Kayaya
Your night in Tokamachi is spent at Kayaya, Misako’s farmhouse inn in the countryside of Japan’s snow country. This is not simply a place to sleep after a day of exploring. Staying here is part of the journey itself.
After dinner with Misako and Chiho, the pace of the day begins to slow. Spend the night under the same roof as Misako, surrounded by the place where she lives and works.
By morning, another day has already begun. Depending on the season, Misako might be heading to the fields, working with wild game, splitting firewood, clearing fresh snow, or simply taking care of whatever needs to be done that day. And you may find yourself joining her.
At Kayaya, you are not simply staying in rural Japan. For one night, you are stepping into Misako’s everyday life.
Sample 2-Day Journey
This two-day itinerary is just one example. The details may change with the season, weather, and the everyday rhythms of life in Tokamachi.
Day 1 | Meet Chiho, Meet Misako, Then Gather Around the Table
Arrive in Tokamachi and meet Chiho Takagi. Begin over lunch at a local soba restaurant, where you can enjoy hegi soba, a specialty of the region. Rather than rushing straight into sightseeing, this is time to sit down with Chiho, get to know each other, and hear a little about her connection to Tokamachi.
After lunch, travel with Chiho to Tsumari Brewing. Step inside the brewery and hear how her love of craft beer gradually became something much bigger—a brewery of her own in the place she chose to call home.
Later in the afternoon, continue to Kayaya, where Misako Takahashi welcomes you into a very different side of life in Tokamachi. Spend time with her and learn about the many things that make up her days, from farming and running the inn to hunting and working with wild game.
In the evening, Chiho joins you again at Kayaya. Misako prepares dinner using wild game and other local ingredients, while Chiho brings the beer she brews here in Tokamachi. There is no formal program for the evening. Sit around the table, eat, drink, talk, and enjoy the time together.
Misako’s wild game. Chiho’s craft beer. One table.
Stay overnight at Kayaya.
Day 2 | Step Into Misako’s Everyday Life
Wake up at Kayaya and begin the morning with breakfast. What happens next depends on the season—and on what Misako is actually doing that day.
You might gather wild mountain vegetables, help in the fields, split firewood, or clear snow after a winter storm. At certain times of year and when conditions allow, you may even have the opportunity to accompany Misako for a hunting-related experience.
Rather than choosing from a fixed menu of activities, spend the morning alongside Misako and step into the everyday work and rhythms of life in Tokamachi. After lunch and a little more time together, say goodbye to Misako and begin your onward journey.
This journey follows real life, not a fixed activity program.
Notes
- Day 2 activities vary depending on the season, weather, and Misako’s work at the time of your visit.
- Hunting-related experiences are seasonal, subject to conditions, and cannot be guaranteed.
Make This Journey Your Own
Especially interested in craft beer?
We can place more focus on your time with Chiho, from the story behind Tsumari Brewing to the brewing process and the beers she creates.
Curious about hunting and wild game?
Spend more time hearing about Misako’s work in the mountains and how hunting, processing, cooking, and eating are connected. Hunting-related experiences may also be possible when the season and conditions allow.
Want to experience everyday life in Japan’s snow country?
Your time with Misako can follow what is actually happening that day—whether that means working outside, gathering mountain vegetables, or clearing fresh snow.
You can also visit a local onsen with Misako and learn a few simple bathing customs along the way. For female guests, Misako can join you for a soak. Afterwards, you may find yourself back at Kayaya helping Misako get dinner ready before Chiho arrives and the beer is opened.
Tell us what interests you most. We’ll shape the details around you while keeping the heart of this journey the same: time with Misako and Chiho.
Practical Information
| Price | Indicative price From ¥98,000 per person (based on 2 guests) The per-person price is lower for groups of three or more, as certain costs are shared among the group. Final pricing varies depending on the season, itinerary, and experiences selected. |
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| Journey Style | Private journey Recommended duration: 2 days (flexible) Available year-round 2–6 guests |
| Accommodation | Kayaya Farmhouse Inn A small farmhouse inn in Tokamachi run by Misako Takahashi. Staying here is part of the journey, giving you the chance to experience the place where Misako lives and works. |
| What’s Included | – One night’s accommodation at Kayaya – Private transportation for all scheduled experiences in Tokamachi – All scheduled experiences – One breakfast, two lunches, and one dinner – Lunch and time with Chiho Takagi – Visit to Tsumari Brewing with Chiho – Wild game dinner at Kayaya with Misako and Chiho – Seasonal time with Misako on Day 2 – Domestic travel accident insurance |
| Not Included | – Transportation to and from Tokamachi – Personal expenses – Optional food and beverages not included in the itinerary – Transportation or activities outside the confirmed itinerary |
| Meeting Point | JR Tokamachi Station Meet Chiho Takagi at JR Tokamachi Station, where your journey begins. The journey also ends at JR Tokamachi Station. |
| Cancellation Policy | 20–11 days before departure: 20% of the tour price 10–1 days before departure: 50% of the tour price Same-day cancellation or no-show: 100% of the tour price |
| Payment | Credit card (Visa and Mastercard) Detailed payment instructions will be provided after booking. |
| Additional Information | Each journey is individually designed. Your final itinerary will be confirmed after your consultation and booking request. Bookings must be made at least 20 days before your preferred departure date. |
| Language Support | Chiho will communicate with you directly in English during lunch, your visit to Tsumari Brewing, and again over dinner at Kayaya. During the late afternoon with Misako, including any local onsen visit, there will be no English interpreter. This part of the journey is more about spending time together through simple conversation, gestures, and shared experiences. An English-speaking interpreter will accompany you on Day 2. |
| Getting Around | Private Transportation (Included) Private transportation is provided for all scheduled experiences included in your itinerary, allowing you to relax and enjoy the journey without worrying about driving or navigation. If you’d like to explore the area during your free time, we’ll be happy to recommend local transportation options or arrange a taxi upon request. Self-Drive Option (Available on Request) A self-drive version of this journey can also be arranged upon request. |
