Cool Countryside Japan: Tourists Flock to Feel Hida Furukawa Life

Chura-boshi CEO Yamada Taku, designer of “cool countryside experiences.” (© Demachi Yuzuru)

Foreign cyclists are now a common sight in the foothills of Furukawa. (Courtesy Hida Tourism Association)

Idyllic satoyama scenery. (Courtesy Hida Tourism Association)

The Seto River is popular with visitors. Colored carp gleam like gems against a backdrop of whitewashed warehouse walls. (Courtesy Hida Tourism Association)

The guide describes the river and the townsfolk. (© Demachi Yuzuru)

The cyclists dismount on a track between fields for more insights from the guide. (© Demachi Yuzuru)