Michi-no-Eki Takumi-no-Sato

Takumi-no-Sato is less a building than a village. In the Edo period this was Sukawa-juku, a post town on the Mikuni Kaido between the Kanto plain and Echigo, and the station now covers the old settlement and its fields. A former waki-honjin, the inn kept for travelers of rank, now houses the Sukawa-juku history museum.

The draw is making things. More than 20 workshops, called takumi no ie, are scattered among the rice fields and apple orchards, each with its own craft: washi papermaking, indigo dyeing, woodwork, bamboo, glass and more. At Houraku-kan, the information center, you can learn to make soba or konnyaku from scratch. Some sessions need a booking, and a few houses keep short hours, so plan the one you care about first.

The village is spread out. Rental bicycles, including electric ones, help on the slopes. It is about 20 minutes by car from Tsukiyono IC on the Kan-Etsu Expressway via Route 17, and makes an easy detour on the way to Sarugakyo Onsen or the Minakami valley. The farmers' market stays open a little later than the workshops.