A journey designed just for you
Hello, adventurous travelers!
To those of you who are considering a trip to Japan, new encounters and magical experiences await you.
We are pleased to introduce you to our unique community where travelers of other nationalities mingle with each other.
Because sharing different backgrounds with new friends is the essence of travel.
We understand your feeling of "I don't want to meet people of the same nationality."
But we also understand that enjoying cross-cultural exchanges in a new environment is a great way to discover yourself and enrich your experience.
In our community, you will meet friends from different countries and do you challenge yourself to an adventure together.
Beautiful Japanese landscapes, traditional culture, and new friendships await you.
Your trip will take on a deeper meaning when you meet others who also share your exploration of other cultures.
Participate in the group of us and search for Japan with a new friend, and do you not make a lifetime memory?
A new starting point may open the door to a new adventure.
We invite you to join our community to make your trip even more special.
New friendships and wonderful experiences await you!
What kind of place is it?
Bungo-Ono City was formed on March 31, 2005 through the merger of five towns and two villages: Mie Town, Kiyokawa Village, Ogata Town, Asaji Town, Ono Town, Chitose Village, and Inukai Town.
Located in the middle and upper reaches of the Ono River in the southwestern part of Oita Prefecture, it measures approximately 22 km east to west and 31 km north to south, with a total area of 603.14 square kilometers, or 9.5% of the prefecture's land area.
It is geographic and is not geographically necessarily endowed, but I am full of ups and downs and keep the complicated topography alive, and there is rich supply of water of the Ono River which gathers the rivers of big things and small things, and flows into Beppu Bay and forms the prefecture's leading dry field farming zone.
The area is also surrounded by the Jinkakuji Serikawa Prefectural Natural Parks, and the Sobo Katamuki Natural Park, and is blessed with both tangible and intangible local resources, making it the home of famous water, countryside, and tourism.
The climate is generally mild throughout the four seasons, with an average temperature of 15-16°C in flat areas, except in some mountainous areas, making it extremely suitable for agriculture, and agriculture has developed as a core industry since ancient times.
Bungo-Ono City is rich in nature and is recognized as a Japan Geopark and a UNESCO Eco Park.
The fertile land is so extensive that it has been called "Oita's vegetable fields.
It seems to be "in the mountains" and close to the prefectural capital, Oita City. Nature and convenience are both within a good distance.
From the Bungo-Ono City, Oita Prefecture Immigration and Settling Portal Site (https://bungoono-iju.com/)
Bungo-Ono City is a merger of five towns and two villages, which may give it an open, urban image to some, but the Toriya area still retains a natural, rural landscape with many ups and downs.
Our courses
While experiencing history and nature
Geopark cycling to rotate by bicycle working under electric assistant player
Shinkakuji Valley
A ravine at the foot of an old temple with a history of over 1,000 years
This Jinkakuji Valley is a place where you can enjoy nature in every season, and local residents and volunteers (Jinkakuji Valley Greening Promotion Association) are also involved in Satoyama conservation activities. The natural landscape is protected throughout the year by releasing yamame (Japanese yamame), planting ``momiji'' and ``yamaboshi'', and removing fallen trees.
I would like to ask a favor of everyone. If you come here for sightseeing, please take your own garbage home with you.
Rakansama
Traces of the syncretism of Shintoism and Buddhism woven through the welded tuff of the Aso pyroclastic flow.
The road to Shinkakuji Temple is now a paved road, but the old approach to the temple was a mountain path that was steep and steep for ascetic practitioners. This is where the approach to Jinkaku-ji Temple used to be, where the Arhat statue is placed and you can see many headless Jizo statues.
Shinkakuji Temple
Spectacular panoramic view of the city
Shinkakuji Temple is an ancient temple with a history of more than 1,000 years.
It is located on a ridge made of columnar joints of welded tuff dating back about 15 million years, so it has a great view and has often been used as a base for battles.
Many rhododendrons are planted in the precincts and are full of many visitors in a season.
YASURAGI park observation deck
A spectacular view that you will want to keep to yourself
From here, you can see the Sobo-Katamuki Mountain , Mt. Aso, the Kuju Mountain Range, Mt. Yufu, and Mt. Tsurumi, as well as Bungo-Ono and the surrounding terrain. It's a place with a spectacular view that you'll want to have all to yourself.
Beekeeping experience
Experience "Maboroshi no Hachimitsu"
very precious honey
You will experience beekeeping of the precious "Japanese honeybee," which accounts for only a few percent of all honey sold in the market.
Flow of the day
1.Reception and explanation
Electric bicycles are available for mountain roads.
We will inform you of the saddle maintenance and basic operation methods tailored to the user. Wear a helmet for safety.
2.Confirmation of precautions
Necessary for your enjoyment
We will explain the hand signs required while cycling. Various other precautions will be given during the tour.
3. GO to the course!
Watch everyone's pace and enjoy the course!
Although the course has many elevation changes, we promise you a comfortable cycling experience thanks to our experienced guides and electric-assisted bicycles!
4.Lunch with a spectacular view
Abundant use of local ingredients
We will prepare a boxed lunch using plenty of local ingredients, including Bungo beef.
5.Beekeeping and Craft Experience
Beekeeping experience with precious Japanese honeybees
Visitors can actually touch a hive of Japanese honeybees and experience beekeeping. Afterwards, make hand cream, lip cream, etc. using beeswax.
6.Geo Guided Tour
Experience the unbroken line of nature
Bungo-Ono City is rich in nature and is recognized as a Japan Geopark and UNESCO Eco Park. Geo-guided tours are also available.
COMPANY
Toya Revitalization Promotion Association
Enriching the local landscape and industry through beekeeping of Japanese honeybees.
In the Toriya district of Asaji Town, we are engaged in beekeeping of a rare native species of honeybee, the Japanese honeybee, and producing honey that is said to be "fantastic honey. It has been 8 years since I started beekeeping after making a U-turn from Tokyo, and although I am still finding my way, I am working hard at beekeeping with my friends, with the desire to revitalize the region by creating industry while preserving the rural landscape.
When I was young, I lived with a large family consisting of my grandfather, grandmother, parents, and four siblings. There was electricity, but dark light bulbs were exposed, water was poured from a source, and fuel was wood piled up under the eaves of the house. The bath is a Goemon bath heated with firewood. The toilet is Yukigakure style.
It was an easy-going time when there was only one telephone in each village, and there was no personal information, as requests made to individuals were communicated through a loudspeaker that could be heard throughout the village.
When I commuted to elementary school, I had to cross the ravine (Aka River) when I walked 4 km one way to school.Crossing the bridge was a long detour, so we took a shortcut by walking along the rocks of the river flowing at the bottom of the valley, but sometimes we would slip and our shoes would get soaked, making it a tough commute to school in the winter.
The water in the valley was clear and drinkable, and it was an indispensable river for commuting to school in the summer. During the summer vacation, the river was dammed up to create a pool of water no more than one meter deep, which was used as a bathing area.I am still enjoying fishing for Aburame, a fish that only lives in clear mountain streams.When the pussy willows that inhabit the riverside began to swell, the cold began to abate and I was soothed.
The statue of Nio, an important cultural property, had been laid bare until recently and could be easily touched.It is said that if you can bite a tissue into this Nio statue, moisten it, and throw it on the same spot as your own illness, you will be cured of your illness, so I tried this every time I visited the temple.
Visiting 88 places: Buddha statues are scattered in 88 places, and my grandmother took me around twice a year to help cut the road grass and clean the Buddha statues.
I would sometimes sneak under the floor of the main hall, an important cultural property, to see the Buddha enshrined in the darkness, feeling eerie but unable to suppress my interest.
There were no current roadways to get to Shinkakuji, and we had to walk along mountain paths.
It was a scary place that I didn't want to go to, as the path was only wide enough for people and horses to pass, and trees were growing thick on both sides.The worst part was that I had to climb over a place where several Arhat statues were enshrined on a rock face made of columnar joints. .
Although it is not very high at 770 meters above sea level, you can see almost all of the high mountains of mainland Kyushu, and it is still a hidden gem.
The view of the first sunrise from this unobstructed spot is breathtaking, and every year we volunteers entertain visitors by offering them sake and tea.
There was no road to get here, and a road barely wide enough for a man and a horse connected the village at the foot of the mountain. In the old days, it was an important road for the Ichimanda clan when they commuted to Toriya Castle (fortress) and for the lord of Oka Castle when he made a pilgrimage to Shinkakuji Temple.
There are many donko living in this area, and it was a dream come true for fishing enthusiasts, but the path was blocked by grass, deeply covered with trees, and steep and scary, so I couldn't go alone.
There used to be a water mill hut in front of the waterfall where people used to hull grain, but when I was a child, the hut and the large water mill were both dilapidated, barely retaining their original forms, and now the ditch where the water mill was installed reminds us of those days.
There is a legend of a kappa (water sprite) at the waterfall. The legend says that went fishing alone and came back overjoyed with a big catch, but had no memory of what happened during the fishing.
On the highest mountain in the village (777m above sea level), called Joyama (castle mountain), there are the remains of the Ichimanda clan's mountain castle, with hollows and stone piles reminiscent of those days.
I remember when we climbed the mountain, we threw stones down from the top and competed with each other to see how far they would roll down. Now that I think about it, that's a lot of work!
Now, volunteers have cleared the land to improve the view, planted rhododendrons, autumn leaves, and azaleas, and made it a hiking course for beginners!
