Akashi Kaikyo National Government Park - Kobe Area

Located 30 minutes by car from the center of Kobe, the Akashi Kaikyo National Goverment Park consists of two areas, the Akashi Kaikyo National Government Park on Awaji Island in the Awaji area and the (nicknamed) Aina Satoyama Park in the Kobe area. The total size of these two areas is 330ha, with the currently opened area of the Kobe area covering about 43ha. The concept of the park is that of a Satochi and Satoyama (traditional Japanese rural mountain landscape) cultural park. Residents of suburbs of the big cities can feel free to experience Satoyama culture here. Within the park, the diverse natural environments of Satochi and Satoyama are being developed with streams, reservoirs, bamboo forests and other forests, rice fields and other fields, rural villages and traditional thatched-roof houses. It is also a habitat for a wide variety of animals and plants which you cannot see in the urban area. In the hands-on courses held every day, visitors can experience farming and making wildflower tea, doing Satoyama work such as cultivating fields, harvesting seasonal crops, and more. You can even bring part of your harvest back home as a souvenir. Please take your time and enjoy the Japanese Satoyama landscape which changes with the passing of the seasons.