Kinugawa Furusato Nature School

Taneyama Plateau

A gentle plateau at an altitude of 900m that spans Esashi, Tono, and Sumita in Oshu City. You can see the mountains of Monomiyama (871m) and Tateishi (730m) as well as the Kitakami Plain, and the Taneyama Farm on the plateau is used for grazing cattle. There is a monument written by Kenji Miyazawa on the standing stone, ``The grass that I cut in the clouds of Taneyamagahara is sluggish, but I forgot about it.'' The clusters of Astragalus azaleas are spectacular in mid-June.

Kakuzuka Tumulus, a nationally designated historic site

The Kakuzuka Tumulus is the northernmost keyhole-shaped tumulus on Honshu and is a nationally designated historic site. It was built 1,500 years ago and is thought to be the cemetery of the local ruling family. According to legend, the wife of the Takayama sweeper turned into a large snake and was tormenting the farmers, but Sayohime used the power of sutras to slay the snake and bury the snake's horn. It is said that this tumulus is. On the north side of the tumulus, there is a pocket park that is set up in the style of a Japanese garden and is quite interesting.

Roadside station “Mizusawa”

Located at the foot of a bridge over the Kitakami River, this roadside station has a lawn and waterside plaza on the adjacent riverbed, making it perfect for walks, barbecues, and picnics. There is also a restaurant overlooking the river, a product store, and direct-from-the-farm products, and the rich ``sesame soft-serve ice cream'' made with local raw milk is popular in the special products corner. Other popular dishes include soba hatto and koji nanban.