Kyoto in winter - Miyama / Tango

 Miyama
Miyama, by car 90 minutes north of the center of Kyoto is a nostalgic old village. Rice paddies surround the village and thatched-roof houses dot the nearby mountains. It is a quiet and very peaceful village and resembles images depicted in tales of old Japan. Unlike elsewhere, Miyama is not crowded with guesthouses and restaurants - there are only a couple of each and only a limited number of thatched houses are open to the public - those that remain closed privately retaining the traditions of old. Why not visit this quiet village in the mountains to sample Japan as it used to be.

 Tango
Tango is an area in the northern part of Kyoto Prefecture. Abundant in the gifts of nature such as fresh seafood and foodstuffs gathered from the mountains, Tango is surrounded on all sides by nature and is renowned as the home of Amanohashidate; a 3.6km long narrow sandy beach on which 8000 black pines seem to stand guard. Deemed one of the three major natural landscapes of Japan (alongside Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, and Miyajima, Hiroshima Prefecture), Amanohashidate looks like a white bridge reaching up into the sky - thus the name which means 'a bridge over the sky.' If you want to walk around Tango, try visiting places related to Tango's seven princesses legend. Shizuka Gozen, deeply loved by Minamoto-no Yoshitsune was born here and Ono-no Komachi, a beautiful female poet in the Heian period who features in both Noh and Kabuki plays lived here after escaping from the capital.

When visiting Tango in winter, enjoy the Sea of Japan, snow filled scenery, take a dip in the hot springs and of course polish off some of the truly delicious food. Both warm and cold ocean currents converge near Tango to provide a wide range of seafood delicacies to the folk on land. Especially famous is the matsuba-gani crab - particularly tasty in winter. Matsuba-gani is a snow crab usually landed in Tango with thicker than usual flesh that comes across as rather sweet. Raw, boiled or kanisuki (crab cooked in a pot with other ingredients) options are available but the "Taiza-gani" - translated as 'phantom crab' is limited due to small catches each year. Although this crabmeat is also a tad thick it simply melts in the mouth.

 Tango by Rail
From Fukuchiyama using JR San-in Honsen. From Fukuchiyama to Miyazu using KTR Miyafuku Line. From Miyazu to Tango-omiya and Mineyama using KTR Miyazu Line.

Kyoto in winter
Higashiyama
Traditional performing arts of Japan
Kyogashi
A walk around the heart of Kyoto
Arashiyama / Sagano / Hozukyo / Kameoka
Let's try Hands-on activities

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 Maps
Japan Railway Map PDF 414 KB
Central Kyoto PDF 769 KB

 Links
Kyoto Prefecture
Kyoto City
Kyoto City Tourist Association