Rambling through a scenic village: Uenomura 1-day itinerary

Enjoy a quiet morning of fishing, then taste a local grandma’s homestyle Japanese cooking. For the afternoon, take a leisurely e-bike ride through old forested backstreets, with stops at sacred natural wonders and a tranquil bath house. This itinerary is perfect for a solo traveler or small group who want a slow day experiencing and savoring the nature of a small Japanese village.

Valley stream fishing at Kawa no Eki Riverside Visitors Center

Fishing season on the Kannagawa River opens in spring. We started our day at a section of this valley stream behind the Kawa no Eki Riverside Visitors Center.

Before casting your line, make sure you buy the required fishing ticket at the visitors center fishery association. Then, head out from the back of the building down to the scenic stretch of river behind it.

In spring, you can find yamame trout and char in the stream. Note this fishing area is catch and release only, and has some other rules as listed below:

Fishing rules

1. The whole area is catch and release only. Please do not kill or take home the fish. (Using bait is prohibited)
2. Gang fishing prohibited.
3. If a fish has swallowed the hook, cut your line and release the fish as is.
4. Triple hooks and droppers prohibited.
5. Use barbless hooks.
6. Do not lay the fish on the ground when taking pictures (it’s not good for the fish). When touching fish, make it quick, make sure your hands are cool, and do not put hands inside gills.

Valley stream fishing area @ Kawa no Eki Riverside Visitors Center

Operated by the Uenomura Fishery Association

Address	316-1 Narahara, Ueno, Tano District, Gunma 370-1617
TEL	+81 274-59-3155
Front desk hours	9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Nov – Feb) Closed on Tuesdays
Fishing hours	8:30 AM – 5:30 PM (Mar – Oct) 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM (November) 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Dec – Feb) Closed on Tuesdays
Prices	Fishing ticket Men: ￥3,500 Women: ￥3,000 With yearly fishing ticket: ￥2,500
	Make sure to buy a fishing ticket inside the visitors center (Fureai-kan building) before dropping your line.

Tanima – a Japanese Grandma’s Country Cooking

When we were ready for lunch we headed over to Tanima, the restaurant across the street from the visitors center. There were only a few tables inside, and the owner/chef led us to a kotatsu table with a heater in it, since it was it bit chilly that day despite the spring sun. The owner, an old woman, was warm and humble. She chatted with us the whole time, apologizing that the food “tastes like grandma’s cooking,” as if this were a bad thing. It turned out, as I suspected, to be a very good thing.

We ordered the specialty, suiton, a traditional soup of veggies, egg, and dumplings—not gyoza or Chinese dumplings, but the cross between noodles and boiled biscuits found in chicken and dumplings. In a simple and flavorful soy-sauce broth, the soup was delicious and comforting. It reminded me of eating my own grandmother’s matzo ball soup. The main dish was accompanied by at least 10 different mini salads and side dishes, including cucumber salads, warabi fern, fresh wasabi leaves, and apple salad. She brought us hot coffee at the end of our meal, and the whole thing only cost ￥750. Yum!

Restaurant Tanima

Address	318 Narahara, Ueno, Tano District, Gunma 370-1617
Phone	+81 274-59-2828
Hours	10:30 AM – 5:00 PM
	Note the number of seats in the restaurant have been reduced for social distancing purposes. There may not be enough space for diners without reservations to enter, so it’s best to make a reservation.

Forest Roads E-bike Ride – Rental Bikes from Kawa no Eki Riverside Visitors Center

Bike Rentals

Electric-assist bicycles are available for rent through the Uenomura Local Industry Information Center located in the Kawa no Eki Riverside Visitors Center plaza. (The sign on the building reads 総合案内所)

Kawa no Eki Riverside Visitors Center

Address	310-1 Narahara, Ueno, Tano District, Gunma 370-1617
TEL	+81 274-20-7070
Hours	9:00 AM -5:00 PM (last rental 3:00 PM) Open every day except for new year holiday and occasional irregular closures

Price (includes tax)

Duration	Price
4 hours	￥1,000
8 hours	￥2,000
2 days (overnight)	￥3,000
Extra time/late return	￥500 per hour

*Helmet and gloves included free

Rental process

1. Prior reservation by phone is recommended, but day-of rentals are possible as long as bikes are available.
2. Fill in a rental form and pay at the front desk.
3. Listen to an explanation of how to use the bikes, then receive your rental bike, helmet, and gloves.
4. At the end of your ride, return bikes and accessories to the visitors center information building.

Full and energized after lunch, we headed back to the visitors center to pick up our rental e-bikes. The woman at the Local Industry Information Center desk helped us fill in a short rental form and got our helmets and bikes set up. She explained how to use the electric assist on the bikes and handed us the keys to attached bike locks. Remember to lock up the bikes whenever you’re not using them—Japan is relatively free of theft overall, but it can happen.

The number out of 100 on the display represents how much battery is left, and the number of dots on the lower half shows what power setting the engine is on. One dot means just a little assist, while 3 dots gives you the power you need to pedal up steep hills with relative ease.

Once we had our bikes, we turned right out of the parking lot, past Tanima, and across a red bridge.

We turned left at the end of the bridge onto another bridge that took us down a tiny magical-feeling forest road.

After a pleasant stretch through the trees, it was right onto the main road and then right onto another small road.

Great Sawara Cypress of Kangyo Amitabha Hall

The high point—literally—of the ride was set to be an enormous, 600-year-old cypress tree by a hilltop shrine. Forked right at the sign for the tree, which conveniently had English in small print underneath the Japanese: “The Great Sawara Cypress of Kangyo Amitabha Hall”

The road up the hill was steep, winding, and a bit bumpy. Make sure to set your electric assist to full power (3 dots), and your gears down to 1. With the electric assist, it wasn’t nearly as painful of a hill as it would have been on a normal bike, but it was still a bit of a workout.

At the top of the hill there was a tiny parking lot where we forked left onto a slight downhill towards the tree and the shrine.

Great Sawara Cypress of Kangyo Amitabha Hall

Address

Address: 1910 Narahara, Ueno, Tano District, Gunma 370-1617

After taking in the peaceful scene, we headed back down the hill and continued in the same direction, back onto the main road. When we got to a fork with a tunnel on the left, we went right, along the river.

Shioji no Yu – Hot Spring Bath and Refreshing Ice Cream

Strawberry Ice Cream: ￥400

We finally arrived at Shioji no Yu, the farthest point on our out and back route. In addition to the hot springs, this bathhouse has a Japanese style lounge and indoor terrace seating area where you can snack on ice cream as well as full meals. We opted to try the seasonal strawberry ice cream with fresh strawberries grown locally in the village.

Shioji no Yu 　Hot Springs

Address	3487-2 Narahara, Ueno, Tano District, Gunma 370-1617
TEL	+81 274-59-3955
Hours	Wed – Mon: 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM (last entry 7:30) Tues: Closed *When Tuesday is a public holiday, the facility will be open on that Tuesday and then closed the next day. *Irregular closures during winter. *Hours may have changed due to COVID-19.
Price	Adults (12 – 69) ￥600 Children (3 – 11) ￥400 Seniors (70+) ￥500
Website	https://www.shiojinoyu.com/

After relaxing at Shioji for a bit, we got back on the bikes and headed back to the visitors center. Don’t forget to return bike keys, helmet, gloves, and anything else to the front desk.

Kawa No Eki Riverside Visitors Center －Mori no Taiken-kan (activity center)

Address	310-1 Narahara, Ueno, Tano District, Gunma 370-1617
TEL	+81 274-20-7070
Hours	9:00 AM -5:00 PM Closed on Tuesdays

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