Iiyama City in Nagano Prefecture is a little less than two hours from Tokyo by Shinkansen (bullet train). Two sisters visiting Japan from Denmark recently went there on holiday to experience Iiyama City’s rural charms through a countryside stay.

They had many new experiences. For example, they tried on “yukata,” a casual Japanese traditional garment that can be worn as sleepwear, enjoyed a colorful array of appetizing sushi and “nimono,” a type of simmered dish, and explored snow domes called “kamakura.” They appear to have been very pleased with the trip.

Please watch the video found at the URL below. Rural areas all over Japan offer unique experiences that cannot be found in urban areas.
If you are interested, why not try a rural Japanese countryside stay?

http://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/rural_dev/rural_tour.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ndmOWZ8vrE&index=10&list=PLw6_zS5yL7A6zMR8hrz3xXar9kJ4dkpP4
(Link to a “maff_channel” video)