[Hiroshima/Takehara City] [Meal and taxi included plan] Aki's Little Kyoto "Chozenji and History" Have a special time with beautiful temples and delicious vegetarian cuisine!

This is a half-day sightseeing course that visits the historic Chozenji Temple in Takehara City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Aki's Little Kyoto. This is a plan that includes a taxi meeting at Takehara Station. The tour runs every Tuesday and Wednesday. After arriving at Chozenji Temple grounds, you will be welcomed with a Nembutsu prayer and a welcome drink by the chief priest, and then tour the Ishiyama Battle Memorial Hall within the grounds with commentary from the chief priest. Here, the flag of the Ishiyama Battle Army and the list of those killed in battle at Fort Amagasaki during the Battle of Ishiyama are preserved. This flag was used during the ``Battle of Ishiyama'' (1570-1580), a battle between Oda Nobunaga and his followers at Honganji Temple.At the request of the third chief priest Enzai, his followers, mainly members of the Fujiwara clan, organized Kihata-gumi, and along with the Mori army, they formed the Kihata-gumi. After setting sail and going to support Ishiyama, we will enjoy copying sutras in a vault overlooking a Japanese garden with the motif of ``heart.'' Afterwards, enjoy copying sutras in front of a beautiful Japanese garden. Sutra copying is a form of meditation. Meditation time will be a time to heal your everyday stress. Please enjoy authentic Chozenji Buddhist cuisine along with the beautiful garden and furniture. This is a special cuisine and space that can only be enjoyed here. ~Flow of the day~ 10:00 Gather at JR Takehara Station. Move to Chozenji. Sutra copying experience and visit to the Ishiyama Battle Memorial Museum, guided lunch at 11:30 AM Shojin Kaiseki cuisine while looking at the magnificent folding screen and Japanese garden After this course, you will have free time. We recommend a free stroll through the Takehara Old Townscape Preservation District. Takehara City (Hiroshima Prefecture) Townscape Preservation District, known as the Japan Heritage ``Takehara Old Townscape Preservation District'' and ``Aki's Little Kyoto'', has been designated as one of the top 100 cityscapes, and was also designated as a Japan Heritage Site in 2019. Ta. Takehara is said to have first been cultivated as a manor land for Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto during the Heian period under the Private Property Law of Konta Eiten. During the Muromachi period, Mori Motonari's third son Takakage (who was adopted by the Kobayakawa family and became Takakage Kobayakawa) spent his childhood there. Takakage was one of the people who received the ``Three Arrows' teachings'' from Motonari and supported the Mori clan system. Later, in the late Edo period, it developed through salt fields and sake brewing, and it is said that it boasted an 80% share of Hiroshima prefecture's salt production at the time. There are three sake breweries: Taketsuru Sake Brewery, Fujii Sake Brewery, and Nakao Jozo. Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whiskey, known as the ``father of Japanese whisky,'' is from Takehara. Taketsuru Sake Brewery, Masataka's birthplace, still operates in the townscape preservation district to this day. Around this time when salt and sake were developing, Rai Sanyo, a Confucian scholar and author of ``Japanese Foreign History,'' which had a great influence on the patriots at the end of the Edo period, was active. The former home of Sanyo's grandfather, Kiyoshi Yoriyoshi, is located in the townscape preservation district. (Excerpt from the Japan Historical Travel Association) At the annual Takehara Longing Road, the town is beautifully illuminated with candlelight and bamboo lanterns set in the townscape preservation district. The atmosphere of the old house leaking through the lattice door is also very atmospheric, giving you the illusion of having traveled back in time.

Please come to JR Takehara Station. The person in charge will guide you.

Enjoy vegetarian cuisine made with seasonal local vegetables. You won't come across the elegant, beautiful and sophisticated cuisine of a women's club. This is a healthy and gentle dish that is very popular among people from overseas.

Takehara's old townscape preservation district, which has been a tourist destination since ancient times, has been certified as a Japanese heritage site. You can enjoy the townscape with traces of the Edo period at your own pace. Please let us know if you need a guide. Additional charges apply.