Visit HYOGO

We are 11 students studying tourism in the Ichio Seminar at Kobe Kaisei College. This time, we visited Tamba-Sasayama to research the region’s resources and revitalization.

Our first stop was Shirokaragofun, which is known for its bread made from homemade natural yeast. 

The entrance curtain in front of the shop is shaped like slices of bread, and the shop itself sells hand-made hair ties and magnets with miniature bread designs, made from real bread, as well as plates and chopstick rests in the shape of loaves of bread. We enjoyed just walking in and being soothed by the scent of the bread. Their kuromame bread, packed with kuromame (black soy beans) harvested in Tamba-Sasayama, is very popular. It was really delicious, with a chewy texture.

The Taisho Romankan, which uses the building of the former Sasayama Town Hall (built in 1923), has a retro exterior, evoking the ambiance of the Taisho period (1912–1926). Inside is a restaurant and shop. The restaurant mainly serves Western-style dishes made from local ingredients, but you can also enjoy Japanese dishes here.

The fried rice in the omurice (fried rice topped with an omelet) contains kuromame! The shop sells Japanese and Western-style confections made with specialty products from Tamba-Sasayama and souvenirs. There’s a tourism information center right in front of the Taisho Romankan, so you can also pick up information about Tamba-Sasayama.

We’re normally pressed for time, spending our days busy with school and work. Have you ever felt that you’d like to take a breather during such days?

This is a space where we were able to forget the time.

This was originally an eatery serving Japanese cuisine, built at the end of the Edo period (1603–1868). Now, it is a cafe that makes use of the 150-year-old traditional folk house with as few changes as possible. The inside is more than just the cafe—it also sells everyday goods and handicrafts made in Kyoto, Sasayama, and the San'in area.

We enjoyed some shaved ice in the wooden-floored cafe.

It was really refreshing to spend some timeless moments in this cafe, which faces a courtyard garden, and feel the breezes drifting through.