Naruko

Naruko (鳴子) is a small town in Miyagi, Japan.

Culture and History

Nestled in the mountainous backbone of Tohoku, Naruko is located entirely within the Kurikoma Quasi-National Park. Haiku poet Matsuo Basho passed through the area on the trip that became his masterwork Narrow Road to the Deep North.

Travel to Naruko - Visa Requirements

By train

Naruko is accessible by train on the JR East Rikū-Tōsen Line, some 40 minutes from Furukawa, an interchange station with the Tohoku Shinkansen line.

Buses to Naruko

Direct shuttle buses to Sendai and its airport run several times a day for a cost of around ¥1500.

By car

National Highways 47 and 108 also pass through the area.

Tours and Getting around Naruko

Naruko is small enough to cover on foot, although there are also intermittent bus and train services. Geta, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, are popular among visitors and can even be rented from the train station. The local proverb geta mo naruko explains why: the literal meaning is "geta are also noisemakers", a reference both to the meaning of the town name (a naruko is a castanet-like clapper, originally designed to scare away birds) and the clip-clapping sound produced by walking on geta.

Naruko tourist attractions and sightseeing

The volcanically active area is famous for the Naruko Hot Spring Villages (鳴子温泉郷), a cluster of 5 villages — Naruko, East Naruko, Takayamadaira, Kawatabi and Onikōbe — with abundant onsen hot springs. The reputed curative properties of the springs make them especially popular with people in ill health.

• Taki no Yu (滝の湯), in central Naruko up the hill from the train station, is a traditional old wooden bathhouse with waters blended from two springs, one milky white, the other clear. Open from 7:30 AM to 10 PM daily; entry ¥150.

Many of the hotels in the area also offer entry to their baths during the daytime for a reasonable fee, usually around ¥500.

Naruko city tours

• The Naruko Gorge (鳴子峡) is a steep 2.5-km-long ravine famous especially for its fall colors in October/November. The gorge is 20 minutes on foot from Naruko station.

• Several ski resorts operate in the winter, especially around the hot spring resort of Onikōbe.

Naruko souvenirs and shopping

Naruko is one among many places to claim to have originated the kokeshi, a cylindrical wooden doll emblematic of Tohoku. The Japan Kokeshi Museum is located in Naruko, and some 80 craftsmen work full-time at the art today.

Naruko Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

Most guests eat breakfast and dinner at their lodgings, but there are a number of simple eateries in town.

• Sobadokoro Kobana (そば処小花) is a basic noodle joint, locally well known for its trademark free-range chicken namban (southern barbarian) style. Basic bowls start around ¥300 but the chicken version costs twice that.

Naruko cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

Budget

Mid range

• Ryokan Onuma (tel. 0229-83-3052) stands out from the crowd by offering no less than eight (8) separate baths to sample, one of them outside and many of them reservable for you and yours alone. Full board costs up ¥ 13,800 per person, but the cheapest long-term stays with no meals go as low as ¥3,745 per day.

Splurge

Get out

This page was last edited by Jani Patokallio. Based on work by Wikitravel user(s) WindHorse and Nzpcmad and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license