Hyogo in September.
 

This year`s late summer trip has been planned for Hyogo. My husband DESPERATELY wants to visit the remains of Takeda castle. :D

But, other than that, we have nothing planned. And a single trip to a castle does not make a whole 3~4 day trip. What else is there? We`ll obviously do some research between now and then, but if anyone has any interesting suggestions please toss them out. :)
Last year we went to Kurikara. The year before to Yoshinoyama. Before that to Nachikatsuura... And the year before that we camped in the mountains in Shiga. :D
It`s our "take summer vacation after summer is over" thing to do each year.

Your husband must be a real history buff. Go to Izushi 出石　for soba afterwards, it is quaint , a little touristy, like a small Kyoto. It is about 30 minutes north. See the clock tower and castle.
Not much around Takeda itself, but there is Tataragi art museum in Asago, 15 minutes south, and Ginzanko silver mine in Ikuno, 30 min. south.

You can do or watch paragliding, grass skiing at Kannabe Kogen about 50 minutes northwest. Lots of camping and cottages also. The Uemura Naomi museum is interesting. 天滝　falls in Oya is nice , but is a short hike. I recommend going to the sea, about 1.5hrs north. Kinosaki onsen is famous, Takeno snorkeling center(2hrs), where you can rent kayaks and swim if the jellyfish havent started yet. And drive the Sanin Coast road west to Kasumi(2.5hrs) it is dotted with beaches but you have to explore a little. Or drive east from Kinosaki, towards Kyoto pref. and go to Amanohashidate, highly recommended. It is about 2.5 hrs from Takeda. There's more stuff in the mountains if you are interested. とのみね　高原　 (1hr) south has a festival in Sept.

You are smart taking vacation after the crowds.

There are some nice spots on the Japan Sea side. Hyogo is my old stomping grounds, but I didn't spend a lot of time west of Kobe or north of Rokko

Thanks for the advice - I`ll look into some of those places. We probably won`t be heading to the sea on either side. Don`t want to mess with city stuff in the south, and relatives live along the northern coast not all that far away. Vacation for us is mountains. :)

Finding a good place to stay is the biggest pain right now.

tajima cottages


try the cottages if you're interested, they are way up there, cool nights

been to Soni Kougen in Mie Prefecture.. I know its not Hyogo but its still in Kansai.. You don't have to worry about a place to stay there, the facility that we stayed last time was huge, and very inexpensive .. and I love hiking and mountains that is why I love the place :D

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