How This Japanese Village Keeps its Mountain Traditions Alive (with less than 500 people)

What can a tiny mountain village in Japan teach us about living with the land? I spent a few days in Fukushima’s remote mountain village of Hinoemata, exploring how mountain life has shaped its food, culture, and traditions—from handmade soba and 280-year-old Kabuki to spending a night in a remote mountain hut.

🌺Oze National Park hiking guidelines: https://www.pref.fukushima.lg.jp/w4/o...
🌲Oze-Hinoemata Tourism Association Website (EN): https://www.oze-info.jp/en/
🛏️ Hinoemata Ryokan and Minshuku (JP only): https://www.oze-info.jp/stay_cat/ryokan/
⛰️Oze Mountain Lodge (JP only): https://www.oze-info.jp/stay_cat/moun...

🌿 In this video:
00:00 Hinoemata
01:15 Meet Yabuki-san
01:55 Hinoemata History
02:43 Soba culture
004:58 The 280-year-old Kabuki tradition
06:59 Hinoemata Kabuki Stage
07:45 Yamodo Ryori Mountain Cuisine
09:10 Minshuku Breakfast
10:20 Hiking into Oze National Park
12:41 Ozegahara Marsh
12:30 Why Oze has so many rules
14:48 Bento Lunch
15:40 Staying in a remote mountain hut
17:30 Mountain Hut Dinner
18:38 Life in Hinoemata

🙏 Thank you to the people of Hinoemata for sharing your village, food, and traditions with us!

📸And a special thanks to Benjamin Beechey for the beautiful thumbnail photo! @benjaminbeech — https://www.instagram.com/benjaminbee...