Japanese Village Walking Tour - Ike
To understand Japan, nothing is better than learning about life in a typical rural village. Our tour of the village Ike (ee-kay) is designed to introduce you to the fundmentals of Japanese culture. See how members of the community worked together to survive in Izu’s rugged terrain by working in harmony with nature and each other.
We’ll tour the village rice fields, visit shrines of the mountain and water gods, walk through neighborhoods and get up close with the residents. We’ll visit a 500 year old temple and learn the local folktale that describes its history. We’ll visit the water tunnel dug by the residents to drain a large pond (Ike means ‘pond’ in Japanese) and provide farmland. We’ll learn the stories behind several roadside stone carvings along the way.
