- Experience
- Wakayama
Akizuno Garten
Stay at an old elementary school building while enjoying local cuisine and several experiences at a green tourism complex that aims at promoting exchange between the city and the rural area
Akizuno Garten is a facility housed in a refurbished site of the former Kamiakizu Elementary School. Within the courtyard are the farmers' restaurant that offers a slow food buffet, an accommodation facility, sweet-making workshop and the wooden elementary school building that serves as an activity center where visitors can experience local life and culture. You can also try picking mikan (mandarin oranges) and other fruits, as Kamiakizu produces citrus fruits throughout the year.
Farmers' Restaurant Mikan Batake
The restaurant offers a slow food lunch buffet with more than 30 different dishes every day. The basic concept of slow food is dining that combines ingredients and dishes all made by hand. Here, most of the dishes are cooked by local women using vegetables grown by the Garten Vegetable Club as well as locally sourced fresh ingredients. With a daily changing menu, every dish is made with health of the body and soul in mind. The large window of the restaurant provides a nice view of the elementary school building. When the weather is nice, you can also enjoy lunch in the pleasant breeze on the restaurant's patio.
Sweet-making workshop Valencia-Batake
Akizuno has a long history in the production of mikan mandarins and oranges. Because of the rare warm weather where mikan grows year-round, guests can also enjoy making sweets using fresh mikan and oranges throughout the year. Feast on the seasonal handmade sweets at the cafe, which are also perfect for a souvenir. It is also recommended to participate in hands-on sweet-making workshops. There are several courses with different time ranges from which you can choose according to your schedule.
Experience Akizuno lifestyle and communicate with local people
In Akizuno, where several varieties of citrus fruits such as Ponkan, Hassaku and Amanatsu grow, you can experience citrus fruit picking nearly all year round. In addition, the area offers various agricultural experiences such as picking and juice-making of Kishu-Nanko ume plums as well as harvesting seasonal vegetables grown at Garten's farms. You can also enjoy making handicraft items such as dyeing textiles using mikan and plum trees as well as dried mikan by following hands-on instruction from local farmers.
An old school building that evokes a sense of nostalgia
The former wooden school building constructed in 1953, which was planned to be torn down, was refurbished to the minimum extent necessary and converted into a hands-on workshop and archive rooms that boast a nostalgic and warm atmosphere. The old classrooms now serve as a social space for multi-purpose use such as gatherings and exchanges. The building also comes equipped with Wi-Fi, providing an environment for business use.
Location
| Name | Akizuno Garten |
|---|---|
| Website | https://www.agarten.jp/eindex.html |
| Address | 4558-8 Kamiakizu, Tanabe-shi, Wakayama |
| Access | Approximately 15 minutes' bus ride from JR Kii-Tanabe Station Approximately 15 minutes' drive from the Nanki-Tanabe IC on the Hanwa Expressway |
| Inquiries | TEL: 0739-35-1199 (Akizuno Garten) |