Shimoguri-no-sato
Shimoguri-no-sato is a solitary hamlet in the mountains in Kamimura village, Iida city, Nagano Prefecture, which has become one of the popular tourist destinations in Japan. A photo of the village taken by a drone showed impressive houses and fields that cling to the steep slope on the southeastern side of the mountain.
People grow local specialties such as Shimoguri potatoes and buckwheat on the well-drained soil on the slope of up to 38 degrees at approximately 800 to 1,000 kilometers above sea level. The village enjoys sunlight from early morning till evening. So people used to say, “don’t let you daughter get married to a man from Shimoguri-no-sato,” as she would have to work long hours on the fields if she dose.
After the name of the world famous Austrian state located in the western Alps, the village is nicknamed the “Japanese Tyrol.” Only in 2016, approximately 65,000 visitors came to the village to enjoy the overwhelming view of this virgin Japanese landscape.