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Hiraniwa Highland

Hiraniwawhite birchrenge-tsutsujiKujihighland

Iwate · Kuji

40.1122°N, 141.4920°E

Hiraniwa sits at eight hundred metres on the shoulder of Mt. Hiraniwa, on the boundary between Kuji and Kuzumaki, and it holds what is generally called the finest white birch stand in Japan — around 310,000 trees over roughly 370 hectares, with the road running four kilometres straight through the middle of them.

Driving it is the point. White trunks on both sides for four kilometres, changing completely between seasons: bare and snow-lit in winter, pale green in spring, and in early to mid June the understorey turns orange with renge-tsutsuji azaleas, which are the city flower of Kuji. There is a lodge with day bathing, a ski slope, a park golf course and a bullfighting ring where the highland's traditional bull matches are held.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Open access | Lodge and facilities keep their own hours

Closed: Open year-round

Entrance Fee

Free | Lodge day bathing and facilities charged separately

Best Season

Early–mid June for the azaleas | May for fresh green | Winter for snow among the birches

Visit Duration

60–90 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

Yamagata-cho, Kuji, on Route 281 at around 800 m elevation on the boundary with Kuzumaki. About 43 minutes by car from JR Kuji Station or about 60 minutes from Kunohe IC. Free to visit. The birch stand covers about 370 hectares with roughly 310,000 trees and runs about 4 km along both sides of the road. Renge-tsutsuji azaleas flower in early to mid June. The Hiraniwa Sanso lodge offers day bathing, and there is a ski slope, park golf course and a bullring used for the highland's bull matches.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Drive it slowly.** Four kilometres of birch on both sides of Route 281. There are pull-ins; the road itself has no shoulder to speak of. **Early to mid June for the azaleas.** Orange renge-tsutsuji under white trunks, and it is the flower of Kuji city. The window is short. **Winter is the other season.** Bare white trunks against snow, on a road that is kept open. It is a completely different landscape from the summer one. **The bull matches are traditional.** Hiraniwa has a bullring and holds tsuki-ushi matches, in which bulls push against each other and are separated — quite unlike Spanish bullfighting. Dates are announced locally. **Day bathing at the lodge.** Hiraniwa Sanso has a bath open to non-residents, which makes the highland a stop rather than a drive-through.

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