Hiruzen Highlands

HiruzenJersey cattlehighlandyakisobacycling

Okayama · Maniwa

35.3099°N, 133.6268°E

Hiruzen is a plateau at 500 to 600 metres under three peaks in Okayama's far north, and it is where roughly a fifth of every Jersey cow in Japan lives. Around 2,000 of the national herd of about 10,000 graze here, which is why the whole area smells and tastes of dairy: soft-serve, yoghurt, cheese and milk sold at every stop, all from a breed kept for butterfat rather than volume.

The other local product is Hiruzen yakisoba, a fried noodle dish with chicken and cabbage in a miso-based sauce built on apple and other fruit, which won the national B-grade gourmet competition in 2011 and is now on every menu on the plateau. A long cycle path runs through the pasture, the roadside stations sell the dairy, and in winter the whole thing turns into a ski area.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Roads and cycle path open at all hours | Individual facilities set their own hours

Closed: Open year-round; several facilities close in winter

Entrance Fee

Free (roads, pasture views and roadside stations) | Bicycle rental, dairy and meals priced separately

Best Season

May–June for fresh pasture | Late October for autumn colour on the peaks | December–March for skiing

Visit Duration

Half day; a full day with the cycle path

Getting There

Access Information

Hiruzen area, Maniwa City, at about 500–600 m elevation. About 10 minutes by car from Hiruzen Interchange on the Yonago Expressway; about 1 hour from Okayama City. Free to drive and walk. The Hiruzen Kogen roadside station and the Fukiya no Sato facilities cluster along Prefectural Route 422, with individual restaurants, dairy shops and the cycling centre setting their own hours. Bicycle rental is available on the plateau cycle path.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Jersey milk is not ordinary milk.** Higher butterfat, yellower, and the soft-serve made from it is the reason people drive up. Any of the dairy outlets on the plateau will do; the differences between them are small. **Yakisoba here is miso and fruit, not sauce.** Chicken rather than pork, cabbage rather than sprouts, and a sweet miso base. It won the national B-grade competition in 2011 and every restaurant on the plateau makes a version. **The cycle path is 30 km and mostly flat.** It runs through pasture with the Hiruzen peaks on one side. Rental is available on the plateau and this is the best way to see the place. **Autumn colour on the three peaks in late October.** The plateau also holds early frost, and the pasture goes gold before anywhere lower. **Winter closes most of it and opens the ski runs.** Snow is heavy and several facilities shut. Check what is open before driving up between December and March. **Daisen is over the ridge.** Tottori's mountain is 40 minutes away and the Daisen-Hiruzen route is one of the better mountain drives in western Japan.

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