A wellness trip to connect with nature. Making medicinal tea at Aobayama Herbal Village - 「青々吉日　TSURUGA　WAKASA」周遊キャンペーン公式サイト

Tsuruga Station, about 1 hour by expressway. At the foot of Mt. Aobayama is the Aobayama Health and Longevity Village "Herbal Village. Aobayama, where visitors can reevaluate their mental and physical health through activities and food. Visitors can enjoy making medicinal herbal teas and excellent medicinal curries. Why don't you take a deep breath and become familiar with herbs in the midst of nature?

We spoke to ......

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画像テキスト: Fumikazu Matsumiya, Director, Aobayama Research Institute
テキスト: While working as a representative employee of M&N LLC to deal with damage caused by wild boars, deer, bears, and other animals, he has also been involved in the cultivation of medicinal herbs as part of the promotion of local agriculture, where the population is aging, and assumed the position of director in February 2023. He also has experience as a school teacher.

An overwhelming sense of freedom! A place where you can be healthy from inside and out.

Aobayama straddles Takahama-cho, Oi-gun, Fukui Prefecture and Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture, and has been selected as one of the 100 most famous mountains in the Kansai region. Aobayama is a freestanding peak with an elevation of 693 meters. When viewed from the beach on the Fukui Prefecture side over the sea, the beautiful symmetrical conical shape of the mountain is called "Wakasa Fuji.

Aobayama has been revered since ancient times as a mysterious mountain where the gods reside, and is dotted with power spots. Aobayama Herbal Village is located at the entrance to the trail on the Takahama Town side of Mt.

Making the most of "herbs", a blessing of Aobayama

There used to be an educational facility here called "Youth Travel Village" that accepted students and children on school trips. Why did it become "Herbal Village" in Aobayama Health and Longevity Village?

Aobayama and found that 373 kinds of useful plants, which can be used as raw materials for herbal medicines, are growing wild. This led to the reopening of Aobayama Health and Longevity Village "Herbal Village" in 2016, taking advantage of the environment around Aobayama, which is suitable for growing medicinal herbs.(Matsumiya)

The concept is "overall health," including the promotion of health through herbs, "to be healthy from the inside and the outside.

Try making your own favorite medicinal tea!

At the Visitor Center of Aobayama Health and Longevity Village "Herbal Village," visitors can experience making medicinal tea according to their own physical condition and preferences. There are three types of medicinal teas to choose from: "beauty," "health," and "pressure. Mr. Higashi, a member of the Community Development Cooperation Volunteers, showed us how to make them.

Beauty: for those concerned about beautiful skin and detoxification
Health: For those concerned about lifestyle-related diseases
Pressure: For those concerned about blood pressure

The medicinal tea chosen this time was "beauty"!

In the "beauty" category, six kinds of herbs are used: dokudami, kawaraketsumei, shiso, wolfberry leaf, astragalus membranaceus, and ebisugusa. Ebisugusa and Astragalus are the base herbs to make the taste easier to take. Shiso also has an effect of toning the stomach.(Azuma)

When ground with a yagen (a Japanese tea kettle), a nice aroma emerges.

On the table stand a yagen (herb grinder) and a yagen-guruma (a wheel for grinding medicinal herbs). First, the seeds are put into the yagen, and then the yagen wheel is used to grind the seeds.

Move the Yakken wheel to the left side, then to the right side, and so on, to match the curve of the Yakken wheel, and it will work well.(Azuma)

Next is the Ebisu grass. For the grass, the grind is good to the extent that it scratches the leaves in order to extract the ingredients. Each time it is ground, a nice aroma rises up.

In the hands-on class, four of the six types are already ground. After all the ingredients are mixed, they are placed in two tea bags, and finally placed inside a large piece of YAKUPOSHI. Yakuho-shi is literally a paper used to wrap medicines. The students are taught how to fold it in a special way that prevents the contents from spilling out and at the same time makes it easy to open quickly.

--What did you think of the experience of making medicinal tea?

It went by in a blink of an eye, 30 minutes! I had to grind it hard to crush it, and sometimes the seeds would pop out of the herb kernel (laughs). As I was grinding the tea, I was enveloped in the soft aroma of herbs, so I am looking forward to taking it home and drinking it!

You can sign up for the medicinal tea making experience on the spot, but sometimes the person explaining the process is not available. Inquiring in advance is recommended.

Enjoy medicinal herbal tea in a sunny café

Aobayama Kenko Choujyu-no Sato "Herbal Village" is built with an abundance of wood in order to "harmonize with nature. The café is warm and inviting, with sunlight streaming in through the large windows. Relaxing in a space away from the hustle and bustle of the city will relieve the fatigue of driving.

The café offers five types of medicinal herbal teas: "beauty," "health," "pressure," "liver," and "anti. In addition, medicinal curries and herbal pancakes are also available.

After eating medicinal curry, you will feel warm from the inside out.

Based on green curry, the Yakuzen Curry is a combination of five kinds of herbs and spices produced in Takahama Town, including Yamato Toki, Mishima Saiko, and Shiso. The curry has a deep flavor, yet is easy to eat, and the spiciness comes on slowly.

The root of Yamato-touki is said to have medicinal properties for women's ailments. The above-ground leaves and stems are used in the yakuzen curry. Mishima Saiko is said to improve liver function and skin.

I think my body might be starting to feel a little flabby!"

Various herbs grow in Takahama Town, which has both the sea and mountains.

--The environment of Takahama-cho is suitable for growing various herbs, and I hear that various forms of community revitalization are being promoted using this as a catalyst.

Our first priority was to cultivate useful plants and create an industry for herbal medicines by using the roots, which are highly effective and can be used as raw materials for pharmaceutical products.

We will process locally grown raw materials and ship them in a stable manner. In the process, even if it cannot be used as an herbal medicine, the effective part of the herb can be used as a secondary product, and used to make medicinal tea and medicinal curry, as in the "Herbal Village" at Aobayama Kenko Chouju no Sato (Healthy Longevity Village).

Furthermore, we thought that if we could contribute to tourism, the region would become more active. We have the option ability to collaborate with other fields, development potential, and high expectations from the people around us.

We also undertake "shuji," or the washing and drying of harvested products before wholesaling them to herbal medicine wholesalers, to help create local jobs.（Matsumiya)

--I am told that even though the survey of Mt. Aoba revealed that useful plants were growing naturally there, it did not immediately lead to industry.

Different types of plants grow in different environments. The climate in Takahama-cho is basically suitable for growing medicinal herbs, but some of them prefer humid mountain soil, while others grow better in sandy soil near the sea.

The Aoba-Sanroku Research Institute, in cooperation with Takahama Town, repeated trial cultivation, but it took years to find out. After many failures, a cultivation method was finally established in about 2020, and we have been cultivating mainly medicinal herbs that are suited to the geographical conditions.

Takahama-cho has both ocean and mountains, so we can cultivate a wide variety of medicinal herbs. This is our strength. We are planning to increase the number of growers by manualizing and databasing these cultivation methods.(Matsumiya)

Indoor and outdoor enthusiasts can find their own way to enjoy themselves.

Aobayama Health and Longevity Village "Herbal Village" is not only a facility specializing in herbs. The lawn square hosts a variety of events, including music concerts, a marché of local producers, qigong, and more.

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Day camping, barbecues, and tent camping are available at the camp site. Restrooms are available, as well as an evacuation area in case of stormy weather, making it safe for beginners to camp.

What is important to us is to become a place that is loved by local people. I hope that many people will continue to visit Aobayama Herbal Village as a lively place where people of all ages and both sexes can get together.(Matsumiya)

Aobayama, Takahama Town is also close to the sea, so visitors can enjoy both the mountains and the sea in a single day. Aobayama over the ocean is also spectacular. Why not take a trip to enjoy herbs and nature while looking at the health of your mind and body?

Address	2-4 Nakayama, Takahama-cho, Oi-gun, Fukui
Business hours	10:00-17:00
Closed	Wednesdays
Number of parking spaces	44 cars (parking is available from 8:30 a.m.)
Access	40 min. walk from Aogo Station on JR Obama Line 25 min. drive from Oi Takahama IC on Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway
Fee	Making medicinal tea 1,000 yen
For inquiries, please contact	Aobayama Health and Longevity Village "Herbal Village Herbal Village, Aobayama Health and Longevity Village TEL: 0770-50-9012 FAX: 0770-50-9013
URL	https://www.instagram.com/aobayama_herbalvillage/