Experience the best of Nasu-machi

Nasu lies on the southern flank of the Nasu volcanic group in northern Tochigi Prefecture, a cool upland of grassy slopes, birch woods and farmland that rises to the active volcano Mount Chausu. Nasu Yumoto, the old hot-spring village near the foot of the mountain, is said to have been welcoming bathers for more than a thousand years, and its public bath has milky sulphur water.

Beside the village, Sesshoseki, the Killing Stone, is a barren field of steaming rock where volcanic gas keeps plants from growing, and a legend tells of a nine-tailed fox that turned to stone there. A ropeway climbs Mount Chausu for views over the highlands. Nikko, with its shrines and lakes, lies to the south-west across the mountains.

Nasu is known for milk, cheese and soft ice cream from the cattle that graze its highland pastures, and farm shops sell them beside the roads. Cool summers have long made it a refuge from Tokyo's heat, autumn colours the slopes in October, and winter brings snow to the ski runs.