Nagano Prefecture · Kanto
道の駅 風穴の里
A stop on Route 158 at the gateway to Kamikochi and Norikura. Take a break with a natural refrigerator called a fuketsu, 100% buckwheat soba, and sanzoku-yaki fried chicken.
Illustrative image — not an on-site photograph
Records are saved in this browser. Visited stations receive a stamp and count towards your nationwide progress.
Eat, shop, play, take in the view or rest. Choose from the station’s strengths to suit your day.
The official site lists Sobano Hana restaurant as open 9:30–16:00 (last order). It closes earlier than the shops, so plan around the restaurant hours if you want a meal.
The official site lists the shops as open 9:00–17:00. Selection changes with the season and deliveries.
Takeaway drinks are available too. Wild vegetables are also sold in season.
Matsumoto City lists hours of 9:00–17:00. It closes in winter.
The official site lists Fuketsu no Sato's shops as open 9:00–17:00 and Sobano Hana restaurant as open 9:30–16:00 (last order). If you want 100% buckwheat soba or sanzoku-yaki, plan around the restaurant's earlier cutoff. Eat first, browse seasonal wild vegetables and mushrooms at the farm shop, then choose pickled Inekoki-na or fuketsu-aged miso to take home. Even a short stop en route to Kamikochi or Norikura can take in several tastes of Azumi. Matsumoto City also notes extended summer shop hours, so check before departure if you will pass through late.
Homemade 100% buckwheat mori soba, Matsumoto-style sanzoku-yaki fried chicken, Shinshu-style sauce katsudon (pork cutlet rice bowl), Midono Dam curry, and seasonal tempura soba.
Pickled Inekoki-na greens, fuketsu-aged miso, egoma castella cake, egoma manju sweets, sweet-simmered flower beans, Shinshu 80% buckwheat soba, and egoma dressing.
The visitor fuketsu, where pickled Inekoki-na, miso, and local sake are stored (closed in winter).
Michi-no-Eki Fuketsu no Sato is a roadside station in the Inekoki area of Azumi, on Route 158 from central Matsumoto toward Kamikochi, Norikura Kogen, and Shirahone Onsen. The fuketsu that gives the station its name is a natural refrigerator: air circulates through a stone structure as temperatures and air pressure differ inside and outside, keeping it cool even in midsummer. At the visitor fuketsu, you can see pickled Inekoki-na greens, miso, and Matsumoto sake in storage. The farm shop offers wild vegetables in spring, vegetables and watermelons in summer, and mushrooms and apples in autumn. Sobano Hana restaurant serves homemade juwari soba, noodles made entirely from buckwheat, and Matsumoto's sanzoku-yaki fried chicken. The official site lists the shops as open 9:00–17:00 and the restaurant as 9:30–16:00 (last order); the restaurant closes one hour earlier. Parking and toilets are available 24 hours.
Matsumoto City's official tourism site places the station about 35 minutes from Matsumoto IC. It sits on Route 158 toward Kamikochi, Norikura Kogen, Shirahone Onsen, and farther on toward Hida Takayama. The official station site lists parking for 32 standard vehicles and 8 large vehicles; parking and toilets are available 24 hours. It is a convenient place to pause before or after the mountain drive.
A fuketsu is a stone-lined cold store where differences in temperature and air pressure circulate air, keeping it cool even in midsummer. According to the official site, people in the Inekoki area have used these stores to mature pickles and other preserved household foods for over 300 years; they were also once used for sericulture. At the visitor fuketsu, you can see pickled Inekoki-na greens, fuketsu-aged miso, and Matsumoto sake in storage. It closes in winter.
The shop carries pickled Inekoki-na, certified as a Traditional Vegetable of Shinshu; miso aged in a fuketsu for about six months; egoma castella cake and dressing made with perilla seed from Matsumoto's Nagawa area; and sweet-simmered locally grown flower beans. An official site notice says in-store sales of the fuketsu-stored sakes Alps Masamune Junmai and Sasa no Homare Junmai Ginjo began in December 2025.
Spend your time at the station or add somewhere nearby. These ideas help you plan around your companions and the weather.
About 35 minutes from Matsumoto IC, this is a substantial rest stop before the mountains. Browse seasonal produce, have a quick bite at the outdoor stand, and use the toilets before continuing.
Route 158 → parking → toilets → farm shop and outdoor stand → back to the car
The official site lists shop opening at 9:00. If you pass through early, only the parking and toilets are available.
At Sobano Hana, you can have homemade 100% buckwheat mori soba, sanzoku-yaki fried chicken, or Shinshu-style sauce katsudon. After eating, pick up Inekoki-na pickles or fuketsu-aged miso at the shop to combine lunch and souvenir shopping in one stop.
Parking → Sobano Hana restaurant → farm shop → souvenir shop
The official site lists the restaurant's last order at 16:00 and shop closing at 17:00. If your return from Kamikochi may run late, plan your meal first.
At the visitor fuketsu, see pickled Inekoki-na, fuketsu-aged miso, and Matsumoto sake in storage. Close to the parking area, you can experience how this natural cold store stays cool even in midsummer and learn about a mountain community's food preservation practice used for over 300 years.
Parking → visitor fuketsu → shop for fuketsu-stored products
Matsumoto City lists fuketsu viewing hours as 9:00–17:00, with winter closure. The taiko bridge is also closed in winter.
Matsumoto City notes extended opening hours in summer.
100% buckwheat mori soba, sanzoku-yaki, and more. Its last order is one hour before shop closing.
Hours according to Matsumoto City. Closed in winter.
The official site says these are available 24 hours. Some facilities are unavailable outside business hours.
The official site lists a child diaper-changing table and a baby seat in the toilets open during business hours. Outside business hours, it lists only a baby seat.
The official site says parking and toilets are available 24 hours. For out-of-hours toilets, it lists 10 men's fixtures, 14 women's fixtures, and 1 multipurpose toilet.
Matsumoto City says the visitor fuketsu closes in winter. For a winter family stop, plan around the shops and restaurant instead.
Permanent spaces and dated events are listed separately. Events can change both the atmosphere and crowds; use the official links for details.
Checking event dates.
The main offerings change through the year: wild vegetables in spring, vegetables and watermelons in summer, mushrooms and apples in autumn, and Inekoki-na in mid-November.
Homemade 100% buckwheat soba and Matsumoto-style sanzoku-yaki are the main draws. The official site lists 9:30–16:00 (last order), earlier than shop closing.
Soft serve, takeaway drinks, steamed pork buns, and oyaki stuffed buns are offered. Wild vegetables are also sold in season.
See pickled Inekoki-na, fuketsu-aged miso, and Matsumoto sake in storage. Closed in winter.
Try rustic weaving with plant-dyed yarn, with sessions starting at about 30 minutes.
Opening and closure days, individual businesses and facilities for children or dogs can affect your plans.
Specialities, places to eat, sweets and bakeries can all give you a reason to stop. Check individual menus for current prices and availability.
A meal, a sweet treat, market shopping or something to take away: choose a focus for the day instead of trying everything at once.
Homemade 100% buckwheat soba is the mainstay at Sobano Hana. Matsumoto's sanzoku-yaki is a whole piece of chicken marinated in a house sauce seasoned with garlic and ginger, then fried.
The official site lists restaurant hours of 9:30–16:00 (last order). An arrival outside lunch hours may be too late for a meal.
The outdoor stand and terrace also work for a short break out of the car.
The selection changes with the season.
The farm shop's main offerings change with the seasons. The official site names fuki-no-to (butterbur buds), warabi (bracken shoots), kogomi (fiddleheads), tara-no-me (angelica shoots), and koshiabura among the wild vegetables, and matsutake, shimeji, and hanaiguchi among the mushrooms.
Mountain produce arrives in varying quantities, so an early visit may offer more choice. The official site says Inekoki-na arrives only in mid-November.
Pickles and miso aged in the fuketsu, plus foods made with local egoma and flower beans, make distinctive souvenirs from this station. Many keep well and are convenient to buy before heading into the mountains.
For pickles and other products requiring refrigeration, consider how long it will take to get home.
If the map does not load, open it in Google Maps
A stop on Route 158 at the gateway to Kamikochi and Norikura. Take a break with a natural refrigerator called a fuketsu, 100% buckwheat soba, and sanzoku-yaki fried chicken.
Send your travel companions a possible stop.
