Close Out the Summer in Kawasaki Town — Michinoku Park, Tohoku's Only National Government Park

Summer is winding down. For one last outing, we'd suggest Michinoku Kohan National Government Park in Kawasaki Town — spread along the shore of Lake Kamafusa at the foot of the Zao mountains, it is the only national government park in the Tohoku region.

The grounds are vast, divided into three areas: South, North, and Satoyama. The South Area has wide lawns and large play structures where children can run themselves happily tired. The North Area is home to the "Forest Dog Run," a favourite with visitors travelling with dogs. The park stays open every day from the third Monday of July through August 31, so the final weekend of the summer holidays is covered.

As a traditional-farmhouse inn ourselves, the corner we most want to recommend is "Furusato Mura" (Hometown Village) in the South Area. Eight historic farmhouses — relocated and rebuilt from all six Tohoku prefectures: Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Miyagi, Yamagata and Fukushima — stand furnished as they once were lived in. Regular hands-on programmes include "Michinoku Minwa-gatari," folktales of the Tono district told beside an open hearth, plus konnyaku making, soba noodle making, and old-fashioned children's games. Tour the farmhouses of Tohoku by day, then sleep in one here in Kakuda by night — not a bad way to spend a day.

New this summer, the South Area's Ikoi-no-Mori woodland hosts "Dinosaur Adventure Tour — Great Dinosaur Park Michinoku," the event's first appearance in Tohoku. Twenty-four robotic dinosaurs and five skeleton dinosaurs are hidden along roughly 250 metres of forest trail, with a smartphone app for logging your finds and taking on quizzes. It runs through November 29, so an autumn stay works just as well.

The park is about a one-hour drive from MARUKI Saifuku, by way of Murata. After a full day outdoors, come back to Kakuda and settle into the old farmhouse. Check-in is from 3:00 PM, and the evening is yours to talk away without watching the clock.