Information
Name of Host Company/ Yamaguchi Sawmill
Name of Host/ Kazuhiro Yamaguchi
Schedule/ 10:00 Lecture about Forests and Trees → 10:30 Sawmill Tour → 10:40 Sawmill Work Experience → 11:30 Woodworking Experience(Wooden Magnet, Sunoko Duckboard) → 12:30 Program Conclusion
Duration/ 2.5 hours
Dates/ Weekends
Meeting Time/ 9:55
Meeting Place/ Yamaguchi Sawmill
Address/ 1016-1 Kukihara Joyomachi, Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture 834-1103Google map
Access/ By car: 25 min from Hirokawa IC or Yame IC By bus: take the Horikawa Bus Hoshino Line from Yame Fukushima, and after about 30 minutes alight at the Hanzawa bus stop and walk two minutes
Minimum Number of Participants/ 2 (two or more adults)
Maximum Number of Participants/ 8
Age Restrictions/ 6
Price [Adult (tax included)]/ 4,000 yen (tax and insurance fee included)
Price [Child (tax included)(age range for child rates)]/ 1500 yen (tax and insurance fee included)
* Elementary school students and younger who participate at the children’s rate will work together with an adult to create a single object during the woodworking experience.
Languages/ Japanese (supplementary English text materials can be provided upon request)
Application Deadline/ 17:00, three days prior to the tour date
Included in the Tour Price/ Experience fee, tour fee, material fee (wood), and gloves
Things to Bring/ Drinks, towel
* Depending on the nature of the work participants experience on the tour, there may be a chance that you will get a little wet. Please bring a change of clothes if you are concerned.
Attire/ Please wear comfortable clothes and shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty.
Accessibility/ Not wheelchair and/or baby stroller accessible
Remarks and Special Notes/
・Although many safety precautions have been put in place, please keep an eye on younger guests during the experience as the workshop is a dangerous place with large machinery and lumber.
・Please note that if you come by bus, there is only about one bus every hour.
・If you would like to participate as only one adult and one child, you can do so by paying the fee for two adults.
・Please note that program contents may vary depending on the season and weather conditions.
Cancellation Policy/
20 to 8 days before the tour start date: 20% of the tour fee
7 to 2 days before the tour start date: 30% of the tour fee
Day preceding the tour start date: 40% of the tour fee
Before departure on the tour start date: 50% of the tour fee
After the start of tour or no-show: 100% of the tour fee
Travel Agency/ Fukuoka Prefectural Governor Travel Agency Registration #3-772 FM Yame
16. Experience The Work of a Forest Sawmill
Learn from Those That Live Alongside Yame Cedar
Located in the rich forests of Oku-Yame, Yamaguchi Sawmill produces lumber for construction. Through hands-on experiences and interactive quizzes, enjoy learning about Japan’s forests, lumber, and the work of Mr. and Mrs. Yamaguchi’s sawmill — which also focuses on education about Japan’s trees.
After a lecture about forests and trees, tour the sawmill normally closed to the general public where the Yamaguchis use a large saw to cut thick logs into boards. You can even touch the freshly cut wood yourself.
After the tour, try your hand at sawmill jobs such as mimisuri, which literally translates to “cutting the ears,” a task where a machine is used to cut the remaining bark off both ends of a wooden board. This tour is packed with novel experiences for both adults and children alike.
Through the woodworking workshop, adults and children can work together to create their own wooden creation under the guidance of the Yamaguchis, using handsaws, hammers, sandpaper, and other tools. This is a program perfect for making memories between parents and children, as well as for children’s summer vacation crafts and independent study.