Cheese Travel in Japan

Where the Cheese Is

Japan has more than 370 small cheese workshops, from Hokkaido to Kyushu, and the best are well worth a detour. Hokkaido is the centre, and the place to see cheese made and buy it at the farm gate. Tokyo has the specialist shops and the big festivals, and there are smaller dairy areas in Tochigi, Hyogo and Miyagi.

Tokachi, Hokkaido

The Tokachi plain around Obihiro is Japan's cheese heartland, with more than a dozen makers in the local cheese council. Meiji runs a free cheese factory tour in Memuro, Kyodogakusha in Shintoku won the 2026 Japan Cheese Awards grand prix, and farm shops at Nakasatsunai, Shimizu, Makubetsu and Ikeda make a full day's loop. See the Tokachi cheese route.

Furano and Niseko

The Furano Cheese Factory is free to visit all year, with windows onto the make room and short butter and mascarpone classes. Near the ski fields, Niseko Cheese Kobo has a shop and café selling its own cheese.

Nasu, Tochigi

Nasu, a little over an hour from Tokyo by shinkansen, is Honshu's leading dairy area. Small makers such as Ima Bokujo and Cheese Kobo Nasu no Mori sell from their own shops; see cheese in Nasu.

Kobe and the Rest of Honshu

Above Kobe, Rokko Mountain Pasture makes its Kobe Cheese camembert in a factory you can watch from a corridor. Yuge Farm in Kobe's Kita ward has a cheese restaurant, and Zao Heartland in Miyagi runs cottage cheese classes.

Tokyo

For buying and tasting, Tokyo's cheese shops include Fermier, with cheese flown in weekly from Europe, and Cheese Stand in Shibuya, which makes mozzarella and burrata at the back of the shop. The capital also hosts Cheese Festa each November, WA! CHEESE FES for Japanese-made cheese, and the Hokkaido Ji-Cheese Haku each February.

When to Go

Hokkaido farm visits are best from May to October. Many places close or cut back for winter: Hanabatake Bokujo and Happiness Dairy shut from November, Cheese Kobo NEEDS closes from December to February, and Kyodogakusha's café closes from December to mid-April. The Furano Cheese Factory stays open all year with shorter winter hours. The festival calendar runs Hokkaido Ji-Cheese Haku in mid-February, Cheese Town NASU in May (first held in 2026), WA! CHEESE FES in October in Japan Cheese Awards years, and Cheese Festa around Cheese Day on 11 November.

Suggested Routes

Tokachi in Two Days

Fly into Tokachi-Obihiro or take the limited express from Sapporo to Obihiro, and hire a car. Day one: the 10:00 Meiji tour in Memuro (weekdays, booked), then west to Shintoku for Kyodogakusha's Mintal shop and on to Shimizu for Kisara Farm's goat cheese. Day two: south to Nakasatsunai for Tokachino Fromage and Hanabatake Bokujo's raclette, and back through Obihiro, where the Toteppo Kobo shop stocks about 50 Tokachi cheeses.

Tokyo and Nasu

In Tokyo, Fermier in Atago and Cheese Stand in Shibuya make an easy cheese afternoon; time a November trip for Cheese Festa in Ebisu. For a day trip, take the Tohoku Shinkansen to Nasushiobara, then drive or taxi to the Nasu Kogen makers. Most close one day a week, so check before you go.

Getting Around

In Hokkaido you need a car. The Tokachi makers are spread across farmland with little public transport, and Furano is a taxi or bicycle ride from its station. Tokyo's shops and festivals are all near stations. Rokko Mountain Pasture is reached by the Rokko Cable car and a bus on top.

More Cheese Stops