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El Village Okawachi エル・ビレッジおおかわち is a countryside recreational facility in Kamikawa, central Hyogo Prefecture. It is run by KEPCO (Kansai Electric Power Corporation) near their hydraulic power plant and Hase Dam.

There is a playground plenty of wooden kids toys housed in cute little outdoor log houses outside the main building. Therer is also a greenhouse and flower center to the rigt of the main building. Inside the main hall is the “Timberland” exhibition space where you can enjoy a cute display of music, lights and moving objects. There is also another kids play space and small library.

The restaurant is affordable and tasty serving basic Japanese meals like udon, yakisoba, pork cutlets and more. Their most popular dish is the “Dam Curry” for 900 yen. You can also just crab a coffee and/or cake set.

El Village Okawachi is nestled in nature and is a pleasant spot to stop at when passing through or to visit for a day trip with younger kids.

There are quite a lot of stairs to climb from the carpark so it isn’t accessibility friendly. Best accessed by car, the drive takes about 90 minutes from central Kobe. 3km from Hase Station makes it possible to hike there too.