Cool highland golf in the Misugi hills

Misugi Kogen Golf Club & Lodge sits about 600 metres up in the green highlands of Misugi, in the city of Tsu, Mie Prefecture. Opened in April 1988 to a design by Shunsuke Kato, the 18-hole, par-72 course stretches to 6,606 yards from the back tees and rolls across hilly, wooded terrain, with the altitude keeping summer rounds noticeably cooler than on the coast below.

A mountain retreat where you can play, sleep and play again.

What sets Misugi apart is its own lodge: 19 rooms for up to 60 guests, with stay-and-play packages that bundle a night, breakfast and lunch, and optional dinners of local Matsusaka chicken or beef shabu-shabu and sukiyaki. It makes a relaxed base for a golf trip into rural Mie, where the forested Misugi area is known for its clear rivers and quiet mountain villages, and the great shrines of Ise and the castle town of Matsusaka are within a drive. A driving range lets you warm up before heading out, and the course is best reached by car.