A miniature garden of forest and ponds

The Ujo Course is the 18-hole, par-72 sister layout at Tojyonomori Country Club in Kato, inland Hyogo, opened in 1992 with its own Japanese-modern clubhouse a short distance from the club's Tojo and Okura courses. Measuring 6,512 yards, it is set among deep green woodland and clear ponds, and the club describes it as having the beauty of a miniature garden combined with a severity that demands real skill. It hosted the West Japan Pro Senior Tournament in 1994.

Beautiful enough to linger over, strict enough to demand every shot.

Ujo rewards strategy over power: greens with tiers and gullies in front, ponds and trees framing tee shots, and a layout that asks you to think on every hole. Caddies are available, and rental clubs and shoes can be arranged, though this is a members' club where guests generally play with or through a member. The surrounding Tojo district is famous as the home of Yamada Nishiki, Japan's most prized sake rice, so a visit pairs naturally with local brewery tastings and countryside dining. The course is reached by car via Yoshikawa IC on the Chugoku Expressway, roughly an hour from Osaka or Kobe.