Woodland golf in the hills of southern Fukushima

Yabuki Hills Golf Club, known until recently as Arrow Lake Country Club, sits in the gentle hills of Yabuki in southern Fukushima. Opened in 1991 to a design by Joe Tanaka, the 18-hole, par-72 layout stretches to 6,741 yards across roughly 96 hectares of natural woodland. Holes rise and fall over moderate slopes, framed by trees on both nines, and each hole has two greens, one bent and one korai. Riding carts make the round relaxed, and the club welcomes visitors with online booking, including solo players looking to join a group.

A quiet, tree-lined round in Fukushima's countryside, a short hop from the shinkansen corridor.

The appeal here is calm, uncrowded golf amid forest scenery that turns especially pretty in autumn. The course is about seven minutes from the Yabuki-Chuo interchange on the Abukuma Kogen Road and roughly ten minutes by car from JR Yabuki Station on the Tohoku Line, while Fukushima Airport is close by. Stay-and-play packages are offered with a hotel near Yabuki Station, making it easy to combine a round with exploring southern Fukushima, from the castle town of Shirakawa to the many hot-spring towns scattered through the prefecture. Note there is no driving range on site, so arrive ready to warm up on the putting green.