If you're raising children in Japan, then there's a good chance that, like me, you are raising city kids — children who are more comfortable in an urban setting than a rural one, whether it's in downtown Tokyo or suburban Kobe.

For me, bringing up children in an urban environment has been a mixed blessing. I remember swelling with pride when I saw how comfortable my brood was with metropolitan life, but then wincing every time that they recoiled from a fluttering moth as if it were a rabid bat. Sure, my kids can comfortably navigate the subway with ease, but how about a mountain trail? They may enjoy a wide variety of international cuisines, but do they really know where their lamb chops and cheese come from?

For those in Kansai and other areas further from Tokyo, the great outdoors can be a short ride away. Residents of the capital, however, have a longer haul past suburban sprawl to reach the countryside. One place that's well worth the ride is Mother Farm.