It's been three years since the owner chef had buried Shiitake fungi in oak and chestnut log on the premise of SAKANA but we couldn't get any Shiitake mushroom for two year then we've almost forgotten. When we looked into the place to see …

It's been too warm this winter, no snow that made tourists dissapointed. We thought on the other hand, Spring may come earlier and went to find the sign of Spring. There it is! The first sing of Spring 'Fuki no tou' (Butterbur sprouts) was…

Samilar to Salmom, Sakura-masu swin up a river from the sea to spawn in Spring when cherry blossoms bloom. So we call this fish Sakura-masu (cherry trout). Marinated in Yuan sause (Sweet soy). Yuan grilled Sakura-masu This brining fillets …

The Hoba (Magnolia）leaf has a bactericidal effect so that local people used this leaf to pack their lunch in old days. The flavor of fresh green leave transfers to the rice ball. Dead leaf is used Hoba-miso grill. The leaf is relatively f…

The bamboo shoots cooked in delicate dashi-soup. Lightly blanched and then cooled down for peeling off the skin. Beautiful fresh green appears. Stewed in dashi-soup with fresh Japanese pepper leaves. Another way of cooking is just simply g…

Chishima bamboo is very popular spring food of local folks, and .....bears. Crawling in the ocean of bamboo is tough exercise. Our rucksack became awfully heavy filled with the bamboo shoots. Hope our hard work will be paid off by the gues…

This miniature palm trees look-like vegetable called Momiji-kasa (maple leaf umbrella). People say it's queen of wild-veg. Udo is very popluar and farmed ones are sold in the market, but wild ones have much stronger flavour. The texture is…

Rainbow trouts grown in spring water stream. Juicy fatty fillet. Brining the fillets with herbs and spices. Curing the fillets. Smoked with oak chips. Voila! by Kay

We climed up 1 kilo meters up in a mountian to get wild wasabi flower and ostrich fern sprouts. The snow still remains here and there. Pretty white flowers were blooming along the river. Young wasabi leaves has a slight sweetness and refre…

Tara-no-me （Aralia elata） Koshiabura（Acanthopanax sciadophylloides） Kogomi（Ostrich fern shoot) Spring shoots and buds are sprouting everywhere. We go out the fields and mountains to pick them for the menu. Wild garlic Wild vegetables …

River fish have become active, fat and delicious in the water of melted snow. Salted grill is simply good, and also it can take good stock from charr (Iwana). Plenty of wild vegetable and Iwana hot-pot is one of our speciality from Spring …

Freshly caught river fish (char) cooked with Namban style. (deep fried and soaked in vinegar sauce) A good size of wild char has caught by the owner chef. Super fresh. Early spring vegetables Marinade with vinegar and vegetables. by Kay

I remember that strawberry is one of Summer fruits in Britain. But in Japan, strawberry is on the market in Winter to early Spring. Strawberry and cream mixture will be frozen for pacojet to make the texture more smooth. Simple but full of…

There is no dietary habit of eating seaweeds in western countires, so it may sound weired for most of them that Japanese people enjoy various 'sea vegetables'. But nowadays, many western people knows that 'Nori' and 'Kombu' are essential f…

Shansho pepper is the species of szechuan pepper that we harvest them while it's young and green in Japan. It will be used for various cooking, giving nice spicy kick for your palette. Removing the peppercorn from the branch is time consum…

A fun part of camping is open air cooking. We brought some food and drinks from our home and procure some stuff from natural resource. We made Hoba wrapped Hida-beef steak. Adding a little twist of natural flavour made big difference, even…

As hot weather is crawling up, we had to climbed up even higher to higher altitude point to pick up wild veg. This will be the last chance in this season. Wild bracken shoot Wild garlic has grown up and the flower are about to bloom. Naruk…

Hoba is a kind of magnolia leaf and the dried brown leaf is well known for Hoba-miso grill. Young green leaf is often used for wrapping food such as sushi. We warp rice ball with wild-veg and miso. When you open the wrap, the fragrance of …

You can buy tunnel cultivated white Udo from supermarket, but wild Udo has much stronger flavour and harsh to the taste. You need to rinse them well before you cook them. Skin of the stalk also become good delicacie. by Kay

Itadori (Japanese knotweed) has got strong acidity, but if you prepare it carefully, it will turn into delicious dishes. Peel the skin off and soak in the water. Stewed in tomato sauce Sauteed and stewed in sweet soy. One of the orthodox m…

This lovely couple from Italy chose Omakase course that designed to enjoy best seasonal ingredients of Hida - Wild Vegs at this time of the year. Starting with numbers of small delicacies as usual, and Hoba miso grill to finish the course.…

Many eadible plants are found along the clear stream in the mountains. Itadori (Japanese knotweed) good for stew, tempura Udo (English name not known). One of popular Spring vegetable, but truly wild Udo has much stronger fragrance and har…

We went into deep in a mountain for more wild plants. Wild wasabi flower was blooming along the clear stream of water. The master said that Spring is not the best season for wasabi roots. Winter is the best season for wasabi that has rich …

Having peak season of wild veg, we put these on our Omakase-tasting menu. (subject to availability of stock) Appetizer - various spring plants delicacies Tempura - five to six different kind of Spring plants, Koshiabura is the most popular…

We went to wild plants picking to the fields and mountains. Koshiabura-shoot Warabi (bracken) shoots Kogomi (fern) shoots We love these soft shoots and sprouts flavours and textures in different way of cooking. Eating these wild vegs, just…

SAKANA's spring salad is made of various wild greens freshly picked up by us. (ingredients are subject to change, depends on what we can get from the fields and mountains) We serve this with Ume-dressing. The fresh sourness of the dressing…

Spring has arrived in many parts of Japan and people are enjoying OHANA-MI (cherry blossom watch) , but in Takayama Spring arrive later than those area. Snow still remains at high altitudes. Spring is crawling up slowly in Takayama. FUKI n…

Fuki-no-tou Shoots of Oonarukoyuri These wild vegetables were sprounting up within SAKANA's premis. Amazing!! Picking young and soft shoots for cooking. Tempura of Spring Veg has distinguished flavour and texture. More and more shoots and …

A bunch of amuse bouche, I call them. The top picture was taken last Spring, the peak season of the wild plants's shoots and buds. The second picture is taken just yesterday, mixture of Winter and beginning of Spring. These are just exampl…