Now Shirakawa village presents the views of early summer. Young rice had neatly planted in the rice field. by Kay
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…
Pretty little flowers around the Lake Arimine
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…
Looking for the last of the last wild vegetable, we went camping at Toyama Pref's Lake Amemine. Leaving Takayama at 4 in the morning. The gate at the site opens at 6 am. As soon as we reached at the lake side, the master started to fishing…
Tiny flowers are blooming in the mountain. They seemed enjoying raindrops. by Kay
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 …
These ladies from Hong Kong enjoyed Irori couse at lunch time. Normally we accept Irori course for 4 to 8 people, but on that day we only had them at lunch time so that we could managed to serve Irori course for this group of three. Fish -…
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.…
We went to the mountain looking for more eadible plants. it was very sunny, summerly-day, and we found lots of good ones. Udo Yomogi (Japanese wormwood) Itadori Momiji-kasa It's not always easy to pick up wild plants as you may think..... …
White snow turned into green as getting wamer, the snow melting water is yet too cold to jump in. Mountains are covered with young and fresh greens.
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…
Spring has been spreading arms to Shirakawa Village. Many tourists come to explore Shirakawa village from everywhere. by Kay
This couple from Belgium enjoyed Hida-beef Shabu-shabu at the bar counter. We're pleased that they liked our Shabu-shabu course. If only they contacted us few days before, we could prepare Omakase course (tasting course) for them to find t…
The weeping cherry tree at SAKANA is showing off its beauty. Sakura-watch at bar counter can be enjoyed until next week (hopfully), some seats are still available. by Kay
This cheerful family came to SAKANA to celebrate birthday for one of their family member. After they enjoyed Hida beef steak course, they moved to the bar counter for more drinks. The cherry blossom just out side of the window was in full …
I saw cherry blossoms everywhere as I was walking in Takayama Town centre. by Kay
Late Spring has arrived at Takayama. Many kinds of trees started to bloom at SAKANA's premise. These photos were taken few days ago. Now the weeping cherry out side the window is in half bloom, will be full in few days. Common cherry has a…
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…
This elegant group from Australia had Shabu-shabu for dinner. This time they all had a go flipping the slice of the meat in the hotpot. I think they had a fun time with Shabu-shabu dinner! by Kay
This happy group from California tried to book SAKANA a day before but we were fully booked at that time. Thankfully they came back the next day and luckily we didn't have any other customer. They enjoyed this beautiful marble meat with Sh…
This loving husband wanted to book IRORI course to celebrate his wife's birthday. Normally, we only take reservation for IRORI course for 4 to 12 people, because the chef needs to look after the grill hearth all through the course however,…
This couple from London select Hida beef steak course. They said that they came to Takayama only to have beef!! We selected very good rump for them. A5 grade Hida beef is basically very rich in fat therefore the sirloin can be too rich in …
