Matsumoto has a rich history of mingei, traditional Japanese crafts. The Matsumoto Hotel Kagetsu celebrates the mingei philosophy. The hotel opened in Meiji 20 (130 years ago). The older part of the hotel has rooms with some Matsumoto folk craft furniture. This part of Nagano is known for its hot springs waters and the hotel has…
Tag: Nagano
Fried Chicken in Matsumoto
Fried chicken at Shizuka near Matsumoto Castle. Sanzokuyaki 山賊焼 fried chicken is a local specialty in Matsumoto, Nagano. I love fried chicken and this one was crispy and juicy. Shizuka is an izakaya traditional Japanese pub. In the evening nihonshu flows and there is a long list of saké-friendly small bites like basashi horse sashimi,…
Matsumoto Kissa Senzu Wagashi
Kissa Senzu serves modern and traditional wagashi sweets inside of the historic Kaiundo confectionary shop, opened in 1884 in Matsumoto. Monaka, a crispy wafer is served with a flight of three types of red beans (smooth, chunky, and whole). A fun way to compare the textures. Dorayaki of two small pancakes stuffed with sweet anko…
Metoba Soba in Matsumoto
Metoba is a soba shop on the Metoba river that flows through Matsumoto in Nagano. Nagano is famous for its harvest of buckwheat grains for soba. I asked if there were any local dishes we could try and was recommended the soba pancake called soba usuyaki (literally thin and grilled). A bit thinner than Western-style…
Matsumoto cohiludo Oyaki
We are visiting Matsumoto in Nagano for winter holidays. One of our first stops was at the charming cohiludo café. It is on the main street leading to Matsumoto Castle from the station. Oyaki are stuffed dumplings, a local dish from Nagano prefecture. My favorite is the Nozawana, a mustard green leaf – also a…
Nagano Gotta Eat – Oyaki
While traveling in Japan it is essential to try the local cuisine. Nagano is famous for soba, Nozawana (a pickled leafy green), basashi (horse sashimi), some insect dishes like inago (grasshoppers) and hachinoko (bee larva), and my favorite oyaki. Oyaki are stuffed dumplings. The dough can be made from flour or buckwheat. It is stuffed with a…
Nagato Cheese – Nagano
There are a handful of Japanese cheese producers that I am a big fan of and one of them is Nagato from Nagano. It’s on the top of the mountains, the air is clean and crisp and there are cows. For this Minnesota girl, it was like visiting a friend’s home growing up, but with…
Marutaka Miso – Suwa, Nagano
In Suwa, Nagano we came across this lovely Marutaka Miso shop. The shop celebrates its 100th anniversary for making miso since 1916. The area is famous for Shinshu miso, made from soybeans and rice. There is also a kome kōji miso, made with extra kōji (aspergillus oryzae) that is aged for a longer time resulting…
Nunohan Ryokan – Suwa, Nagano
When deciding where to stay while traveling in Japan there are many considerations for type of stay. When we can, we try to stay at local ryokan inns with onsen hot springs. Nunohan was put on my radar by a friend who lives in Suwa, Nagano. We loved it. The ryokan is kid-friendly, had lovely cuisine,…
Tomiya Soba in Suwa, Nagano
While in Suwa in Nagano we happened upon this local soba-ya near Suwa station. The noren (curtain outside the shop) that said teuchi (handmade) soba caught our eye. Nagano is famous for growing soba buckwheat so we try and eat as much soba as we can while in Nagano. During our visit in spring there is…
Nagano Masumi Brewery
We love Nagano. It’s just north of Tokyo, easy to access by train, and here you’ll find delicious food and great sake. Suwa is a city that is accessible from Tokyo by train, about two hours from Tokyo on the express train, Azusa. Not the shinkansen, but it passes many stations along the way. Here…
Tsuruya Supermarket in Nagano
We love visiting local supermarkets when we travel. Tsuruya is a chain of supermarkets in Nagano that has been on our Go List since it was featured on a television program. It has a strong private brand (PB) program that is very popular with their customers. These items on this blogpost are all PB products…
Nagano Ohmachi No no Hana Soba 長野大町 手打ちそば 野の花
No no Hana in Ohmachi is a quiet soba shop where the master makes the noodles from scratch. It is far from the station so a taxi would be needed if you don’t have a car. Here is the kamo seiro, soba with a duck and leek dipping sauce. The menu (Japanese only) was quite extensive and…
Planting a Vineyard in Nagano
My first work in the wine world was at Coco Farm and Winery, just north of Tokyo. I had left New York City a year after 9/11. Coco Farm and Winery is an amazing home to students with developmental disabilities and autism. My new home was the perfect transition out of New York City. The…
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
I have always been fascinated with the snow canyons of the Kita Alps (North Alps) between Nagano and Toyama prefectures, also near Gifu. We were in Ohmachi, Nagano to help a friend plant a vineyard for wine so jumped at the chance to visit the famous Alpine Route. The snow canyons only open to the public…
2015 FoodEx
FoodEx Japan started today and runs through Friday. It is held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba. A few highlights included tasting through Finland’s Kyro Distillery’s portfolio. I had never tried a single malt rye whisky that had not been aged in a barrel yet, the Juuri. Lacking the tannins from the barrel it was brighter…
Food Sake Tokyo 