Join cookbook author Emiko Davies in an exploration of centuries-old culinary traditions in the mountains of Nagano for 6 days, 5 nights

We will leave from Tokyo to Chino, Nagano, where we will be based for the following days. There, we will take in the beautiful hot springs and rural mountain villages of the area. We will cook with the locals, visit producers, learn about the fascinating process behind turning seaweed into kanten, and we will have hands-on experiences making our own tofu and miso. We will learn about the ancient Jomon culture of the area at the Togariishi Museum of Jomon Archaeology, including an outdoor Jomon food experience, and finally, we will also learn how to make soba dumplings. It will be a rich experience, but also relaxed. See below for the day to day itinerary.

Day 1
We will meet at Shinjuku Station and take the train (a 2-hour ride) to Chino, where we will head straight to a lovely cafe for a seasonal lunch. We will then take a walking tour of Sasahara village before we drive up the mountain to our ryokan for the night, the stunning Tateshina Shinyu Onsen, where we will be treated to hot springs (they also have private bathing facilities) and an exquisite dinner.

Day 2
This morning we will head to Sasahara village to cook with the local grannies. After lunch, we visit a Kanten producer and you will learn why this mountain landscape with its cold winters and fresh spring water is so suited to creating Kanten jelly from seaweed. We head back to our ryokan for a relaxing evening and dinner.

Day 3
We will check out of Tateshina Shinyu Onsen this morning and head to Sasahara to visit a tofu maker and make our very own fresh tofu together. We will then do a cooking class with Emiko, learning to make oyaki (fried dumplings), a speciality of Nagano. Tonight we will have a rural village homestay with locals, which includes dinner and breakfast (cooked with the host).

Day 4
After breakfast, our homestay hosts will take us to Kamosuya, where we will meet for a miso making experience (we will be able to take our miso home with us) around a bonfire. After lunch, we head to Yamaura Stay, a series of beautifully restored traditional Japanese farmhouses. We will have dinner catered to us that evening in our home away from home.

Day 5
After breakfast, we will visit the Togariishi Museum of Jomon Archaeology, where we will have a tour of the museum and then an outdoor Jomon food experience to better understand this hunter-gatherer culture of the ancient Japanese (14,000-300 BC). We then return to Yamaura Stay for a relaxing afternoon and dinner.

Day 6
After breakfast, we will drive to Katsuyama Soba for a soba dumpling workshop (buckwheat dumplings called soba gaki). These dumplings are made by adding water to the flour and quickly stirring over low heat, a beloved homestyle dish that allows you to fully enjoy the flavour of the buckwheat flour. After the workshop, we say goodbye to Nagano and return to Tokyo on the train.