Explore rural Japan, and delve into the local cuisine

When you visit someone's house in the countryside, you will most certainly be welcomed with tea and some snacks. These teatime treats are different in every area and tell you a lot about the local food culture. Sweet or savory, they are made with local seasonal ingredients and are deeply rooted in history and traditions.

Follow us to a small rural village on the foothills of the Yatsugatake Mountains to find out what sort of delicacies are served together with tea in the Yamaura area. A cute local grannie will welcome you to her house and introduce the local gastronomy.

Every season is characterized by traditional farming tasks, such as preparing drying persimmons or pickled vegetables in autumn or making miso paste in winter. Our grannie will guide you through one of these fun activities so that you experience the season. Depending on what you make, you may be able to bring it back home as a souvenir (ex. hand-made miso paste, pickles, etc.)

After getting a taste of country life, it is time to start cooking. You will use genuine locally-grown ingredients and prepare a typical seasonal delicacy to go with your tea.
Perhaps you will cut summer vegetables into slices to decorate a colorful agar cake, or maybe you will mash some steaming rice to make rustic mochi to go with an edamame or perilla paste. There are plenty of unique and tasty recipes to choose from. Once everything is ready, sit at the table with the grannie and enjoy the fruit of your work while sipping some tea.

*An English-speaking guide will be with you all the time, so you can ask the locals any question that comes to your mind.