Experience life in the Yamaura, a nostalgic rural village area lying at 1,000m of elevation in the foothills of the Yatsugatake Mountains. Your base is a traditional century-old farmhouse, where you can lodge while you explore the area bite after bite.
The local food culture is in harmony with nature and embraces even the glacial winters when temperatures can drop to minus 15~20 degrees.
Meet the local producers and discover their unique frosty products such as kanten, frozen tofu, and frozen daikon. You can visit a kanten farm, make your own frozen tofu, and cook the recipes of tradition together with the cute village grannies.
Duration | 2 days 1 night |
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Price | From JPY 48,000/person |
Period | December~March |
Overall level | 1 (easy) |
Our staff will check you in and go through the details of your stay with you.
You can leave your baggage with us. We will bring it to you later when we come pick you up to accompany you to the farmhouse.
20 mins by bus
Visit Sennen Tofu, a family-run shop where the master keeps alive the century-old local tradition of frozen tofu.
What is frozen tofu? As the name suggests, it’s a preserved food made by laying slices of tofu outside so that they naturally freeze overnight. Local farmers came up with the idea for this ingenious local specialty while looking for a source of income during the long winter months. Before the time of freezers, this delicacy could only be tasted in winter, but nowadays, you can store it a little longer.
During this activity, you will have exclusive access to the master's workshop to see him at work. Then, in another room, you can make your own frozen tofu and enjoy a tasting of tofu-based dishes such as frozen tofu stew, okara salad, and soymilk agar cake.
5 min by car (transfer by Yamaura Stay staff)
Experience the region like a local by staying in a typical house of the Yamaura area.
Whether you spend the night in the intimate Hanato or the spacious Kiyomizu, you will be met by a polished space that retains the beauty of traditional architecture while offering all modern comforts. If you like architecture, you will find yourself busy checking out all the original features such as massive beams and pillars, decorative alcoves, original ceilings, etc.
When it comes to experiencing traditional food, we want you to learn from the very best- the local grannies. They will tell you all there is to know about the land and its climate and share the secrets of traditional dishes.
The activity begins with a short seasonal task to get a taste of the current season even before you start eating. In winter, you have the chance to experience making frozen daikon- another frosty local specialty.
After you have warmed up by trying out the farming task, it is time to cook. You will prepare 3~4 seasonal dishes using typical winter ingredients such as kanten, frozen tofu, and of course, frozen daikon.
If you feel like cooking, order one of our meal kits. We will prepare a selection of fresh ingredients gathered from farmers and producers in the area and deliver it to the farmhouse. Otherwise, you can have a delicious breakfast delivered by a nearby restaurant. Oh, and don't forget your frozen tofu! It should be ready by now.
10 min by car (transfer by Yamaura Stay staff)
To conclude your journey, pay a visit to a local farm to see how kanten is made.
Making kanten following the old methods means working at the cauldron during the night and then spend hours out in the cold during the day. It is tough work, but producers take tradition very seriously. And so, every winter for the last 200 years, they have laid out their kanten under the cold sky of Chino.
The owner of the farm will guide you through all the stages of production. You will see the enormous cauldron where they boil seaweed, observe how they cut the solidified jelly-like substance called "namaten," and then walk through the rows of kanten laid out under the sky. You can also help the farmers take out the wobbly bar of namaten and puncture them with a traditional spiky instrument called "chusha."
*This service comes with no obligations.
Your reservation will not be finalized until you give us confirmation.
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