Over the years, we’ve had many encouraging comments about the food we serve. Ranging from “nice ‘home cooking’” (yes, it is our home!) to “better than some Michelin-starred restaurants in New York”! For not knowing what you'll be eating until the moment, our guests are certainly open to adventure.
I am not a professional chef, and rarely cooked while I was a single woman in Tokyo. Rather, because I was a tour leader when I was young, and otherwise enjoy travel and food, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to taste various things – from casual food stands to high-end restaurants all over Japan.
So, I thought about what kind of food we could serve our guests – something unique and hard to find in the US, and most importantly something I feel passionate about! I decided to create our menus based on 3 distinct influences:
1. Local/Regional Cuisine
There are lots of unique local dishes which have never been introduced in the US. Some dishes surprise me because of ingredients or flavors I never thought about. One example is “gane” – a tempura dish with sweet potato, carrot and Japanese chive from Kyushu (the southern-most of Japan's main islands). I was born and raised in Tokyo and never thought Japanese chive would be used as an ingredient for tempura, but actually it is well-suited! It is so fun to discover these local variations.
2. Japanese Vegan Cuisine
I am not vegan, but I know there are many people in the US who choose this diet. So, I started searching and trying to incorporate dishes based on Japanese Buddhist cuisine (shōjin ryori). Then, I realized it is a profound philosophy and approach to cooking, and sought opportunities to learn more. Glenn and I took a cooking lesson at a temple in Tokyo (www.sankouin.com/en/), and also traveled to stay at an accommodation in Yamagata prefecture managed by a Shinto shrine, which has its own unique take on vegan cuisine.
3. Edo-era cooking
The Edo era (when the capital moved to what is now Tokyo) started in 1603 and lasted until 1868. The food culture bloomed especially during the latter half. Soy sauce was finally available to common people, and was incorporated into many recipes during this time. Tofu Hyakuchin (100 'fun things' to do with tofu) was published in 1782 and became a best seller all over Japan. I was intrigued by one particular recipe – Shiki Miso – it is a kind of flavored miso with ground sesame, chopped walnuts and wasabi. I never thought miso and wasabi would go together, but it worked! Also I realized the sense of taste among people in the Edo period was pretty sophisticated.
