Soujoan: Foraged Wild-Plant Kaiseki in a Silk Farmhouse

The chef trained at Miyamaso, Kyoto's celebrated home of tsumikusa ryōri, cooking built on foraged wild plants. He brings that approach to the Nagano mountains, gathering wild vegetables and rare mushrooms himself and fishing ayu (sweetfish) from local rivers in summer. The meal is a fixed eight-course kaiseki served to only two or three tables. The room is a 160-year-old former silk-farming house with a striking household shrine and views of the garden.

Nearly every reviewer names the hassun, a platter of wild greens and mushrooms, as the high point of the meal. Sashimi comes with house-made kombu shōyu, a paste-like kelp soy sauce that replaces liquid soy. Guests also single out the smoked sawara (Spanish mackerel) with roasted quince. The clay-pot rice is cooked with bamboo shoot, ayu or kōtake mushroom depending on the season, and leftovers are pressed into onigiri for you to take home. The proprietress's warm service and the precise pacing of the courses are praised often.

Criticism is minor. Some find the seasoning too light, and two reviewers felt that the number of sea-fish dishes dilutes the mountain concept. One reviewer found a stray small fish bone, and another wished for a single standout dish.

Lunch and dinner each offer two set courses. Reviewers between 2022 and 2026 paid ¥6,600 or ¥8,800. Local sake ran about ¥800–1,000 per gō (180 ml), and a peach juice about ¥700. With drinks, expect roughly ¥10,000 per person at either lunch or dinner.

Reviewers consider it exceptional value. They repeatedly say comparable cooking would cost several times more in a city, and the generous portions leave guests full.

• Booking: reservation only, by phone (0268-67-3910). Tables go weeks to months ahead, and same-day bookings are not accepted. Walk-ins are not possible.
• Age: guests must be 12 or older and able to eat the adult course (portions can be adjusted).
• Getting there: it is 10 minutes by taxi from Shigeno Station on the Shinano Railway, and the taxi must be booked in advance. Komoro Station is 20 minutes away by taxi, which reviewers put at about ¥3,500 each way. Ueda Station is 35 minutes away. A car is effectively required, and the entrance is easy to drive past.
• Parking: 6 spaces.
• Payment: cash only. Credit cards, electronic money and QR payments are not accepted. There is no service charge.
• Dress code: shoes come off at the door and bare feet are not allowed, so bring socks.
• Seating: 10 seats in a tatami room. There are no private rooms, but the whole restaurant can be hired for up to 20 people.
• Smoking: non-smoking.
• Recognition: selected for Tabelog Japanese cuisine EAST "Tabelog 100" in 2023 and 2025.