Sakizuke (appetizer) Ryokuaoi, expressing hydrangeas

"Hoshinoya" offers overwhelmingly extraordinary experiences with unique themes at each facility. At "Japanese Cuisine Kasuke," the main dining restaurant of "Hoshinoya Karuizawa" in Nagano Prefecture, the brand's birthplace, the early summer limited "Yama no Kaiseki" menu will be offered from May 1 to June 30, 2026. "Yama no Kaiseki" is a cuisine featuring seasonal mountain and river delicacies nurtured by the rich climate of Shinshu. This menu offers char, abalone, refreshing white zuiqi (taro stems), and wild vegetables in season during early summer, prepared with Japanese culinary techniques. Early summer Karuizawa, when the fresh greenery is at its most beautiful. This is a blissful dining experience where you can savor its breath with your eyes, tongue, and aroma.

About the Seasonal Dinner "Yama no Kaiseki"

At "Japanese Cuisine Kasuke," the main dining restaurant of Hoshinoya Karuizawa, we offer "Yama no Kaiseki," a Japanese cuisine with a natural charm, using seasonal ingredients. The flavors of Shinshu include wild vegetables, highland vegetables, mushrooms, gibier, and river fish. At Japanese Cuisine Kasuke, with the desire to maximize the potential of local ingredients, we utilize cooking methods that bring out the original flavors of the ingredients, offering dishes that express the changing seasons of Karuizawa. Mountain ingredients sometimes play a leading role, sometimes a supporting role, and we value the harmony created by the "exquisite combination" with ingredients and seasonings.

【Introduction to the Early Summer Menu】

Sakizuke (Appetizer) Ryokuaoi

Sakizuke (appetizer) Ryokuaoi, expressing hydrangeas

This sakizuke features abalone, white zuiqi, and okra, which are in season in early summer. The abalone, steamed with sake and kelp, has a faint scent of the sea and a plump tenderness, which is complemented by the fresh, crisp texture of white zuiqi. Colorful kanten (agar-agar) infused with the purple of Gynura bicolor (Kinji-sou) is topped with grated jade-green okra, expressing hydrangeas wet with rain. It is a refreshing dish where the original flavors of the ingredients are enhanced by the refreshing aroma of Gynura bicolor and okra.

Kawari (Changed Dish) Rikka

Kawari (changed dish) Rikka, expressing an early summer mountain river

Char, known as the "Queen of the Stream," is lightly fried with kudzu starch, sealing in the rich flavor of its plump flesh within its crispy skin. The subtle bitterness of royal fern is paired with a rich, sesame-flavored tofu. Sweet simmered conger eel sushi, plumply prepared, has red vinegar sushi rice hidden within and is accented with the refreshing aroma of sansho berries. This colorful dish, with the yellow of pumpkin and small taro, the green of broad beans, and the red of simmered octopus, layers bitterness, sweetness, and umami, expressing the fresh mountain river of early summer.

Yakizakana (Grilled Dish) Hachijuhachiya

Yakizakana (grilled dish) Hachijuhachiya, reminiscent of the scent of early summer green breeze

Opening the bamboo basket lid reveals the breath of early summer. Fatty sea bass is grilled fragrantly with a special sauce of new tea and miso. When you taste it, the smoky aroma of charcoal and the fresh scent of new tea combine, leaving a refreshing aftertaste. For a palate cleanser, smooth-textured Junsai (water shield) is prepared as a light vinegared dish. This is a profound dish that seems to have captured the green breeze of early summer itself.

"Yama no Kaiseki" Overview

Period: May 1 to June 30, 2026

Price: 21,780 JPY per person (tax and service charge included, accommodation fee separate)

Reservation: Required

Accepted on the official website (https://hoshinoresorts.com/ja/hotels/hoshinoyakaruizawa/ )

Target: Guests staying at Hoshinoya Karuizawa

Note: Menu contents and ingredients may be partially changed depending on procurement status.

Hoshinoya Karuizawa Head Chef Junya Ikejiri

After training in Japanese cuisine at traditional Japanese restaurants and hotels in Kyoto and Osaka, he served as head chef at a long-established hot spring ryokan in Hyogo Prefecture from 2015. He joined Hoshino Resorts in 2023. He was involved in "Japanese Cuisine Kasuke," the main dining restaurant of Hoshinoya Karuizawa, and was appointed head chef in 2024. He constantly researches dishes that not only expand the potential of ingredients but also delicately weave in the local characteristics, seasonal transitions, and calendar.

Hoshinoya Karuizawa, Junya Ikejiri

Hoshinoya Karuizawa Main Dining "Japanese Cuisine Kasuke"

Japanese Cuisine Kasuke was designed to resemble a "riverbed" for guest seating, a "river" for the pathway, and a "mountain" for the granite wall on the other side. From the guest seats, you can overlook the terraced rice field garden spreading outside the large windows. The dining experience feels as if the dishes expressing the changing seasons, the space of Japanese Cuisine Kasuke, and the terraced rice field garden are all connected. Guests can relax and enjoy their meal in a spacious horigotatsu (sunken kotatsu) seating, stretching their legs while wearing their samue (stay-at-home wear).

Hoshinoya Karuizawa

Stay in a valley village. The detached guest rooms surround the waterside, and from the terrace, you can feel the changing seasons. It is a stay-type accommodation facility where you can enjoy a relaxing time in a rich natural environment facing the "Karuizawa Wild Bird Forest."

Location: Hoshino, Karuizawa-machi, Nagano 389-0194

Phone: 050-3134-8091 (Hoshinoya General Reservations)

Number of rooms: 77 rooms / Check-in: 15:00 / Check-out: 12:00

Price: From 170,000 JPY per night (per room, tax and service charge included, meals separate)

Access: Approx. 15 minutes by car from JR Karuizawa Station, approx. 40 minutes by car from Usui Karuizawa IC

Dedicated shuttle bus available from Shinano Railway Naka-Karuizawa Station

Opening date: July 20, 2005

URL: https://hoshinoresorts.com/ja/hotels/hoshinoyakaruizawa/

Hoshinoya

With the concept of "To the best seat of that moment," "Hoshinoya" offers overwhelmingly extraordinary experiences with unique themes at each facility. At each facility developed domestically and internationally, the local climate, history, and culture are delicately woven into the hospitality, allowing visitors to experience the best moments that can only be savored in that encountered season, freeing them from the flow of daily time. The brand will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2025, with "Hoshinoya Nara Kangoku" scheduled to open on June 25, 2026, and "Hoshinoya Asuka" in 2027.

URL: https://hoshinoresorts.com/ja/brands/hoshinoya/

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  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: News