HOSHINOYA Karuizawa Launches Summer-Only "Yama no Kaiseki" Menu Featuring Summer Deer and Shinshu Yukimasu

A refreshing appetizer featuring physalis as a vessel, evoking summer iconography.

HOSHINOYA, known for its creative themes and extraordinary experiences, announces that its flagship property in Nagano Prefecture, HOSHINOYA Karuizawa, will offer a summer-limited "Yama no Kaiseki" menu from July 1 to August 31, 2026, at the main dining room "Japanese Cuisine Kasuke." This menu highlights the seasonal bounty of Shinshu's mountains and rivers, including summer deer and Shinshu Yukimasu trout, delivering a culinary experience that embodies the coolness of the summer resort.

About the Seasonal Evening Meal "Yama no Kaiseki"

At Japanese Cuisine Kasuke, HOSHINOYA Karuizawa's main dining room, guests can savor "Yama no Kaiseki," a Japanese cuisine that celebrates the season's ingredients with natural elegance. Shinshu's flavors include wild mountain vegetables, highland vegetables, mushrooms, game, and river fish. The restaurant strives to maximize the potential of local ingredients, using cooking methods that enhance their natural umami, and expresses the changing seasons of Karuizawa. Mountain ingredients sometimes take center stage, sometimes play supporting roles, emphasizing the harmony created by the subtle combination of ingredients and seasonings.

Introduction to the Early Summer Menu

Appetizer: Mid-summer

A collection of seasonal ingredients on one plate, using physalis as a vessel to showcase the bounty of mountains, rivers, and sea. The abalone, at its thickest and most flavorful this season, is served with sudachi citrus for a refreshing taste. Additionally, duck breast with apricot sauce, vibrant prawns, and Shinshu Yukimasu sushi wrapped in bamboo leaf fragrance adorn the plate. This dish layers colors, aromas, and seasonal flavors, expressing the natural beauty of Karuizawa in high summer.

Grilled Dish: Sweetfish

A deeply flavorful grilled dish featuring sweetfish cooked over charcoal. Known as "kōgyo," the sweetfish boasts a refreshing melon-like aroma and rich umami. Each fish is carefully grilled over charcoal until the head is crispy and the flesh is fluffy, locking in the fish's natural flavor. The accompanying mangoji chili pepper adds a subtle sweetness and green aroma that enhances the sweetfish's taste. This dish evokes the clear streams of Shinshu and calls forth the coolness of summer.

Chilled Bowl: Crimson Summer

A chilled bowl combining roasted summer deer with maru eggplant, a traditional Shinshu vegetable. The rich, moist flavor of fatty summer deer, the bittersweetness of sweet long peppers, and the delicate texture of green onions create depth. A chilled sauce made from deer broth coats the ingredients, offering a nourishing dish that soothes the body tired from the heat. This dish condenses the cool climate of Karuizawa and the blessings of the mountains, reflecting a Shinshu summer.

Overview of "Yama no Kaiseki"

Period: July 1 – August 31, 2026

Price: ¥21,780 per person (tax and service charge included, accommodation not included)

Reservation: Required, accepted via official website (https://hoshinoresorts.com/ja/hotels/hoshinoyakaruizawa/)

Eligibility: Guests staying at HOSHINOYA Karuizawa

Notes: Menu contents and ingredients may change depending on availability.

HOSHINOYA Karuizawa Chef: Junya Ikejiri

After training at Kyoto and Osaka ryotei and hotels, Chef Junya Ikejiri served as head chef at a long-established hot spring inn in Hyogo Prefecture from 2015. He joined Hoshino Resorts in 2023 and became involved with HOSHINOYA Karuizawa's main dining room "Japanese Cuisine Kasuke," assuming the role of head chef in 2024. He continuously researches dishes that not only expand the potential of ingredients but also delicately incorporate the region, seasonal changes, and the calendar.

HOSHINOYA Karuizawa – Junya Ikejiri

HOSHINOYA Karuizawa Main Dining Room "Japanese Cuisine Kasuke"

Japanese Cuisine Kasuke is designed with seating conceived as a "riverbed," the corridor as a "river," and a granite wall as a "mountain." Guests can enjoy views of a terraced rice field garden through large windows. The dishes expressing seasonal changes, the space of Kasuke, and the garden all merge into a dining experience. With spacious sunken kotatsu seating, guests can relax in their samue (lounge wear) and enjoy a meal without formality.

Interior view of the main dining room "Japanese Cuisine Kasuke"

HOSHINOYA Karuizawa

Stay in a valley village. The detached guest rooms encircle the water's edge, and from the terrace, guests can feel the changing seasons. Situated in a rich natural environment facing the "Karuizawa Wild Bird Forest," this accommodation offers a relaxing stay.

HOSHINOYA Karuizawa – facility overview

Address: 〒389-0194 Nagano Prefecture, Karuizawa Town, Hoshino

Phone: 050-3134-8091 (HOSHINOYA central reservations)

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

Rate: From ¥170,000 per night (per room, tax and service charge included, meals not included)

Access: Approximately 15 minutes by car from JR Karuizawa Station, approximately 40 minutes by car from Usui Karuizawa IC. Complimentary shuttle bus from Shinano Railway Naka-Karuizawa Station.

Opened: July 20, 2005

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

HOSHINOYA

Under the concept "To your special seat in that moment," HOSHINOYA offers extraordinary experiences with unique themes at each property. Properties in Japan and abroad delicately weave local climate, history, and culture into hospitality, allowing guests to escape the flow of everyday life and enjoy the best moments of the season. In 2025, the brand celebrates its 20th anniversary, opening HOSHINOYA Nara Prison in June 2026, utilizing a nationally important cultural property, and planning to open HOSHINOYA Asuka in 2027.