Satoyama Kitchen Diary

In Japan, farming regions near the foot of mountains are called "satoyama." One such picturesque area is in Hida Takayama, Gifu Prefecture. It's home to a family-run guesthouse nicknamed "Satoyama Kitchen." Preparing meals using local ingredients is Kogawa Nobuko. Filming her is her husband Makoto, a veteran cameraman. Together, they take us on a culinary journey through the seasons featuring traditional recipes unique to the region. On the menu this time: a spring feast of wild edibles.

Join chef Kogawa Nobuko and her husband Makoto as they take us on a culinary journey through the seasons featuring traditional recipes unique to the mountainous region of Hida Takayama in Gifu Prefecture. When summer comes to mountainous Hida Takayama, the difference in night and day temperatures give birth to tasty vegetables, and the limpid streams gorged with melted mountain snow become home to Sweetfish and rainbow trout. Plenty of ingredients for the Kogawas to prepare the region's summertime culinary marvels that are known to be both delicious and invigorating. One key element of those recipes is actually a byproduct of sake brewing. Ready your chopsticks and join us to find out more!

Autumn has come to Hida Takayama, and once again, the Kogawas explore the region's tasty traditions. After whipping up "sobagaki," a simple yet hard-to-make buckwheat dish, they prepare a feast with seasonal ingredients such as chestnuts, jujube, venison and a local favorite - perilla seeds. The seeds have been on the decline due to a decrease in farmers growing them, but a friend of the Kogawas' is working to bring them back in the culinary culture. Tune in for a delicious autumnal experience!

Cold wintery weather in Hida Takayama makes up about a third of the whole year. The region's culinary traditions have created a variety of pickles to get through the snowy season. It's in fact the cold that helps vegetables such as turnips, radishes, cucumbers and cabbages ferment into delicious and crunchy pickles. With the help of local experts, the Kogawas prepare all sorts of tasty dishes that highlight the amazing creativity behind Hida Takayama pickles. Wait, is that your stomach growling?

Spring is back in Hida Takayama, and the Kogawas prepare to greet the vernal season with, you guessed it, tasty dishes from the region's traditional cuisine. Spring brings lots of wild edibles, and chef Nobuko enlists the aid of experts to gather some of them, including medicinal herbs and bamboo shoots. Then, after everyone gives Kei a hand with his rice field, it's time for a feast with the Kogawas. Add some mochi rice cake and a Noh performance, and you've got the perfect spring celebration!

Adding to the usual hot and humid weather, heavy rains made this summer a particularly tiring one in Hida. But chef Kogawa Nobuko knows just the right ingredient to help overcome the sluggishness of the estival season - sansho, or Japanese pepper. With sansho from Mr. Okada, a local farmer specializing in Japanese pepper, as well as vegetables by Tom, a Swiss native who settled down in Hida and grows produce somewhat uncommon in Japan, Nobuko prepares a delicious feast to beat the summer heat!

Autumn is here in Hida, Gifu Prefecture, and once again the Kogawas and friends have lots of delicious surprises in store. First, some honey produced by the family's bees and some oats grown by Kei and Tom. Then, after many trials, tribulations and even injury, Kei was finally able to harvest his rice. And what better way to savor it than to cook it with tasty wild mushrooms picked by Nobuko? There's enough rice left for some sushi, too. Join us for a flavorfully fun feast of the fall season!