MATSUKAWAKAN on Meat, Rice and Dashi
Milky Queen, Fermented Dashi, and Our Care for the Gibier of Takayama Village

Why the food at MATSUKAWAKAN comes down to meat, rice and dashi

The food at MATSUKAWAKAN is not there to astonish you with showmanship. We are exacting about the ingredients themselves, and we make flavours that sink gently into the body. That is how we think about food here.

Three things stand for that: meat, rice and dashi. Here is the background to each of them, one at a time.

What the land of Takayama Village makes possible

• Fresh gibier (wild game) comes to us directly from hunters up in the mountains
• The land is rich in spring water, so a rare rice can be grown here
• A culture of fermentation and of miso runs deep, so dashi can be made in a way particular to Shinshu

Meat — fresh gibier delivered by the hunters of Takayama Village

Venison, boar and bear, delivered by the hunters of Takayama Village. From the catch through bleeding and ageing, we use only the animals the hunters themselves are satisfied with.

With the Meat Kaiseki Grilled at the Irori Hearth, one serving only, you grill it with your own hands over the hearth in front of you. The time spent grilling is itself the memory you take home.

Rice — Milky Queen, a rare variety raised on spring water

A variety called Milky Queen, raised on spring water close to MATSUKAWAKAN. A rare rice known to those who know, with a springy texture and a natural sweetness.

Freshly cooked, a single bowl — in the kaiseki course at the hearth, or in the zosui rice porridge the next morning — lets you taste the gift of this land’s water just as it is.

Dashi — a fermented dashi born from our own umeboshi

A dashi of our own, built on MATSUKAWAKAN’s umeboshi with fermented foods and Shinshu miso added. It is the heart of our toji kaiseki, which uses no artificial seasonings at all.

This fermented dashi does not end with dinner. The stock from the night before goes into the next morning’s zosui. Nothing is wasted; the flavour carries through the night.

Two dinner plans, and a morning zosui made with the fermented dashi

• Meat Kaiseki Grilled at the Irori Hearth, one serving only: a hands-on kaiseki you grill yourself over the hearth in front of you, with premium beef and local gibier (venison, boar and bear)
• Kaiseki of Fermented Dashi and the Season’s Bounty: a kaiseki with no artificial seasonings, built on the fermented dashi from our own umeboshi together with local mushrooms and vegetables
• Breakfast: “Breakfast at a Toji Retreat”: a zosui rice porridge of Shinshu mushrooms, made with the previous night’s fermented dashi

Dinner is your choice of these two. Both come from the same axis — meat, rice and dashi — and take it in different directions.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Access

• Address: 3507-1 Yamada Onsen, Takayama Village, Kamitakai District, Nagano, Japan
• Getting here: a shuttle bus runs from Nagano Station (about 40 minutes; reservation required in advance)
• Parking: free, on site
• Check-in: from 15:00 / Check-out: 10:00

Full access details here

In summary: meat, rice and dashi — serious precisely because it is simple

No showmanship; just facing the ingredients themselves. The gibier the hunters of Takayama Village bring us, the rice the spring water raises, the fermented dashi born from umeboshi.

Each of these, stacked one on another, makes the food at MATSUKAWAKAN. Gather round the fire of the irori hearth, and taste it for yourself.