Ryokan Sanga

This is my first visit since February this year. This time I stayed for two nights. Instead of arranging dishes all at once, you can serve one dish at a time according to the progress of your meal. It is designed to taste in the best temperature and condition. Ryokan Yamakawa's cuisine is "Satoyama Kaiseki, a satoyama kaiseki restaurant that makes you taste the season of Aso and Oguni with careful work and beautiful production." And it is said that the true essence of Itanaga is not simply the use of high-quality ingredients, but the 'power to express nature of Aso and Ogunigo in one dish.' In addition to the ability to discern the seasonality of ingredients and the carefulness of the grilling, the staff at the Itaba are also able to display a sense of the seasons, and the hospitality typical of an onsen inn and a sense of unity in the cuisine. The base of Yamakawa’s kaiseki cuisine is the delicate broth that shines through his craftsmanship. For example, bowls, bean paste, and other seasonings with an elegant flavor of dashi broth will gently relieve the fatigue of travel. While based on orthodox Japanese cooking techniques, the restaurant also uses dry ice to create a cool atmosphere depending on the season, making it more eye-pleasing. The menu consists mainly of ingredients from the Ogunigo and Aso regions, such as Aso red beef, horse sashimi, Oguni rice, local vegetables, and mountain fish. The ornate "sakigen" (appetizer) is a beautiful appetizer platter that makes you cheer, with time and effort put into each dish. Kanayamaji miso is used for 'horse sashimi with miso'. "Banshin (tomato) tangerine (lemon) ni" has a good soup stock, and elaborately crafted dishes such as "mozuku" (sea bream water cloud) and "sekge kashiwa (stone geisha) soaking" typical of a mountain inn are lined up little by little, and it is a prologue of Itanaga-musume (steamed meat) in which sake is also served. The expression of tomatoes with barbarian and moss leaves, water clouds and asparagus with stone gebaku is also a sign of the board’s spirit in front of it. The steamed dish doesn't have too much "coma tofu" broth on the front, and the aftertaste is beautiful to bring out the aroma and umami of the ingredients. "Yakimono: Grilled broth with miso and grilled shrimp; grilled broth with miso and broth with broth and freshly fragrant leaves (young leaves of Sansho) are used to create a very seasonal and elegant Japanese dish." It was plump and juicy because it was grilled with a cedar board and the fresh scent of cedar transferred to the fish, and at the same time it did not hit the open flame. The simmered dish is 'eel sansho ni eggplant dashi maki tamago,' and the bowl is filled with bean jam stock with condensed umami flavor, and the rich sansho simmered eel sanshou with a sharpness of jitsuzansho (real sansho) is made to suck the umami flavor. The addition of a gentle-tasting dashi-maki tamago perfectly balances the overall flavor. The balance of thinly sliced myoga is also excellent. Daimono, 'Kuwayaki Ajisai Beef Chicken Local Vegetables' Ajisai Beef has a light aftertaste with moderate marbling, softness and no persistence. For dinner the day before, I had "Aso Aka Beef." If you want to enjoy the strength of red meat, I felt it was Aka-gyu, and if you want to casually enjoy the softness of marbling, it was Azai-gyu. The meal, 'sea bream, cooked rice with buds, red broth, pickled fish' is a very luxurious and tasteful dish that perfectly balances the umami of elegant and deep sea bream with the fresh aroma and bitterness of buds. The texture of the sea bream is soft and melts in your mouth, and the fresh texture of the buds echoes with every bite. This contrast between the textures of “Ji” and “Gyo” made the mouth feel more enjoyable with each bite.

Thank you for two days. I look forward to dinner on the second day. You can enjoy authentic kaiseki cuisine made with carefully selected local seasonal ingredients at Yamakawa's dinner. Each dish is made with care and attention to detail and tastes elegant. And what always impresses me is the soup stock. I can't help but drink every dish that comes out of the broth, even if it's rude to the last drop. ◆ Grilled eggplant grain shellfish (with tip) ◆ There were a lot of great pre-made items, the best of which was the grilled eggshell. The eggplants in the bowl may have been grilled over a charcoal fire, leaving a lingering aroma and an exquisite aftertaste. The texture of the grain shells was also excellent, and it was the perfect balance as a dish. ◆ Zori ◆ The large toro and lean meat of Hongaku were also excellent. What impressed me more was the deep-fried shrimp heads, which were packed with miso, giving them a crispy texture and rich flavor. The shrimp sashimi enjoyed a special sweet, sticky flavor that is unique to raw fish. ◆ Suiku ◆ The chicken broth from the chicken umami doubled the synergy. I was also happy to have the seasonal Hashiri matsutake mushrooms and Nagori pike conger together. ◆ Pottery ◆ There are apparently three types of brand beef from Kumamoto Prefecture. ① Japanese black beef, ② Aka beef, and ③ Amasai beef. The beef from step (3) is always on the table. This is a crossbred cow with Japanese black cows on my father and dairy cows (Holstein) on my mother. The meat is characterized by a moderately marbled softness. ◆ Steamed ◆ Amatai is a favorite ingredient in fish species. I especially love matsukasa-yaki, which has a unique crispy texture with scales, and is a dish that contrasts perfectly with my fluffiness. This time, it is stewed in broth, and it is the work of a first-class craftsman to finish the soft meat so that it does not collapse. ◆ Things on the stand ◆ At the end of the dinner table tonight, came the pike shabu-shabu. It is a hot pot dish featuring an elegant taste of pike. I enjoyed a luxurious dish with fresh conger eel quickly dipped in the soup stock.

From the arrival of the bus stop, someone raised the sign of the mountain river, it feels like he stood for a long time very cold. ~ I chose the hotel for the light season, the service is good to say - the hot spring is also great, the afternoon bubble the evening continues to bubble, especially the pharmacist's hot spring quality is very special, the next dinner is even more sophisticated, in the room to enjoy one after the other food & good drinking wine, and the aunt who served dinner chatted very pleasantly! Early to know the next night will not book another home, the mountain river stay. It is indeed worthy of the Japanese secret tea association, the next time the whole family moves 👍