The Yamanobe cuisine ”ryokan”, ”Hira-sansou” is located in Katsuragawa, a place that seems like a hidden village. When searched on the internet, it is clear that they are rated highly as a ”ryokan”, but also for their cuisine.
Mountain herbs in spring, ”ayu” sweet fish in the summer, ”matsutake” mushrooms in the autumn and boar and bear meat in the winter. Their menus are superb tasting delicacies from each season, called ”Yamanobe cuisine” which you can enjoy when you visit in the different seasons.
What especially attracts food enthusiasts is the ”moon hot pot” made with moon bear meat. Thinly sliced bear meat has more white meat with fat-integrated collagen than red meat, and once heated, will melt in your mouth. It has no odor, as many may imagine with bear.
You can book a table just to enjoy a meal, but we highly recommend staying at the ”ryokan” to enjoy their cuisine.
The guest rooms are built using recycled wood from old houses more than a century old. They are small but kept very clean, and from the curtained windows, a nice breeze is felt from Mt. Hiei. You can enjoy the luxury of what would have been like in the past, listening to the splashing sounds made by the carps in the pond of the garden, or the rumbling of the water mill, the rustling of feathered wings, or the noisy chirping of the swallows; all while reclining in your yukata. After this, the Yamanobe cuisine popular among people in and outside of Shiga will be served as you slowly savor the meal.
Of course the meals are the same whether you are there just for the meal or as an overnight guest. However, by fully enjoying the time before and after the meal will change your entire experience there.
