Yamagata Prefecture
Create your own Shojin Ryori from scratch with local Yamabushi mountain monks and town locals.
Shojin Ryori is he traditional cuisine of the Yamabushi monks of Yamagata, developed this cooking out of necessity to sustain them during their long periods of isolated training that could last from weeks to months. This cuisine also became an integral part of their training as it was seen as a way to cleanse their bodies and souls while in the mountains and to accept the blessings of nature.
Harvest various wild mountain vegetables in the forests and fields of Mt. Haguro alongside Yamabushi mountain monks and learn how to make their legendary Shojin Ryori cuisine in the Miyatabo Shukubo lodge.
Experience making Shojin Ryori
What's Included
Harvest traditional sansai mountain vegetables with yamabushi in the forests and fields.
Prepare Shojin Ryori, the traditional cuisine of the Yamabushi monks of Yamagata.
Prepare and cook vegetables alongside locals at the lodge.
Some sansai vegetation will be prepared in advance, due to the longer length of time that some of these dishes require.
Enjoy the Shojin Ryori together in the dining hall.
Cost
From 20,000 yen per person (with a minimum of 2 participants)
Experience Availability
All-year round. The ingredients of this yamabushi cooking are split by the following seasons:
- Spring and Summer: Various mountain vegetables
- Fall: Mushrooms
- Winter: Tsukemono (Japanese pickled fruits and vegetables)
Average Duration
Approximately 3 hours
Meeting Location
Miyatabo Shukubo Mountain Lodge
Important notes
Experience availability may vary. Reserve to confirm availability.
Please notify us at least 3 days before if you must cancel or modify your reservation.
Virtual tours for this experience are available for individuals and organizations, please contact us for details in the reservation form below.
The Harvest
We will start this experience at the Miyatabo Lodge on Mt. Haguro in the small mountain village of Toge. This area is lined by dozens of Shukubo pilgrim lodges that once hosted tens of thousands of Yamabushi who visited the Dewa Sanzan when they became a major place for pilgrimage during the Edo Period.
Here we will meet the yamabushi of this lodge and make our way into the forests and fields where we will harvest traditional mountain vegetables known as ‘Sansai.’
This part of the experience is fully-supervised by the monks of this mountain, who are very familiar with the ingredients we will be harvesting and eating. They will show us exactly how to identify the vegetation we are looking for and how to spot if they are at the correct stage in their growth to be edible.
After filling our baskets with fresh vegetables, we will then head back to Miyatabo to begin cooking.
Preparing Shojin Ryori
The second part of this experience will be to prepare Shojin Ryori, the traditional cuisine of the Yamabushi monks of Yamagata.
The Yamabushi developed this cooking out of necessity to sustain them during their long periods of isolated training on these mountains that could last from weeks to months. This cuisine also became an integral part of their training as it was seen as a way to cleanse their bodies and souls while in the mountains and to accept the blessings of nature.
We will work alongside locals at the lodge to prepare our vegetables and cook them into a variety of dishes in the large kitchen of Miyatabo. This class will also include Sansai vegetation prepared in advance, due to the longer length of time that some of these dishes require.
After preparing our food, we will then move to the dining hall of the lodge to enjoy a delicious course of Shojin Ryori together.
Reservations for Shojin Ryori Harvesting
You can send a booking inquiry for your experience below. After we receive your inquiry, we will confirm the booking with our partners and send you a booking confirmation email at least 3 days before your desired date.
Please note this form does not confirm the availability of an experience or reserves an experience straightaway.
Please note this form does not confirm the availability of an experience or reserves an experience straightaway.
Cancelation policy
Our general cancelation policy for our experiences is below. Cancelation fees may vary according to exceptional circumstances.
3 business days before date of experience
Free
2 business days before date of experience
30% of total price
1 business day before date of experience
50% of total price
Same day
100% of total price
