Yamagata Prefecture
Stay in a former temple built in the late 1600s and experience Shojin Ryori to its fullest.
Spend the night in the heart of the sacred Dewa Sanzan Mountains of Yamagata Prefecture at the temple lodging of Saikan on Mt. Haguro.
Here you will stay in a former temple built in the late 1600s that now is the most famous restaurant for the Shojin Ryori of the Yamabushi Mountian Monks who have trained on this mountain for over 1,200 years.
Waking up early in the morning, you will join the chefs of Saikan to harvest wild vegetables in the forest around the lodge that are in season. Note that during certain times of the year, it may not be possible to harvest and you will instead work with the preserved vegetables and other ingredients with the chefs to make shojin ryori.
Experience Yamabushi Shojin Ryori Overnight
What's Included
An overnight stay in the temple lodging of Saikan on Mt. Haguro.
Enjoy a shojin ryori dinner.
A guide will accompany you with the chefs of Saikan to harvest sansai mountain vegetables in the morning.
Preparing your harvested sansai with the chefs at Saikan.
Enjoy your prepared meal for breakfast.
Cost
from 45,000 yen per person (with a minimum of 2 participants)
Experience Availability
All-year round. The types of vegetables you can harvest depends on the season.
Average Duration
2 days, 1 night
1 hour of harvesting
Meeting Location
Saikan at the top of Mt. Haguro
Important notes
The activity level of this experience can be adjusted for guests. Small children and elderly guests able to walk are able to take part in the harvesting.
During certain times of the year when harvesting is not possible (typically winter), we will instead work with specially preserved sansai.
This tour goes outdoors, so please dress accordingly for the weather and wear comfortable shoes or boots.
Experience availability may vary. Reserve to confirm availability.
Please notify us at least 3 days before if you must cancel or modify your reservation.
Experience Yamabushi Shojin Ryori
You will begin this program by checking into the Saikan temple lodging at the top of Mt. Haguro at a time we prearrange upon booking this tour.
After checking into your rooms, you will enjoy an extravagant meal of Shojin Ryori served by Shinkichi Ito, the head chef of Saikan and the leading expert in the preservation and continued innovation of this sacred cuisine of the Dewa Sanzan Mountains.
You will then spend a relaxing night in Saikan with the sounds of the deep forest around you and are also free to explore the halls and onsen baths of this beautiful building.
The next morning you will meet your guide at Saikan, who will accompany you with the chefs of Saikan for a walk into the forests around this lodge to harvest a variety of seasonal mountain vegetables called sansai.
Note that the types of vegetables we can harvest depend entirely on the season. We recommend the months of June to July for the fresh green of the early summer, but you can also enjoy drastically different vegetables like mushrooms in the fall.
The one exception to this is the winter time when we can instead visit the storehouse of Saikan to work with a variety of special preservation techniques used to serve these mountain vegetables. During this time, we will be able to enjoy special sansai that are only served in the winter and also cook them in the kitchen together.
See below for a video we made demonstrating the harvesting and cooking experience in the early summer.
Note that the types of sansai harvested in this experience and the areas they are harvested in will vary from the time of year.
After harvesting, you will take your sansai back to Saikan to prepare them in Shojin Ryori with the chefs.
Inquire about your overnight Shoji Ryori experience
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.
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.
Please note that due to the nature of time needed to arrange this experience the following cancellations policies are in effect.
3 weeks before date of experience
No Charge
2 weeks or less before date of experience
50% of total price
1 week of less before date of experience
100% of total price
