We are exploring a recent trip to Japan through series of posts, written in imitation of Basho’s travelogues – brief descriptions interspersed with a series of haiku-style reflections. Our series started where our journey started in Tokyo, which you can read here. As with each of these culinary journeys, they allow reflection on cuisine more broadly and Great Lakes cuisine specifically.

Our trip loosely followed the ancient Tokaido road, the historic walking route between the “new” capital in Edo (now Tokyo) to the “old” capitol in Kyoto, which was in use since the 1600s. This route was taken by Basho while he wrote his journal, The Knapsack Notebook, in late 1687 (according to Sam Hamill). The 53 official government stations along this route inspired Hiroshige’s prints, The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō, published in 1833 after his travel of the route the year before. Today, the bullet train running between these two famous cities is now named for the route.

There is still one preserved expanse of the road, and it is to travel this road that we leave Tokyo to travel to the town of Hakone.

Day six of our trip to Japan, heading to Hakone in the autumn of the year, I wrote:

A pumpkin cookie,
A sweet potato muffin,
Coffee, we’re train ready.

Tokaido bullet,
Blurred patterns, rice fields beyond,
Suddenly mountains.

Odawara station,
Ordered sashimi from a screen.
Heavenly textures.
The invention of sushi –
Searching for a perfect bite!

Yes, this was ordered from a touch screen ordering kiosk at the entrance of a small cafe at the Odawara railway station. The quality of fish was exquisite. And finding the right balance of seafood and warm rice felt like re-experiencing the birth of sushi.

[Food nerd aside: Sushi was in fact invented as a street food, derived from an ancient practice of preserving fish through lactic fermentation by placing raw fish in rice. That ancient preservation method was adapted over time to serving the preserved fish with the rice, and then later, simply adding rice vinegar to the rice and serving fresh fish. Sushi literally means “sour taste” as a reference to the preserving process. The raw fish over vinegar-flavored rice became a street food in Edo, then the capital, and spread throughout Japan.]

Odowara keep,
The impenetrable walls,
Fell after three-months siege.
I enjoy matcha ice cream!

Miyanoshita!
Up into mountains by rail;
A rustic station.

Fujiya Hotel,
Flower upon the hillside,
Full moon shining through.

At Bar Victoria,
Tasted Hibiki Harmony,
Smooth but not notable.
But, oh, Hakone Gin!

Staying at Fujiya Hotel is a treat. Established in 1878 to take advantage of views of Mount Fuji and the local hot springs (more on that below), it was built to be a “Western-style” hotel, while showcasing much of Japanese art and stylistic choices. Our room overlooked a small waterfall, streaming into a koi-pond with a red walking bridge. Bliss.

Day seven – Next morning, reading Basho as he wrote:
“I crossed the Hakone barrier in the rain, clouds hiding the mountains.

Heavy falling mist –
Mount Fuji not visible,
But still intriguing”

Feeling Basho on that morning, I wrote:

Tokaido Road, mist,
Lost, found, forgotten forest.
Hakone whispers.

Tokaido twists, dips
Through tall cedars, down ridges.
Then, warm amazake!

After a day hiking the old Tokaido Road in the mist and light rain, we came to a traditional tea house preserved in a similar style to the ancient tea houses that once dotted the route. The floor was half dirt, half wooded and we enjoyed a cold matcha and a warm amazake, which is mild sweet fermented rice drink, closer to a warm Mexican horchata than it is to sake. Amazake is mentioned in the Nihon Shoki which was completed in 720, so its got a history. Served here with mochi balls, made of glutinous rice, the amazake was a welcome warmth after a day of hiking.

I enjoyed an iced matcha as a refeshing pick-me-up and decided to be adventurous in ordering the konjac, which came with a warning that it was a “challenge food” that Westerners do not typically enjoy. I was typical. The texture is thickly gelatinous and the flecks you see in the konjac balls are seaweed, giving it a slightly salt, vaguely seafood-like flavor. The sauce, similar to a hoisin, was the key to my being able to eat them. So not everything in Japan was delicious for me!

Back to Fujiya
Onsen cures all pains.
Kaiseki dinner awaits,
Shared with a best friend.

The onsen is the natural spa, fed by hot springs for which the region is historically famous. The hot water from our bath in the room comes directly from the hot spring (with a warning to be careful) as does the water in the larger communal spa at the resort. As you soak in the onsen, the windows look out across a misting mountain range.

Dinner that evening was at the traditionally Japanese restaurant affiliated with the resort, KIKKA-SO. Built in 1895 as a villa for the Imperial Family, the restaurant maintains the traditional Japanese architecture and garden design. They also serve several options for a kaiseki meal, which is traditional multi-course meal originating as a formalized course of dishes to be served at a temple during a tea ceremony (in our next post, we will cover the meal served at the 500 year-old Daitokuji Ikkyu in Kyoto). Over centuries, the meal developed into a much more refined “tasting” menu for the samurai, and ultimately, for nobility. Traditional kaiseki meals were intended to be a “mountain to sea” progression and be reflective of the season.

What follows is the vegetable/seafood kaiseki meal served at KIKKA-SO on October 18th, 2024. Upon arrival, we remove our shoes at the front hall way and were escorted to the table. Traditionally served seated on tatami mats at a low table, in this case we were seated at elegant, highbacked chairs with a view to the garden, spot-lit outside the window.

From upper left, the meal started with three small bites – a peanut tofu cake with a wolf berry (goji berry) and fresh grated wasabi, a crown daisy and persimmon with a tofu dressing, and Mukago, a autumnal delicacy in Japan, served similar to a Great Lakes Potato Salad! The Mukago salad is dressed with mayonnaise (Kewpie mayonnaise is a national love of Japan).

Next came a broth of the coveted fall-seasonal mushroom, matsutake, served with the equally seasonal sudachi lime. Really a lovely combination and inspires the question – Where could we add a touch of sour flavors to highlight earthy foods? We have used sorrel for this purpose on our Whitefish toasts, scroll to bottom of this post), but there is definitely more places to think about this use. It was a pleasure to enjoy these prized matsutake mushrooms.

Broth was followed by an artistic presentation of three types of sashimi, barracuda, bonito, and sea bass, with accompanying vegetables (upper right). The green sea grapes which provide not only a thrilling crunch, but also a touch of briny salt. Shiso leaf, a “leaf” of carrot, radish, and sprouts all add a crunch and contrast to the creamy texture of raw fish.

A cedar-smoked salmon featured in the next dish (lower left) along with a smoked shitake, shishito pepper, and popped rice on the stalk with a fried lotus root “cracker” added. The salmon texture was perfect, almost a cross between a slow smoke and a hot smoke preparation, not unlike the tender, moist hot smoked trout enjoyed at Birch in Milwaukee.

Then a sea bream with burdock root, carrot, enoki mushroom, and yellow chrysanthemum (lower middle). A very light broth with a hint of ginger provided a contrast to the grilled flavors of the previous dish. This dish could be made Great Lakes with a fresh water fish, local woodland mushrooms, wild greens. Would have to work on the substitute for ginger.

A tempura fried conger pike (eel) was next, served with tempura sweet potato “leaves” and a seaweed salt (lower right). I’m a very big fan of eel for it’s deep earthy richness when smoked or served with deeply flavored umami sauces, but in this case it was deliciously light. Imagine your fish fry showing up like that! In this case, it was served near then end of a nine-course meal.

After all this delicious food, we were a bit surprised to see rice come out as a final offering alongside a rich miso broth (bottom). A single taste of the rice and we understood. Served with tiny dried sardines and Japanese pickles, the rice was the perfect way to “ground” the meal. All of these amazing flavors over nine courses and then a simple, and simply perfect, bowl of rice.

Truly an amazing dining experience and an equally inspiring meal.

Morning of day two in Fujiya, trip day eight, a travel day to Kyoto, we hope to see Mount Fuji (colloquially called Fuji-San) from the bullet train. We’ve had two full days of mist across the mountains, which has been lovely, but the view of Mount Fuji has eluded us:

Fujiya French toast,
Brûléed cinnamon toast,
Fresh-squeezed orange juice! Bittersweet good-byes,
No Fuji-San.

Bullet to Kyoto,
Last chance for Fuji-San,
Clouds break, Fuji rises!
Other passengers, less intrigued