YAMANAKA RETREAT
YAMANAKA RETREAT
YAMANAKA RETREAT
YAMANAKA RETREAT

Foodways and Craftways by Mokkei & Hanamurasaki

Each retreat welcomes just 4–8 guests for deep cultural immersion and exchange, as well as relaxation. You’ll stay at Hanamurasaki for three nights, with daytime explorations rooted in the open air garden kitchen of a 100-year-old kominka (folk house) at Mokkei, and branching out around Yamanaka.

Prepare and share meals together with local experts, using ingredients gathered and grown nearby. Visit the workshops of a craftsperson skilled in Yamanaka’s unique lacquerware. And immerse yourself in the wild and lush natural landscape. These moments invite you to reconnect with the land, with others, and with yourself.

This isn't a trip where you check things off a list, but rather a gentle opportunity to rediscover the textures of daily life. Rooted in the richness of Japan’s regional culture, this retreat proposes a new kind of travel that nurtures body and spirit through depth, not extravagance.

Yamanaka Onsen

Yamanaka Onsen

Yamanaka Onsen is a hot spring town with a history spanning 1300 years. Nestled in the mountains along a river, nature and town coexist harmoniously. A rich food culture and traditional crafts are lovingly preserved and continue to evolve.
The region is known for Yamanaka lacquerware and a cuisine shaped by the seasons, featuring locally-sourced seafood and mountain vegetables in meals that restore you from the inside out.

Hannah Kirshner
Host
Hannah Kirshner
Hannah Kirshner is the author and illustrator of a book about Yamanaka’s material culture, Water, Wood, and Wild Things. She’s spent years working alongside craftspeople, documenting how their work weaves into the local culture and community. Now she connects visitors to craftways and foodways through her kitchen studio, Mokkei, in a 100-year-old farmhouse surrounded by fields and forest. Kirshner’s journalism on nature and culture appears in The New York Times and The Atlantic, and on The World radio program.
Kohei Yamada
Host
Kohei Yamada
Kohei Yamada is the sixth-generation owner of Hanamurasaki. Born and raised in Yamanaka Onsen, he has deep affection and pride for the region, along with a broad understanding of its history and culture. With a background in art and photography, he’s leading a renovation project and collaborations with regional artists. His approach to hospitality blends a modern perspective with strong respect for local crafts and nature, inviting guests to discover the enduring charm of Yamanaka Onsen.
Mokkei
Mokkei
Mokkei
Mokkei
Mokkei

Venue

Mokkei

Mornings will be spent at Mokkei, a kitchen studio in an old farmhouse, around a big rustic table in the open-air garden kitchen. We’re sheltered from rain by a tile roof, but can feel the season and weather changing around us. Mokkei is both community space for our local friends and neighbors and an entry point for visitors to explore Yamanaka’s rich crafts and foodways.

Deeply Engage with Local Culture
Deeply Engage with Local Culture
Rural Japan can seem impenetrable and inscrutable to visitors, but Kohei and Hannah share their deep connections with the community, bringing you into the fold. They peel back layers and translate both language and culture, welcoming you to delve into Yamanaka’s deepest culture to interact with local people.
Hands-On Cooking at Mokkei Studio
Hands-On Cooking at Mokkei Studio
Gather around the big table in Mokkei’s open-air garden kitchen to learn from local chefs and home cooks, and share meals that you prepare together. These hands-on workshops offer something for professional and amateur cooks alike. You’ll bring home not just memories, but inspiration for your own table.
Meaningful Connections
Meaningful Connections
This experience goes beyond a typical tour, it’s a cultural exchange. Share meals and conversations with Hannah and Kohei, a range of local experts, and a group of like-minded guests. You may forge connections that last a lifetime.
Luxury Stay at Hanamurasaki
Luxury Stay at Hanamurasaki
Experience the elegance of Japanese architecture in our traditional-style rooms, or indulge in a suite featuring a private open-air bath and sauna. Seasonal cuisine, thoughtfully curated art, and heartfelt hospitality come together to create a serene and personalized retreat just for you.

Next tour schedule

Spring Retreat 2026

April 26–29

reservations : early bird｜save 20% for the first 3 sign-ups (ends Jan 31)

Capacity: 4–8 guests

Price: early bird ¥680,000 (double) / ¥752,000 (single)｜reg. price ¥850,000 (double) / ¥922,000 (single) *per person

Sunday, April 26

TRANSFORMATION

  1. 15:00｜arrival and welcome tea

    After checking in, come to the sabo for a cup of tea blended by Kohei with wild plants harvested by Hannah. The first day of our retreat focuses on transformation—through fermentation, cooking processes, and the deep calm you experience at Hanamurasaki.

  2. 18:00｜sake brewer Fumiaki Matsuura

    Come to Hanamurasaki’s library to learn about koji, the beneficial mold that is essential to the fermentation of sake, miso, and soy sauce. Fumiaki Matsuura, the owner and head brewer of the local sake, Shishi-no-sato sake, shares his reverence for the power of koji, and explains how he makes and uses koji rice.

  3. 18:30｜welcome dinner

    The conversation about koji and fermentation continues over dinner with Hanamurasaki chef, Masakazu Nakamura. Get to know your hosts and fellow guests as you share a meal that highlights fermented flavors of the region through ingredients like salt made with Matsuura’s sake, irizake (a traditional Edo-period seasoning), and ishiru (fish sauce from the Noto peninsula).

Monday, April 27

DASHI: THE FOUNDATION OF JAPANESE FLAVOR

  1. 8:00｜breakfast at Hanamurasaki

    Choose Japanese or Western style.

  2. 10:00｜nature walk and foraging

    Walk with Kohei along Kakusenkei gorge from Hanamurasaki to Mokkei, enjoying the scenery of the icy blue river and deep green moss and ferns. In the field around Mokkei, harvest sansai (wild vegetables and herbs.)

  3. 11:00｜dashi workshop with Naoya Yamazaki at Mokkei

    Gather around the big table in the outdoor kitchen at Mokkei for a deep dive into dashi, the foundation of Japanese flavor, with chef Naoya Yamazaki from Engawa sake bar. Key ingredients of this essential broth were introduced across Japan by kitamaebune, merchant ships whose sailors also influenced Yamanaka’s rich folk music.

  4. 13:00｜lunch at Mokkei

    Lunch in the outdoor kitchen features sansai you harvested, dashi you cooked, pickles made at Mokkei throughout the year, and dishes prepared by chef Naoya Yamazaki—all served on tableware from local artisans.

  5. 14:30｜afternoon craft tour or free time

    Split into two groups. Group A visits the studio of a Yamanaka lacquerware artisan, while group B has free time to relax at Hanamurasaki or explore the town (the next day the groups will switch.) Besides onsen, Yamanaka is famous for its lacquerware, Yamanaka shikki. See behind-the-scenes how this work is made and reimagined by contemporary artisans.

  6. 18:30｜kaiseki dinner at Hanamurasaki

    Enjoy a quiet dinner alone or with your travel companion. Everything from the ingredients to the tableware is an expression of the season and local specialties, thoughtfully composed by Kohei and chef Masakazu Nakamura.

Tuesday, April 28

YAMANAKA’S WAY OF TEA

  1. 8:00｜breakfast at Hanamurasaki

    Choose Japanese or Western style.

  2. 10:00｜wagashi workshop at Mokkei

    Wagashi, Japanese sweets, vary by region and by season. Asami Kuroda, a confectioner at the Yamanaka sweets shop Sankaido, explains the seasonality and symbolism of wagashi, then guides us through shaping namagashi, fresh sweet-bean confections associated with tea ceremony.

  3. 11:30｜the way of tea with Toshio Oshita

    Hannah takes you to the home of her neighbor and tea teacher Toshi Oshita for a tea ceremony experience. Experience how Japanese values and aesthetics are entwined with this highly-choreographed exchange between host and guest.

  4. 13:00｜lunch at Mokkei

    Local hunter Sakura Yoshida joins us to cook game meat and talk about how her work is connected to the ecology of Yamanaka. Share shishi-nabe (wild boar hot pot) cooked at the table, and served with Hannah’s homemade yuzu-kosho.

  5. 14:30｜afternoon craft tour or free time

    Today group B visits the studio of a Yamanaka lacquerware artisan, while group A has free time to relax at Hanamurasaki or explore the town (the next day the groups will switch.)

  6. 18:00｜Engawa sake bar

    Gather for a final meal all together at this friendly gastro-pub style bar. The sake-obsessive owner, Yusuke Shimoki, shares his knowledge with warmth and passion—and you may notice echoes of tea ceremony. Sake and non-alcohol pairings are included.

Wednesday, October 29

LOCAL EXPLORATION

  1. 8:00｜breakfast at Hanamurasaki

    Choose Japanese or Western style.

  2. 10:00｜checkout and tea with Kohei

    Leave your luggage at the front desk, then join Kohei for a final tea and farewell.

  3. optional activities

    Explore Yamanaka on your own with personalized recommendations, or allow us to book one of the following activities for you.

    ・Rickshaw Tour
    (no additional cost, may be cancelled in case of rain)
    Ride around Yamanaka in a vintage rickshaw, recently brought back to life by Yoshi Omi, a rickshaw driver from Kyoto, after decades as a museum piece. Hear Yamanaka’s fascinating stories and lore as Omi takes you to historic and scenic spots.

    ・Kintsugi Workshop
    (transportation fee not included)
    Experience a private session with Master Shigeki Yagi, a renowned artist who collaborated with FIAT and repairs world-class antiques. Learn the delicate art of gold-repair directly from the master and take home your own restored piece.

    ・Nature Hike in Ozuchi Village
    (transportation fee not included)
    Explore the nostalgic landscapes of a tiny village, guided by its only resident. designated as a. Guided by a local, you’ll discover wild mountain treasures and crystal-clear rivers hidden deep within Yamanaka’s forests, National Important Preservation District.

What’s Included:
・Transportation to and from Kaga Onsen Station
・Luxury accommodation at a 6th-generation family-run ryokan
・Access to onsen (hot spring baths)
・3 dinners, 3 breakfasts, and 2 lunches featuring the best local and seasonal ingredients
・Tea ceremony
・4–5 immersive experiences with local artisans and experts
・Hands-on foraging and cooking
・Interpretation by hosts and translators with specialized knowledge
・Personalized advice and reservations for local spots during free time

Accommodation & Pricing Notes:
・early bird (20% save) : ¥680,000 pp (double occupancy) / ¥752,000 pp (single occupancy)
・reg. price: ¥850,000 pp (double occupancy) / ¥922,000 pp (single occupancy)
・the base price is for an authentic japanese room with futon.
・upgrades to a suite with a private open-air onsen bath are available upon request.
Please refer to the room types and contact us for availability.

Please come prepared to be outdoors for half the day. The space at Mokkei where our workshops and lunches take place is an open air kitchen. We have a roof over our heads, but just screens for walls, so we feel the changing seasons and weather.

The exact schedule and activities may change due to weather, illness, or other elements beyond our control, but we will make reasonable (and delightful) substitutions.

Tailored Tours
Available

Tailored Tours Aavailable

If the scheduled dates don’t suit you, we’d be delighted to discus a tour that works with your plans. Please enquire if you’re interested in a private retreat or tour, tailored to the interests of your own small group.

Enquiries