Spring is here, the season of “sansai (wild vegetables)”!

It is the time of year when wild vegetables “sansai” can be harvested in Ginzan-daira.

The first one to be picked is “Butterbur shoot”. It grows here and there around Oze Jujo.

This is “Kinome (tree sprout)”. In Japan, “kinome” usually refers to Japanese pepper. In the Uonuma region where Oze Jujo is located, however, it refers to the buds of “Mitsuba Akebi (Akebia trifoliata)”, which is also a type of Japanese pepper but cultivated locally in few areas of Japan.

Mitsuba Akebi is not commonly eaten in some areas, but here in the Uonuma, locals are fond of this “kinome”. They eat it with boiled kinome, soy sauce, and a raw egg on top of rice.

At this year of season, we will serve dishes with plenty of wild vegetables at our restaurant “青山緑水 (Seizan-ryokusu)i”. Some may be concerned about the bitterness, but wild vegetables from the snow country are easy to eat with little bitterness or harshness! We hope you enjoy the bounty of spring to the fullest.