Takayama: Hida Beef and Local Cooking Experience with Dinner

Discover how a simple magnolia leaf has shaped Takayama's food culture for generations through a hands-on cooking experience centered on Hida's local traditions. Throughout the session, you'll use hoba (Japanese magnolia leaves) in two different ways. Thick, dried leaves are placed over a traditional Hida konro clay stove, where local miso sizzles and fills the air with a rich, earthy aroma. Fresh green leaves, available in summer, are used to wrap and preserve food, reflecting a time-honored tradition. During other seasons, carefully selected dried leaves or natural alternatives are used. Begin by making aburi Hida beef sushi, hand-shaping vinegared rice before lightly searing beautifully marbled Hida beef with a blowtorch. As the beef warms, its rich aroma is released, and the marbling melts delicately over the rice. Next, grill Hida beef and seasonal vegetables on a dried hoba leaf over a traditional Hida konro clay stove. As the local miso caramelizes, the savory aroma of the beef blends with the earthy fragrance of the heated magnolia leaf, creating one of Hida's most iconic regional dishes. You'll then prepare traditional hoba sushi by wrapping vinegared rice and seasonal toppings in magnolia leaves, learning how this practical technique was once used to preserve and transport meals and has since become a beloved local specialty. Finish on a sweet note by making seasonal fruit daifuku filled with egoma anko, a local red bean paste flavored with perilla seeds. Using a traditional suribachi (Japanese grinding bowl), you'll prepare the filling, then wrap it in soft mochi to create a classic Japanese confection inspired by the region's flavors.