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Twisted-rein-grilled sea bream and bamboo shoot, freeze-dried konjac sake-lees pickle, dried persimmon and cheese coin-cut, clam wrapped in new potato mousse, butterbur sprout simmered and steeped

For the large-plate course, the freeze-dried konjac narazuke: slice the konjac thin, freeze it into shimi-konnyaku, then thaw it and turn it into…

Sake Cake

Sake cake began from wanting to make a sweet using Japanese ingredients. I had once eaten a sake cake before and found it very delicious, so I…

Mugwort tofu

For the mugwort tofu, we ladle in a delicious dashi broth, top it with sake-steamed icefish, and try to bring out the fragrance of spring.

Conger eel yawata-maki

Soy pulp and soy milk sponge cake

The okara and soy-milk castella comes out with a texture something like cheesecake. Because I strain the okara through water before using it, there's…

Two-Color Dumplings with Sesame

For the two-color dumplings with sesame, the kabocha squash and green peas are each steamed and pressed through a fine sieve; we mix in rice flour —…

Fig with Yogurt Sauce and Red Bean Rice Dumplings

For the mizugashi (fruit dessert course), the figs are awkward to eat whole, so I think it's best to cut them small. As for the port wine with…

Ginkgo tofu

Pine cone abalone, daisen-ni; molded sea cucumber; honeycomb tripe, Yamato style; rein-pattern sushi; plum-blossom lily bulb; green-fleshed daikon and bottarga

For the celebratory course's pine cone abalone daisen-ni, I score a small abalone into a pine-cone pattern, then rehydrate it for about six hours in…

Japanese flounder rolled with rapeseed blossoms, pond smelt grilled with sansho leaf, shrimp plum-blossom sushi, bracken fern shoots and lotus root, and lotus root three-flavor deep-fry

Pike conger, water-peony style

The soup course is pike conger mizu-botan. Mizu-botan is a season word for July, and it's also well known as a summer wagashi — white bean paste dyed…

Thin-Sliced Turnip with Sesame Vinegar Dressing

This time it's a vinegared dish, but at our restaurant we don't force one into every menu — we serve it within the appetizer, or bring it out for…

Sponge-cake fish dumpling, small sea bream and matsutake rein-twist sushi, chrysanthemum daikon roll, udo-peel kinpira bundle

For the appetizer's kasutera shinjo, raisins are reconstituted in wine beforehand so their color doesn't fade. The ingredients are combined, poured…

Deep-fried in an arare-cracker coating

Grilled pine mushroom and chicken tenderloin chrysanthemum salad

As for the grilled matsutake and chicken tenderloin dressed with chrysanthemum: when matsutake is served blanched and dashi-marinated, I always grill…

Wrapped and grilled in magnolia leaf

Simmered pork belly savory egg custard

This dish came about when I wondered whether leftover kakuni could be put to some use. For younger guests, adding grilled mochi alongside gives it…

Abalone and La France Pear

For the final savory course, Nagano Prefecture, along with Yamagata, is a major producer of La France pears. Highland-grown tricolor bell peppers are…

Egg Yolk Salmon Roll

For the mustard vinegar, combine one part sweet mirin vinegar with two parts kombu dashi, add an appropriate amount of Japanese mustard, and finish…

Pufferfish sushi, fermented crucian-carp sushi, Shirakawa sea bream grilled with bottarga, beef loin marinated in miso, king crab grilled with aromatics, assorted crackers with dried sea-cucumber ovary, bur-shaped deep-fried chestnut with its inner skin, small sea bream in a chrysanthemum-style sweet-vinegar marinade

For the hors d'oeuvre tray course, I had in mind an outing box lunch for this season — a 'slightly luxurious bento,' say, for maple-leaf viewing —…

Milt tofu

The shirako tofu for the clear-soup course is made by stretching the shirako with just enough surimi that its aroma is not lost. On top of the…

Beltfish nanban roll, deep-fried; quail dumpling and potato, deep-fried; yam bulbil, nori-wrapped and fried

The fried course's basket somen is made by gathering somen noodles into a basket shape and deep-frying them plain (su-age).

Seared autumn sea bream pressed sushi, sweet-vinegar red turnip pickle, lily bulb autumn-foliage mound, "dead-wood" burdock, sudachi-shell cup with salted fish and jelly, lotus root with sea cucumber entrails, oyster fish-paste dumpling, ginkgo nuts on pine-needle skewers

Barracuda grilled with rapeseed blossom, avocado baked in the shell

For the grilled course's avocado kama-yaki, béchamel and avocado are placed into the avocado's own shell (used as the kama, or pot) and baked. This…