The Cuisine Making The Most of Snow Season

Developed over many years and full of the wisdom and ingenuity that were developed by the people living with the land in this harsh natural environment, this snow country culture dates back to the Jomon Period, when flame-shaped pottery was created, which are today known as 5,000 year old pieces of art and the oldest national treasures in Japan. A culture that perhaps was even the origin of Japan itself deeply remains here in Tokamachi. Let’s take a look at the charm of the food of this land of heavy snowfall.

Tokamachi is also known for hosting the world’s largest international art festival, and the city has been gaining attention both in Japan and globally as a pioneer in regional development through art in this area where depopulation and the aging of society progresses.

The mountainous forest city itself, symbolized by the terraced rice fields, becomes an art museum and the stage for the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, held once every three years since 2000. Even when the event isn’t going on, you can enjoy the unspoiled Japanese landscape using the roughly 200 pieces of modern art that are always on display as your guide.

One of these is the “Tunnel of Light” (Ma Yansong/MAD Architects) at the Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel, which was just restored in 2018. This place, one of the three most spectacular ravines in Japan, offers a deeply moving experience to visitors with the majestic rock columnar joints and a beautiful, emerald green river.

The Unique Relationship Between Kimono and Soba Noodles, Forged in a Land of Snow

Tokamachi City is also an area of nationally significant kimono production, created from fabrics that have been made here since the middle of the Kofun Period in Japan (300 to 538 AD). In Kyoto and other areas of kimono production, it is normal to divide the labor for each process of kimono production, but in snowy Tokamachi, entire kimono are made from start to finish in a single process at a large factory, as transporting the various elements for each process is difficult with such deep snow. Nowadays, you can see all the processes of kimono production at factories, including experiencing dyeing, painting, and weaving.

But how exactly are kimono and food culture connected? I visited Kojimaya-Souhonten, a Niigata hegi soba noodle shop, to discover this unique relationship.

Hegi soba noodles are a local dish that developed from a culture of food storage to endure heavy snowfall and from a lifestyle of weaving during this snowfall for the people living in this snowy area. Funori , a type of seaweed, is used in making the noodles and gives the noodles their characteristic resilience and slippery texture. Since ancient times, this funori has been used as a natural adhesive for plaster, fabric, thread, and more, and has been eaten as an ingredient in miso soup and more.

The main ingredient of soba noodles (buckwheat) can be stored for long periods of time and was not subject to the tax on grains, and so was valued as food to be stored during winter.

Shigenori Kobayashi of Kojimaya-Souhonten, established in 1922 and nearing its 100 year anniversary, tells us that, “A long time ago, every farmer’s family in this region cultivated buckwheat and made soba noodles at home. Silkworm breeding began and even farmers raised silkworms and created thread, so funori was probably familiar to them as it was used as an adhesive for thread. I don’t know if it was by accident or on purpose, but I guess as this was the environment the famers lived in, these soba noodles took root in the region, developed using the funori as a binding agent.”

“There are at least three things that make these noodles hegi soba noodles. First, they must be served on a wooden tray called a hegi. They also must be made with funori . Lastly, they must be arranged in a bite-size, easy-to-eat coil. I guess that these coils come from the process and shape of spinning thread and are made to resemble bundles of thread. I think the aesthetic sensibilities of our ancestors is communicated and expressed through these coils.” These “coils” are difficult to reproduce with normal soba noodles, and Shigenori tells us that it is difficult to produce them unless using the highly resilient soba noodles made with funori . It is a beautiful and wonderful sight to see the noodles rhythmically arranged by practiced hands.

A True Gastronomic Delight – Gather, Make, and Eat:
Wild Mushroom Hunting from Late Autumn to Early Winter

There are many rice terraces forming continuous steps along the sloped land between the mountains and valleys in the Matsunoyama region, and the beautiful unspoiled Japanese forested mountain scenery expands before you. In each season, there are many joys to the lives of the people living here among nature. In spring, wild vegetables and herbs can be gathered, and from late autumn through early winter, wild mushrooms are harvested. We are guided by Issei Yanagi from Hinanoyado Chitose and Shin, an expert wild vegetable and mushroom gatherer. Together with these two, we head up a cold mountain covered in the snow of early winter.

The Matsunoyama region, where high-quality mushrooms have been gathered since ancient times, is home to a wide variety of mushrooms, including wild nameko, maitake, honey fungus, pearl oyster, and brick top mushrooms as well as late oyster and other varieties of mushrooms rarely seen in grocery stores. Pressing forward in the snow with experienced steps, Shin tells us that, “The natural mushrooms we gather grow on dead and decaying trees rather than on the ground, so try and look very carefully for them.” Following the direction that Shin was looking, we looked closely at the dead trees and were able to find cutely-shaped cloud ear mushrooms and large nameko mushrooms.

Issei tells us that, “This area is called ‘satoyama’. This doesn’t mean it is untouched nature, but that people enjoy the natural blessings while living here. If we gather wild vegetables and mushrooms while also leaving enough to be gathered for next year, then wonderful wild vegetables and mushrooms will grow here again next year. Pulling up a plant’s roots is the worst thing we can do.” We learned that it’s important to protect this sustainable relationship of making use of nature while also allowing it to live.

After harvesting, we gather around the hearth at Jiro, an old house in the hot spring town of Matsunoyama, and enjoy food made from locally-gathered ingredients while learning about methods for preparing, preserving, and cooking mushrooms. A soup, generously filled with freshly harvested wild mushrooms, warms the body from the inside out with the strong umami flavor of the mushroom broth. Issei tells us to, “Go ahead and eat up. They say that mushrooms greatly improve your beauty as they are low in calories yet full of nutrients, including vitamins, dietary fiber, minerals, and more.”

Then the outside of the pork is roasted over charcoal, locking in a smoky aroma. We were surprised by the wonderful taste of the tender and refreshing pork. It’s a dish that you can only try here and one that is kind to the environment, as it is cooked using the energy of the bubbling Matsunoyama hot springs.

Local Traditions Passed Down

There is a different kind of festival in the Matsunoyama hot spring area that has been passed down since ancient times. It is the strange Mukonage & Suminuri (Groom Tossing & Ash Smearing) Festival, held each year on the so-called Little New year (January 15). It is said that the ceremony, where men who were married in the previous year are thrown from a high place down onto the snow, started as “payment” for the man taking away one of the village’s daughters, but today it is performed with wishes for strong bonds for the newlyweds in marriage. Everyone, from local junior high school students to senior citizens, can participate in this event filled with blessings that are violent yet warm, and it is very exciting for the newlyweds as a welcome to the community.

After the Mukonage , a tall tower, made from rice straw and decorated with New Year’s decorations, is set on fire to pray for health and prosperity in the new year in an event known as the Dondo-yaki . This is where the strange rituals begin. Participants mix snow with the burned out coals to create a kind of paint, and they paint each other’s faces as they say, “Omedetou,” which means, “Congratulations”. Finally, everyone is painted so darkly that no one can tell who anyone is, and the cold of winter seems to disappear as children and adults alike laugh to their heart’s content.

The traditional village culture in this snowy area was fostered by the people who have lived here robustly together with nature since ancient times. Why not take a trip here to experience the local cuisine that is characteristic of this place with heavy snowfall?