River Fish & Mountain Vegetable Cuisine Wada-ya

My wife and I stayed for one night shortly before Tanabata.We visited after seeing it featured on NHK’s “Bi no Tsubo,” because we wanted to try the irori hearth cuisine.The entrance is located within the large parking area of Shirayama Hime Shrine, and the Accommodation sits in a quiet setting between the shrine’s approach paths. Our Room was a Japanese-style tatami room, and the garden view from the engawa veranda—looking past the irori—was full of charm and very relaxing. There is no toilet in the Room, but one is very close by, so it wasn’t an issue. It felt like staying in a spacious traditional home. Also, in a reading room near the bath called Waraku-an, we could sit on chairs on the veranda and gaze at the greenery along the shrine approach, losing track of time.Dinner was served in another Japanese-style room with an irori. The appetizers presented in a bamboo basket were decorated with bamboo leaves and hydrangeas, giving a cool summer feel. After that, we enjoyed delicious dishes centered around ayu (sweetfish) grilled by the young proprietor over the irori in our room. The ayu rice was excellent as well. Including breakfast, everything was truly delicious, and the portions were just right—we were very satisfied.Before long we noticed handwritten messages from the proprietress throughout our Room and around the Accommodation. They are humorous and warm, and when you speak with her you can really feel her heartfelt hospitality and unhurried sense of time. She even said that when bears once appeared at the shrine, they had simply come to pay their respects—bravo.All in all, Wadayasan at Mt. Hakusan was an outstanding Accommodation for its setting, food, and wonderful proprietress—and it’s an Accommodation we would love to stay at again.

I was deeply moved by the silence—nothing but the sounds of nature. At night, only lantern light. This place feels like another world, completely removed from the city. The food was, of course, outstanding as well. I truly enjoyed it: game such as venison and bear. The fish was sweetfish (ayu). Absolutely exquisite.