u/Pure_Olive_1033

I was in Kyoto in April and this hike was one of my favorite things. Highly recommended- so many beautiful shrines and a great view.

Wanted to share some of our Fuji pictures from our Japan vacation in April. We had an amazing view from our hotel room and deck- I was so sad when we had to check out. We also had one of our favorite dining experiences at a little place called Notori that focuses on using only local ingredients from the area. Seeing Fuji in person was so awe inspiring to me I feel like the pictures don’t do it justice.

Budget remodel for my tiny bathroom. 95% done by just me and my husband. Had our fair share of setbacks, but were total amateurs so that’s to be expected I guess. Wish I had more before pictures- just have the first 2.

Notori, near Oshino, on the northern foot of Mount Fuji in Yamanashi prefecture, is owned and operated by the Horuichi brothers. Owner chef Kohei, and owner sommelier Shigeichiro (who went by Mojo) built an intimate, rustic restaurant and inn in one of the most scenic, magical spots in Japan. I dined here in April with my husband, sister, and brother in law, and this ranks as our favorite fine dining meal to date. Mojo, having spent a decade in New Zealand, narrated the entire evening in perfect English, while chef Kohei provided the same experience in Japanese for the other couple dining alongside us. 

Notori followed a Noma style concept of using local ingredients, many of them freshly foraged, and innovating from traditional, local dishes. Each diner selects a drink pairing (alcoholic, non-alcoholic, or mixed), and the meal consisted of twelve courses, including walnuts, smelt, horse, kokanee, bamboo shoots, trout, persimmon, "budding", lamb, vegetable rice, a strawberry dessert, blood orange and mulberry leaf. I'll highlight a few of the more interesting dishes, but both the alcohol pairing and the non-alcohol pairing (mostly herbal teas) perfectly complemented the dishes, and deserve as much praise as the food.

Dish 1 - Walnuts. The first dish was a ball of pureed walnuts and spices, served over walnut shells, in a walnut bowl, on a walnut board. While the walnut puree was tasty, this dish set the tone for the whole evening, with Mojo explaining how the land around the restaurant was covered with walnut trees. Many were chopped down to construct the inn and restaurant, and from these trees many of the bowls and boards were crafted, with the walnuts also being foraged from the surrounding land. As Mojo explained, there's no seafood on the menu because there's no sea on the Northern slope of Mt. Fuji. The alcohol pairing for this dish was a bottle of Benikanbai (winter scarlet plum) sake, which I highly recommend. 

Dish 3 - Horse with orange daylily leaf. Horse is widely consumed in this region of Japan, but this was my first experience with it. It was hard to tell due to the daylily leaf topping, but I believe the horse was seared, and was bursting with a smoky, charred flavor. The meat itself was far more tender than I was expecting. My husband said this was his favorite single dish from any fine dining establishment we've visited. 

Dish 8 - "Budding".  The dish, probably the most unique, fun item on the menu, was a mixture of grilled bear, boar, and elk meat inside of a shell of edible bamboo ash. This was my first taste of bear meat, and it was far more flavorful, and not as tough, as I was expecting. Both the boar and elk were also very tender. The bamboo ash was reminiscent of a tortilla chip. Paired with a local wine from Yamanashi, this course was the star of the show. 

Overall, Notori was the perfect blend of innovative dishes, local ingredients, idyllic setting, and dynamic storytelling from the owners. I've experienced precision service at starred restaurants, innovative courses at others, and warm, engaging conversation from chefs, but the combination of all these elements created the most memorable dining experience for us to date. Considering the price point (just under $200), Notori is a can't miss restaurant in Japan. Two days prior, we dined at a three star Michelin restaurant in Tokyo, and Notori surpassed it in every way.