On July 7, 2026 (Tuesday), Sierra Resort Hotels will hold Next Shinshu 2026, a food festival where chefs with roots in Shinshu (the old name for Nagano) come together across culinary genres, at Hotel Sierra Resort Hakuba. The event is supported by Nagano Prefecture and is positioned as a related event of the Shinshu Destination Campaign pre-campaign.
Built around the concept "Gastronomy for Tomorrow" — passing Shinshu's food culture on to the next generation — the event is a one-night collaboration dinner in which chefs draw on the region's rich landscape and seasons to create special courses with an eye to the future. It follows the first edition held on June 30, 2025, which drew a strong response. This year, against a capacity of 100 guests, the event sold out right after reservations opened. Additional slots that were hastily added also filled quickly, and with 136 applications received, general reservations have now closed.
This year welcomes three new members, including Koji Kobayashi (小林 幸司) of フォリオリーナ・デッラ・ポルタ・フォルトゥーナ in Karuizawa, one of Japan's leading Italian chefs. In total, 11 chefs will take on new expressions of Shinshu gastronomy in Hakuba, a destination that draws attention from around the world.
About Next Shinshu 2026
A one-night collaboration dinner where ingredients nurtured by Shinshu's nature meet the skills and sensibilities of chefs with roots in the region. Chefs who embody the present of the culinary world take inspiration from the local landscape and seasons to build special courses that look toward the future.
On the table are carefully selected ingredients grown in Shinshu's climate, delivered specifically for this day. Built on tradition and layered with innovation, it is a new expression of Shinshu gastronomy that can be experienced only here — served in Hakuba, a place watched by food lovers around the world.
About the Course
A sushi chef, French and Italian chefs, a figure from the Shinshu ramen scene, wood-fire and teppanyaki "grill masters," a soba maker, and a pâtissier — specialists in their respective fields prepare a course that crosses genres for this one day.
One special dish after another is unveiled, each interpreting Shinshu's ingredients and the region's own cooking techniques through the chefs' sensibilities. For the sushi, the master himself comes to each table and prepares it in front of guests. Every plate — down to the ramen and dessert — is an original created for this event.
The 11 Chefs Shaping the Future of Shinshu
Three Shinshu Chefs Joining in 2026
Koji Kobayashi (小林 幸司) — フォリオリーナ・デッラ・ポルタ・フォルトゥーナ
He honed his craft at starred restaurants in regions such as Piedmont, Italy, opened in Nakameguro, Tokyo, and later relocated to Karuizawa. Keeping a distinctive style — one group of guests per day and no fixed menu — he is known in the Italian culinary world as a maverick. Pursuing uncompromising dishes that get to the truth of each ingredient, he appears at the Hakuba stage this time together with his partner, Yoko Kobayashi (小林 葉子), to share his original worldview.
Fumitaka Kuroiwa (黒岩 文隆) — 子安そば 文の藏
From Takayama Village. After spending 15 years refining soba-making techniques in Nagano City, he opened his own shop, 文の藏, in his hometown of Takayama Village. Embodying the spirit of "come to Takayama Village, eat Takayama Village," he pursues firm, robust country-style soba that draws out the aroma of house-milled buckwheat to the fullest, and he is drawing attention in the Shinshu soba world.
Takuya Okada (岡田 卓也) — vase
The rising chef at vase, a restaurant in Miyota. Drawing on experience gained at renowned restaurants across Europe, he worked as chef at quintocanto in Osaka before spending six years at Crony in Tokyo. To cook in an environment closer to producers, he moved to Nagano in April 2024, pouring his career and sensibility into Shinshu's ingredients as he continues to explore new dishes.
Continuing Chef Members
久保 崇嘉 — すし崇
A leading figure in Shinshu's sushi scene who established a technique of his own that he calls "熟成信州前" (aged Shinshu-style sushi). In landlocked Nagano, his aging technique concentrates the umami of fish and shellfish, and his sushi — combined with local traditional ingredients — has won over food lovers nationwide. At this event the master himself comes to the table and shows his delicate craft in front of guests. His restaurant has been listed in the Gault & Millau restaurant guide for four consecutive years since the 2023 edition.
Noriyuki Usui (臼井 憲幸) — ca'enne
He set his sights on cooking after university, worked at an Italian restaurant in Tokyo, then went to Italy for three years of study. After learning authentic techniques at a starred restaurant in Piedmont and a prosciutto workshop in Emilia-Romagna, he returned to Japan and opened ca'enne at the foot of Yatsugatake in 2020. Expressing the gifts of the four seasons with care, he explores the potential of "satoyama Italian" using house-made prosciutto and wood fire. He has been listed in Gault & Millau for five consecutive years and was selected for The Japan Times "Destination Restaurants 2024."
Ryuichi Nishimoto (西本 竜一) — MANO
He went to Spain at age 22 to learn authentic wood-fire cooking. After returning to Japan, he worked as a chef at places such as Snow Peak Land Station Hakuba (スノーピークランドステーション白馬), then opened MANO in Minami-Karuizawa in July 2024. He goes into the forest himself to gather wild bounty such as mushrooms and mountain vegetables, and by delicately controlling the flames of burning wood he draws out the potential of ingredients to the limit. Selected for The Japan Times "Destination Restaurants 2026."
Masakazu Kitazawa (北澤 昌和) — 食堂citta
A chef well known even among local food connoisseurs for his free command of charcoal and wood fire in a popular area near Nagano Station. Grounded in Italian cuisine and wine, he runs 食堂citta, where by facing fire sincerely he draws out the best qualities of meat and fish. Crossing traditional local wisdom with a modern sensibility, he finishes simple yet memorable "delicious plates."
Yukihiro Usami (宇佐見 幸弘) — 鉄板焼 宇佐見
From Achi Village. After building experience at long-established hotels and elsewhere, he opened 鉄板焼 宇佐見 in Handa City, Aichi Prefecture. On the limited stage of the teppan, he pursues strict temperature control and precise cooking. His lively performance — presenting even the aromas and sounds as part of the dish without losing an ingredient's character — embodies a "teppan gastronomy" that pours passion into every plate.
Kenji Tsukada (塚田 兼司) — 気むずかし家
Known as a prominent figure in the Shinshu ramen scene, he serves as an advisor to the Shinshu Men-yukai and works as a producer who revitalizes the region through ramen. With a strong spirit of inquiry and creativity unbound by existing frameworks, he brings French and Italian techniques into the bowl. For this event, too, he creates a distinctive bowl full of surprises.
Daichi Takara (高良 大地) — torantoroa33
After serving as chef pâtissier at long-established hotels and inns, he opened his own brand, torantoroa33, in Nagano City in 2020. Known for safe, reassuring production that avoids artificial trans fats and synthetic additives, he is a highly skilled pâtissier and chocolatier who has been popular at events such as the "Salon du Chocolat" Valentine's fair at Isetan Shinjuku. This time he also produces the guests-only "Kankan Sable Next Shinshu ver."
Mitsuhisa Kanazawa (金澤 光久) — Hotel Sierra Resort Hakuba
Group Executive Chef and director at Sierra Resort Hotels. He has worked to advance resort cuisine in Hakuba, and his cooking — which makes use of long-cultivated French technique and a network of Shinshu ingredients — is highly regarded. Drawing on experience taking part in competitions and large-scale culinary events in Japan and abroad, he serves as the operations lead for this event. In his own cooking, he advocates a resort gastronomy that builds on classic technique while adding contemporary flexibility and lightness.
Notable Shinshu Producer
Keiichi Mochizuki (望月 啓市) — Fujiya Wasabi Farm (藤屋わさび農園)
A fourth-generation grower who raises top-grade hon-wasabi in flat-style wasabi fields, making use of the spring water of Azumino, selected as one of Japan's 100 remarkable waters. A challenger who champions the idea of "from Azumino to the world through wasabi," his work goes beyond cultivation. Using groundwater from the Northern Alps, he farms "wasabi-field salmon" and has also succeeded in raising sturgeon. This year he releases "Azumino Caviar," working energetically to share Shinshu's terroir with the world in new forms.
Beverages: A Made in Shinshu Production
To match the food, the team proposes pairings of sake and wine selected mainly from Shinshu producers. Two experts well versed in a wide range of Made in Shinshu products produce the drinks for this special evening. Guests can choose either an alcoholic or a non-alcoholic pairing.
Kazuya Wakabayashi (若林 数矢) — 酒乃生坂屋
The 11th-generation owner of 酒乃生坂屋 in Chikuma City. For 30 years he has committed to "sake that makes you smile," visiting brewers himself to deliver to consumers the fine sake filled with their passion and stories.
岩井 穂純 — 湯田坂 岩井堂酒店
After working at wine bars and fine restaurants in Tokyo and serving for years as chef-sommelier at 神楽坂ラリアンス, he opened the wine shop 湯田坂 岩井堂酒店 in Shimosuwa Town, Nagano, in 2022. Approaching the essence of wine through both knowledge and sensibility, he shares the appeal of wine from his own perspective.
Sierra Resort Hotels Pairing Team
Across the hotel's French, Chinese, and meat-focused restaurants, the beverage selectors keep more than 2,000 bottles of wine and sake on hand at all times, proposing a special bottle or memorable glass to suit each occasion. This team handles the non-alcoholic drink selection for the event.
Event Details
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Date | July 7, 2026 (Tuesday) — Part 1 from 5:00 PM / Part 2 from 8:00 PM (doors open 15 minutes before each) |
| Venue | Hotel Sierra Resort Hakuba (14863-6 Hokujo, Hakuba Village, Kitaazumi District, Nagano) |
| Capacity | 50 guests per part (100 total) — reservations, including added slots, have closed |
| Price | ¥33,000 per person (tax included) + pairing drink (choice below) |
| Pairing | Alcoholic ¥8,800 (tax included) or non-alcoholic ¥4,400 (tax included) |
| Note | A 10% service charge applies separately to both food and drinks |
Overnight guest benefits include a special breakfast prepared by participating Next Shinshu chefs, and a gift of the torantoroa33 "Kankan Sable Next Shinshu ver."
