Yu-toria Etchu, a hot spring inn operated by Kasuga Onsen Kanko Kaihatsu Co., Ltd. (located in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture), will launch a limited winter detox accommodation plan called "Winter Fermented Medicinal Hot Pot" starting January 14 (Wednesday).
Following the summer fermented medicinal kaiseki course certified as "Toyama Yakuzen" (Note 1) by Toyama City in December last year, this winter plan features two special soups (red spicy and white salted koji) that boost metabolism with seasonal Toyama ingredients. Optional specialty seafood including the rare deep-sea fish "genge" is also available. Combined with the natural hot springs known as the "beauty bath" and yomogi-mushi herbal steam therapy, this plan offers a warming experience from the core of mind and body.
(Note 1) Toyama Yakuzen website: https://yakuzen-toyama.com/
1. Detox in Toyama! Features of the Fermented Medicinal Hot Pot
The chef's special two-type soup (red spicy and white salted koji) comes with dipping sauces for flavor variation, and ingredients feature winter produce centered on Toyama ingredients. Enjoy in a private room.
To refresh the winter mind and body, the plan spotlights Toyama's winter ingredients. The main fermented medicinal hot pot features carefully selected ingredients by the chef: cod milt, said to "nourish the kidneys" symbolizing winter vitality; white wood ear mushroom, "a representative medicinal ingredient that prevents dryness and provides moisture"; jujube dates, said to "balance qi, blood, and spirit simultaneously"; and more.
Fermented Medicinal Hot Pot Menu (Subject to change based on availability)
Appetizers: Winter Toyama Sea, Mountain & Village Appetizer Assortment
- Yellowtail turnip sushi, Chinese cabbage with walnut, Fukumitsu anpo persimmon with cream cheese, cilantro and black garlic white tofu, Himi Kaki-daiko dried sardine fry
Sashimi: Uozu-produced filefish sashimi with liver
Main Dish: Fermented Medicinal Hot Pot
- Yellowtail, cod milt, salmon, cod, sweet shrimp, Nanto pork, board glass noodles, Mehino Wild Garden's free-range local chicken, Toyama City Nagatsuke Yamazaki-san's komatsuna greens, Toyama Kankan (cold & sweet) vegetables, Himi udon, Gokayama tofu, black wood ear mushroom, white wood ear mushroom, garlic, hanabira mushroom, shiitake mushroom, kakinoki mushroom, white leek
Red Spicy Pot: Jujube dates, goji berries, red chili pepper, Sichuan pepper
White Salted Koji: Sake lees, soy milk, collagen, lemon
Dipping Sauces for Variation: Spicy miso, lemon fish sauce, peanut butter, sesame soy milk sauce, chili oil, condiments (chopped green onion, cilantro)
Meal: Clay pot rice (white rice), rice porridge set (Mehino Wild Garden's free-range healthy eggs, white leek)
Dessert: Lemon sherbet
2. Toyama's Hidden Winter Seafood Treasures - Additional Specialty Dishes
The sashimi in the fermented medicinal hot pot features "Uozu filefish" with liver, a specialty prized by local connoisseurs.
Additional dishes are also available, including: Toyama Bay's rare deep-sea fish "genge" tasting (hot pot and tempura), white shrimp three-way tasting, whelk three-way tasting, Toyama Bay three-shrimp sashimi tasting, and more.
3. Mind and Body Balancing with "Beauty Bath" and Yomogi-Mushi
Two natural hot spring sources are available. Both feature sodium chloride springs (hypotonic, weakly alkaline, high temperature) with skin-beautifying and heat-retention effects.
Yomogi-mushi uses locally harvested mugwort. Sit on a loess chair for about 1 hour and gently sweat to warm from the inside! Recommended for those with sensitivity to cold. (Reservation required: ¥4,500 tax included)
4. Breakfast
Breakfast features homemade five-part polished rice, two types of miso soup (mountain and sea), and handmade dishes using seasonal local ingredients fresh from the region. Brown rice and rice porridge are also available.
5. Plan Development Background and Philosophy
"While Toyama's winter offers attractive ingredients, accommodation numbers are lowest in the year (Note 2)." The service was developed to positively transform this fact, embracing the idea that "precisely because of this, a quiet environment for self-care can be created." This is the inn's new initiative to stimulate demand and level it throughout the year by making winter delicacies the star, contributing modestly to regional economic revitalization.
(Note 2) According to MLIT Accommodation Travel Statistics: https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tokei_hakusyo/shukuhakutokei.html
6. Message from the Chef
Chef Hisao Takasaki: "From the perspective of our inn's cuisine, which pursues the fundamentals of Japanese food, this initiative was initially challenging as it went in the opposite direction. Since my training days, I was taught not to eat spicy or strongly stimulating foods as they affect the chef's palate. Nevertheless, I challenged myself to find and bring out umami amid the stimulation, which proved quite difficult. Ultimately, by focusing on medicinal food principles following last summer, I learned anew about the importance of kidney function, the effects of black foods that warm the body, and white foods that moisturize the skin. I feel I glimpsed the world of 'food as medicine' and the profound depth of food. I will continue to further refine body-friendly Japanese cuisine."
7. Representative's Comment
On clear winter days in Toyama, the Tateyama mountain range appears in its divine glory. This season is also overflowing with unique and attractive ingredients such as yellowtail and snow crab. However, winter tourism in Toyama is lower compared to other seasons, and we have long wanted more people to experience the beauty of Toyama's winter nature.
Our inn's aspiration is to be "an inn that lives with Toyama's nature (life)." With gratitude for living things and a desire for guests to absorb nature's cycles into their mind and body to restore life's essence, we planned a new winter service centered on food where fermented ingredients achieve harmonious flavor to be enjoyed whole: the Fermented Medicinal Hot Pot accommodation plan.
We will strive to help people from outside the prefecture, including urban areas, discover and enjoy beautiful Toyama winter through the Fermented Medicinal Hot Pot plan, and encourage repeat visits.
8. Plan Overview
Product Name: Winter Toyama Fermented Medicinal Hot Pot
Sales Period: January 14 (Wed) to March 31 (Tue)
Reservations & Inquiries: Please make reservations at least 5 days in advance through our website or by phone.
- Yu-toria Etchu Reservations: Tel. 076-467-5000
- "Winter Toyama Fermented Medicinal" Accommodation Plan: https://reserve.489ban.net/client/yu-toriaettyu/0/detail/1156625
Reservation Notes: Please reserve the "Fermented Medicinal Hot Pot" at least 5 business days in advance, and "Toyama's Hidden Winter Seafood Treasures - Additional Specialty Dishes" at least one week in advance.
About Yu-toria Etchu
Surrounded by 360 degrees of nature, this is "an inn that lives with Toyama's nature (life)." Meals feature homemade five-part polished rice from Koshihikari special cultivation rice sourced as brown rice from Anekura Noei Kumiai in Funakura district, Toyama City, just 3.5km away, along with handmade dishes using local Toyama ingredients, local sake, and spacious hot springs with two weakly alkaline sources. This hot spring inn overflows with Toyama love, pursuing the comfort unique to Toyama's satoyama countryside. The blessings of satoyama and hot springs provide moisture to guests' minds and bodies, and the inn strives daily to provide relaxation and smiles.
