10 Minutes

Fragrant smokiness and smell of miso will enhance your appetite.

5 Minutes

A delicious traditional Tsuruoka-style miso soup made with one of Tsuruoka City's well known heirloom crops, the Dadacha mame. This savory miso soup is made during the summer when the Dadacha mame are at their peak in flavor, creating an amazingly delicious, and a very "Tsuruoka" miso soup!

8 Minutes

Get intoxicated from the rich umami and fresh fragrance of dadachamame, a traditional summer dish served in Tsuruoka.

50 ~ 60 Minutes

15 Minutes

Local autumn tradition: Imoni-kai

On a fair autumn weekend, you can see many people holding imoni party along the riverbanks of the city or along the sandy coasts of the seaside. It is an autumn tradition for people in Yamagata prefecture to gather and celebrate the end of rice harvest season as it coincides with satoimo season. The flavours of imoni varies from regions to regions - inland Yamagata uses beef and seasons it with soy sauce, whereas the imoni in Shonai region uses pork and uses miso instead. 

30 Minutes

Shonai's winter tradition. The rich creamy shirako (milt / sperm sacs of male cod fish), fatty winter cod, and warm miso broth is sure to fill you up with warmth in the chilly Tsuruoka winters.

15 Minutes

Karatori is the stem part of karatori yam. The skin is removed and then dried to preserve the vegetable. It is a dish that is commonly served in shojin ryori during autumn.

5 Minutes

Delicious when made into ohitashi (vegetables steeped in a dashi based sauce) or aemono (mixed with dressing), kenchin is the way to go when using mizu. It is a dish for everyone to enjoy the crispy texture of mizu.

15 Minutes

Moso jiru, a popular springtime soup among locals, is made from freshly harvested moso bamboo shoots and sake lees. The combination of the flavour of sake lees and crunchy texture of bamboo shoots reminds you of home. You can't say that you've experienced spring in Tsuruoka without trying this dish!

1 Hour

Subtle sweetness and flavour spreads within your mouth with every bite.

1 Hour 10 Minutes

Don't be mistaken! This is not nabeyaki udon (claypot udon). This is a popular household summer dish in the Shonai region.

15 Minutes

Natsu ika no monpeyaki is traditionally skewered on a stick and grilled in an irori (traditional Japanese sunkern hearth fireplace). While grilling it, the squid will puff up, resembling monpe (traditional Japanese women's work pants) thus this dish is named as such. 

15 Minutes

A fish that is often associated with spring's arrival. It is often prepared in many households during spring together with grilled trout and simmered moso bamboo shoots. In addition, it is also served during Tenjin Matsuri, one of the big 3 festivals in Tsuruoka, held on 25 May.  The pink flesh of the salmon reminds people of cherry blossoms thus it was named as such. 

45 Minutes

Did you know that a majority of akebi sold throughout Japan come from Yamagata Prefecture?

Akebi, or more commonly known as chocolate vine, is a bitter but delicious purple fruit that is eaten seasonally in Autumn. 

Native to the northern region of Japan (Tohoku), this fruit that was once frequently utilized in the Tohoku diet, is now rarely seen in modern cooking. The culture of eating this fruit has survived by being prepared and eaten as a part of traditional dishes. 

20 Minutes

15 ~ 20 Minutes

Crunchy cripsy shiso leaf wrapped around sweet chewy nutty filling. Each households have their own unique recipe for the delicious filling. Eat it together with rice as a side dish, or a snack that goes with sake, or as a topping for ochazuke (rice served with tea). The aroma of shiso is sure to remind you of the nostalgic taste of home. 

20 Minutes

20 Minutes

This dish is called zakuni as the vegetables makes a "crunchy" sound (zaku zaku) when it is cut into similar sized chunks. The vegetables are then simmered in dashi broth. 

30 Minutes