A small luxury gourmet experience where you can enjoy the nature of Miyota.

Written by Takanori Nakamura

On March 3th, Hiramatsu Hotels, a member of the Hiramatsu Group, a hotel and restaurant business, opened THE HIRAMATSU Karuizawa Miyota in Nagano Prefecture. Miyota Town is located exactly between Karuizawa Town, Saku City, and Komoro City, and is about 16 minutes by car from any of the cities. The number of immigrants has been increasing in recent years, as people have reaffirmed not only the convenience of transportation but also the quality of the natural environment, and there has been support for remote work. It is said to be one of the few municipalities in Nagano Prefecture whose population is increasing. The hotel is located on a 20 m37 site in Miyota, a rich, almost untouched forest. The main building, villas, and other areas are designed to blend in with the natural surroundings, and with only XNUMX guest rooms, it has an overwhelmingly spacious feel.

A magnificent landscape surrounded by the mountains of Miyota

Currently, ``Hiramatsu Hotels'' has a total of 7 facilities in scenic spots throughout Japan, including Okinawa, Ise-Shima, Kyoto, and Hakone, including the latest ``Karuizawa/Miyota.'' All of the facilities have a limited number of guest rooms and are operated in a manner similar to what is known as a small luxury hotel. The charm, or rather the strength, of “Hiramatsu Hotels” is that “A hotel operated by Hiramatsu Group, which developed from a restaurant base.The story of ``Karuizawa/Miyota'' is also centered around the enjoyment of dining at a restaurant. Your stay will be even more enjoyable if you think of the food as a matter of course, but also the location, architecture, landscape, facility design details, staff placement, etc., all of which contribute to the enjoyment of your meal.

For example, the flow lines inside the building and in the garden are purposely not streamlined, as if we wanted people to enjoy the atmosphere of the alley leading to the restaurant. The promenade from the villa to the main building creates the feeling of strolling through a forest, and the layout of the paths inside the main building and leading to the restaurant has been calculated to prevent guests from overlapping each other. In addition, we have incorporated playful ideas regarding food, such as creating dog-friendly villas with mini-kitchens, and taking breakfast baskets outside and eating them freely on the lawn or forest on the premises. There is.

Taste local ingredients with Hiramatsu style French cuisine

This is the most important dish. Hiramatsu Hotels' hotel chefs are basically selected from among the chefs who work at restaurants within the Hiramatsu Group. Chef Akio Yanagihara, who was appointed as the head chef at ``Karuizawa Miyota'', has also been training at ``Restaurant Hiramatsu Hiroo'' and ``Maison Paul Bocuse'', as well as at ``Restaurant Hiramatsu Paris'' after traveling to France. Chef Yanagihara has been visiting Miyota since the pre-opening stage, and has already visited around 40 producers. By visiting restaurants himself, he not only secures the freshest and best ingredients, but also comes up with ideas for dishes. I think that one of Hiramatsu Hotels' unique strengths is that it gives much of this discretion to the chef.

The dinner menu at THE HIRAMATSU Karuizawa Miyota, which I experienced over two nights, consisted of about nine dishes in total. The names of all the dishes were simply written with only the names of the ingredients. They include ``Saku carp,'' ``deer, lily root, shiitake mushroom,'' ``Shinshu premium beef green pepper,'' ``wild boar, white asparagus,'' and ``apple.'' Seasonal ingredients are mainly selected from local Nagano Prefecture. The dishes are simply composed of main ingredients, side dishes and sauces. Chef Yanagihara's approach to flavor is to bring out the natural flavors of the ingredients, and with his extensive experience in Paris and other areas, he is able to bring out the edge of taste, such as shading, shading, slowness, and coolness. The after-meal feeling is well-balanced.

Above all, it is an enjoyable experience to be able to enjoy local ingredients unique to Miyota, such as Saku carp and wild game, in Hiramatsu style French cuisine. In that sense, the cuisine here can be thought of as Nagano Prefecture's "local gastronomy" centered around Miyota. Chef Yanagihara has visited many producers, and Nagano Prefecture is famous for its local vegetables, fruits, livestock, wine, and even though it is a prefecture without a sea, Saku carp and trout farming is also popular. Wild ingredients such as wild vegetables, mushrooms, and wild game also have a deep depth. When it comes to local gastronomy, there are unknown areas to attack and discover. I would like to see Chef Yanagihara continue to work on this aspect in the future.

A rich hotel stay like living in the forest and local gastronomy

In terms of local attractions, Miyota, where the hotel is located, was once home to the Jomon people for a long time, and 46 ruins remain. Among them, traces of ``stone steamed dishes'' cooked by the Jomon people have also been found. It is said that the Jomon people lived in the area from about 1 to 5 years ago, which is proof that the area is geographically rich in gastronomy. The tastes of the Jomon people and ours are probably quite different, so a simple comparison is probably not possible, but it would be helpful to unravel the Jomon food culture that was once eaten in Miyota, as it will help the local food culture in the future. Personally, I have high hopes that it will give us some hints about gastronomy.

In any case, staying at THE HIRAMATSU Karuizawa Miyota, immersing yourself in the local scenery, air and water, and tasting local ingredients will be a gourmet experience that can only be experienced in Miyota.

THE HIRAMATSU Karuizawa Miyota

375₋723 Oaza Shiono, Miyota-machi, Kitasaku-gun, Nagano Prefecture