Once you have decided on what you would like to eat, we invite you to try it out. We have also prepared a special interview for each of the dishes listed here. Through these interviews, we hope you are able to experience a kind of “background of the delicacy” of each dish.
These ten spots are accompanied by a live reading of the famous Edo Period encyclopedic work, “Hokuetsu Seppu” by Bokushi Suzuki, which details life in the Snow Country. Even if you are just listening to this as background music as you drive, we want you to imagine listening to these poems being read aloud against the backdrop of the Snow Country. We hope that your experiences of the A-Class Gourmet cuisine will be infused with images of the beautiful Snow Country sprawling out before you.
※Since these poems were originally written during the Edo period and have been rewritten in a more modern style, there is a bit of a difference in meaning. There may even be small mistakes. Those who are intrigued by these readings should take some time to read the original text as well.
In the Chinese history book, The Zuo Tradition, it states that “if 30 centimeters of snow fall, it should be called a heavy snow.” This can be attributed to the fact that China generally has a warmer climate. The Tang Dynasty poet, Han Yu, also wrote that “snow is an auspicious sign of a good harvest,” but this is also something that would be said in a warmer climate. With that said, there are some colder areas of China that would get snow as early as August.
In a warmer country, even if there is less than 30 centimeters of snow, that is enough to make the mountains, rivers, and towns into a winter wonderland. Gazing upon the scene of the drifting snow, some may compare it to falling flowers, or even treasure. Admiring the snow filled scene, the people enjoy music and sake, and capture the beauty of this scene in paintings and poetry. This has been common practice in Japan and China since ancient times. This is something that can be enjoyed in places where there is light snow. However, in places like Echigo where I currently reside, there are times that, due to the innumerable feet of snowfall received on an annual basis, we aren’t able to have this same experience. Combating such snow takes hard work and resources. This section explains just how hard it is to live in areas like this.