Hot Springs with Delicious Food (Limited to Home-Cooked Meals by the Landlady) ①

Likes: Hot springs, local cuisine, sake

I love rustic hot springs, so the inns I stay at inevitably end up being small ones run by couples or families. At such inns, the meals are basically prepared by the landlady, and occasionally by the husband, son, or daughter.
While I admire the luxurious kaiseki meals made by distinguished head chefs, I love local cuisine, so I am happy with home-cooked meals that use seasonal ingredients and specialties from that region. I get excited about things I see or eat for the first time.

I will introduce some hot springs that I think are great, based on my own judgment and prejudice, where the landlady's home cooking is delicious.

Yamagata Prefecture, Hijiori Onsen, Miharuya

I love the hot spring town, the hot springs, and the food so much that I even did telework (workation?!) there. Lol
I have business trips to Yamagata City once or twice a year, and if the dates align, I stay there; I've been many times. The meals are handmade by the landlady. I will introduce the dishes that left an impression on me.

Dinner ①: 7,700 yen for one night with two meals on a hot spring cure plan
Vinegared dishes with Yamagata's specialty edible chrysanthemums, wild vegetables, and hot pot. Since Yamagata also has a sea, the sashimi and fish are delicious too.
I even end up drinking sake, which I don't usually drink!
I used to dislike the floral scent of edible chrysanthemums, but the ones at Miharuya were very delicious.

Do you know what this is on the middle right?
It's an akebi (chocolate vine fruit)! I thought people ate it like fruit, but apparently, it's standard here to stuff it with meat and grill it.

Here is a picture of it after I took a bite. Lol
I thought it would be easier to see the inside. It's like grilled eggplant stuffed with meat. It goes so well with sake!

Dinner ②: The whole pickled eggplant was a gift from someone who has a stall at the morning market. According to the landlady, she can't pickle them this well herself. Oh, and they have draft beer here too!

There's also Yamagata's specialty, imoni (taro stew)! The small side dishes are also always delicious, made with seasonal vegetables and wild plants. Since it was September, summer vegetables were the main focus.
Eggplant, edamame, green peppers, and green beans. I never get tired of it even if I stay for multiple nights.

This is breakfast. Simple, handmade side dishes are lined up.

A morning market is held in front of Miharuya. I think it was from about 5:00 AM to 8:00 AM? There are lots of fresh vegetables.
When I stay for multiple nights, I sometimes reserve things the day before to buy on the day I leave. The handmade Yamagata specialty pickles called 'Omizuke' are delicious, so I definitely buy them and make reservations. When staying for multiple nights, I sometimes buy wild vegetable rice for lunch.

They were selling akebi.

There are two hot springs, one on the 1st floor and one on the 3rd floor, but I definitely recommend the 1st floor, which uses their own private source. It's semi-basement.
There is a famous saying by hot spring critic Isamu Gunji: 'Great hot springs are found by going down.' You can't go wrong with a hot spring that requires going down stairs. That's because it's closer to the source.

Miharuya's private source on the 1st floor (semi-basement). The source temperature is high at 57.2 degrees, so it is diluted with water, but it is very fresh. It is a sodium bicarbonate spring.

The Hijiori Onsen Association source on the 3rd floor. The mineral content is probably higher here. The source water even comes out of the shower! It makes your hair smooth. Sodium bicarbonate spring.

When you stay at an inn in Hijiori Onsen, you get a free ticket for the communal bath 'Kami no Yu.' This hot spring is also great!

There is a Jizo statue above the hot water spout.

Hijiori Onsen town at the morning market
Hijiori Onsen was originally a hot spring cure resort, and farmers used to come here for cures during the off-season. It's a hot spring town with a charming atmosphere where time seems to have stopped, just as it was back then. Wonderful.

I'm currently suffering from a skin condition, so I'd like to relax and take a hot spring cure for about a week.
Since Miharuya is a hot spring cure inn, the toilets and washrooms are shared. The toilets are Western-style.