September 20, 2024
Enowa
Gastronomy from the fields of Yufuin
At the inn-style retreat Enowa, each of the 10 villas and nine guest rooms is furnished with an outdoor hot spring bath. It is located in Oita Prefecture, Japan’s “onsen prefecture.” Until the prewar period, Yufuin was mainly a farming village. Enowa, which opened in June 2023, has had a significant influence in the district. This is because executive chef Tashi Gyamtso has created the first innovative cuisine in Yufuin.
Gyamtso was born and raised in a mountainous area of Tibet that is 3,000 meters above sea level. There, self-sufficiency in growing vegetables and raising cattle is the norm. “Pasturing the cows was my job,” he said. “We were farming people, and we bartered for necessities with our relatives, who were nomadic people.” His family relocated to New York in 2008. After graduating from university, he pursued a career as a chef. Widening his culinary horizons further, he trained at renowned restaurants in Europe and Japan, and even at a sake brewery to study fermentation. He arrived in Yufuin in 2020, three years before Enowa opened, and began preparations for the restaurant by cultivating its fields.
“The environment of Yufuin and the owner’s concept of ‘offering cuisine in which just-picked vegetables grown in our own field play the starring roles’ aligned with what I aspired to do myself,” said Gyamtso.
Gyamtso and the restaurant’s staff members participate in the farm work under the guidance of agricultural adviser Teruhisa Ishiwari of Ishiwari Farm in Kyoto, who has earned the support of famous chefs. Dinner at Enowa’s main dining room, Jimgu, begins in the greenhouse, where a fresh vegetable appetizer is served amid the aromas of the herbs grown inside. The dishes that follow also feature an abundance of vegetables, combined with fish and meat from Oita. All of them are vividly flavorful. The style of cuisine may be different, but Gyamtso’s philosophy of staying close to the land perfectly matches that of his predecessors in Yufuin.
Address
Enowa
544 Kawakami-Maruo, Yufuin-cho, Yufu-shi, Oita Pref.
https://enowa-yufuin.jp
Kiichiro Sato
Oita GOVERNOR
As the governor of Oita Prefecture, I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations on the selection of Enowa as a Destination Restaurant.
Enowa aims to deliver directly from the farm to the table, and the ingredients used are supplied through home cultivation and collaboration with the local community, so you can fully enjoy the blessings of life spun out by the rich nature of Oita Prefecture. I hope that many people will have a wonderful experience in Oita Prefecture, where you can enjoy fine cuisine and hot springs.
Takashige Soma
Yufu Mayor
I would like to offer our heartfelt congratulations to chef Tashi Gyamtso on receiving this prestigious award. This is the result of the efforts of everyone involved with Enowa.
Yufuin town in Yufu city is a place of natural beauty that spreads out at the foot of Mount Yufudake, which is affectionately known as “Bungo Fuji.” We appreciate Gyamtso’s efforts to further revitalize the local community of Yufuin, growing vegetables in the midst of this magnificent natural environment and providing freshly harvested vegetables.
