Breakfast with the Satō Family of Dewaya Inn

The Satō family’s breakfast table displays a wide array of healthful, enticing dishes featuring local vegetables and edible plants.

Akakogomi (red ostrich fern fiddleheads) in sesame dressing

Stewed zenmai (Asian royal fern fiddleheads)

Soused shidoke (Parasenecio delphiniifolius) leaves

Pickled warabi (bracken fiddleheads), cucumber, celery, and snow carrots

Kiriboshi daikon (dried shredded daikon radish) stewed with aburaage and carrots

A modern salad consisting of tomatoes, nagaimo (Chinese yam), snow carrots, snap peas, and broad beans

Dewaya preserves the old sign that beckoned pilgrims on their way to worship at Mount Gassan.

Breakfast at the inn is both lavish and homey, showcasing a huge variety of wild shoots, roots, and greens, along with such proteins as onsen tamago (coddled egg) and grilled salmon belly.

Matriarch Satō Kikuko, who took over as the inn’s second-generation okami after marrying into the family 65 years ago, continues to help out, to the delight of guests old and new.

The Satō family, spanning four generations, is upholding and enriching the unique culinary culture of Yamagata’s Dewa Sanzan district.