Mount Hakusan, standing at an elevation of 2,702 meters (8,865 feet), has been revered since ancient times as one of Japan’s Three Holy Mountains, alongside Mount Fuji and Mount Tateyama. In December 2025, at its western foot, a new restaurant and auberge was born. It is “ENNU,” helmed by Chef Shoji Nishiyama and his wife, Madame Maiko.

It is a space of gastronomy and healing, woven together by the nature and people of the 72-kilometer Tedori River basin, which originates from Mount Hakusan and flows into the Sea of Japan. During the winter, Mount Hakusan is covered in deep snow; with the spring thaw, mountain vegetables stir into life, and the pristine water becomes mountain streams that nurture various river fish. The water that permeates the earth brings rich flavor to the rice and buckwheat grown in the satoyama at the foot of the mountain. There, one finds a culinary culture born within harsh nature, alongside festivals and folk events based on mountain worship.

Chef Nishiyama, fascinated by these natural blessings and traditional culture, was born in Aichi Prefecture in 1972. After studying French cuisine and serving as the executive chef at the restaurant that was the venue for the Toyako Summit (2008), he opened “Restaurant N” (pronounced Restaurant ‘ennu’) in Kanazawa City in 2015. He is a renowned chef who earned one star in the Michelin Guide Hokuriku 2021 Special Edition. Madame Maiko has refined her skills in wine and service at the avant-garde regional restaurant “L’évo” in Toyama Prefecture.

In Hakusan City and its outskirts, there were many producers working to create products that make use of nature at the foot of the mountain. The young men of a farm specializing in micro-leaves add color, spice, and aroma to Chef Nishiyama’s dishes. Furthermore, the people of the Yamadachi-kai “Yamadachi Farm”—who utilize abandoned farmland to graze Suffolk sheep and raise them healthily on wild grasses—are also artisans who support the restaurant. Alongside gibier, Chef Nishiyama has made the Suffolk lamb, with its meltingly soft red meat, one of the main dishes of the restaurant. An ideal form of local gastronomy has been born here, where producers and the chef overlap and refine their craft together, bringing new breath to the satoyama.

The restaurant is equipped with counter seats, tables, and private rooms, and the warmth of the wood creates a sense of unity with the surrounding environment.

Allow us to introduce a portion of the spring menu. After the amuse-bouche, the course features iwana (char), Suffolk lamb, pufferfish milt, Asian black bear, wild boar, and firefly squid. The products of the Tedori River basin, reaching from Mount Hakusan to the Sea of Japan, are crafted by the skilled Chef Nishiyama into a “Foothill Gastronomy” that is delicate yet overflowing with wildness. As “wood fire” (maki-bi) is frequently used for cooking, you will be able to sense the vitality of the forests of Mount Hakusan through the cuisine.

Within the same grounds as the restaurant, three cottages with different designs are provided. After the meal, why not immerse yourself in the slowly flowing time amidst the grandeur of nature?

After enjoying the exquisite gastronomy and stepping outside, a sky full of stars was shining over the village of Shiramine.

Address: 110-1 Shiramine-tsu, Hakusan City, Ishikawa 920-2501
Name: ENNU
Phone: 076-256-3689
URL: https://ennu.jp
Getting there: Approx. 30 minutes by car from JR Katsuyama Station.

Photography/ Yusuke Takano
Text/ Shunji Miyagawa
Translation/ Yumiko Sushitani