1,599 characters ★I traveled from Tokyo to Nagano Prefecture.I revisited this restaurant (4.57) with various requests, including catfish. One of my companions praised the grilled catfish with skin as the highlight of the day, but for me, the star was the eggplant. The owner prepared special ingredients like soft-shelled turtle, wild eel, and wild sweetfish, and while he seemed overwhelmed, it is precisely by elevating such humble ingredients to extraordinary flavors that a true culinary establishment proves its worth.01. Hassun01-1. Morokheiya Ohitashi with homemade grain mustard01-2. Grilled and peeled plum with sweetfish anchovy and tsurumurasaki01-3. Quail onsen tamago with crayfish dashi sauce and minced meat, arare01-4. Simmered green plums in syrup01-5. Tenryu sweetfish sushi01-6. Cucumber and salted squid with sake lees01-7. Traditional vegetable Shigeko eggplant in vinegar02. Natural amago and amitate soup (dashi made from kombu and amago)03. Grilled catfish from Nagiso with umeboshi-infused roasted sake and fresh wasabi04. Summer bear oyaki (filled with tomato, garlic chives, and cheese from Hiraya Jersey milk)05. Asahimatsu high-quality tofu cooked in local celery dashi with celery sauce06. Grilled natural eel (400g) from Hamana Lake with fresh wasabi and Yamakita village salt07. Simmered sweetfish (Tenryu sweetfish, sansho pepper, sweetfish ponzu)08. Matsumoto watermelon with natural Japanese mint jelly09. Cold simmered dish (Shigeko eggplant, pumpkin, and winter melon rolled in shin-dama)10. Grilled soft-shelled turtle (farmed from Takayama village) with sautéed yamadori mushrooms, turtle miso, and sauce from red yamadori mushrooms11. Natural eel from Hamana Lake in nanban-zuke with junzai from Shinano town and passion fruit12. Reconstructed spring rolls made with natural sweetfish caught in a nearby river13. Freshly squeezed juice made from 100% morning-harvested corn14. Freshly harvested corn15. Meal15-1. Natural sweetfish dashi (can be changed to katsuobushi ochazuke)15-2. Cucumber with mustard pickles15-3. Sweetfish rice15-4. Simmered catfish15-5. Handmade sweetfish udon15-6. Chiyo Maboroshi pork tenderloin cutlet curry with extra cutlet, garlic chive pickles, and sauce (can be changed to sauce katsu-don)16. Homemade mizu-yokan | Warm green tea17. Waffle monaka sandwiched with plum syrup and yogurt-style ice cream made from milkThe catfish, grilled to a crispy skin, looked just like black rockfish. It had an incredible richness similar to black rockfish, but the firmness of the flesh was on another level. It reminded me of the taste of eel tataki. The flavor of the skin was strikingly fresh, making it the highlight of the day. I enjoyed it with umeboshi-infused roasted sake, but it would also be great simply with salt.The oyaki was made with summer bear. Compared to winter bear, it may have less fat, but the red meat was delicious. The combination of Jersey milk cheese and tomato created a harmonious flavor.While the grilled Tenryu sweetfish was a staple at this restaurant, this year they decided not to serve sweetfish grilled with salt. Regarding the rice, the one I had from the Nebagawa river in 2019 had a much stronger aroma, but the "spring rolls" made by reconstructing the head, bones, and flesh were a new summer specialty of the restaurant.It seems that the purple yamadori mushrooms were not available even at this restaurant, but the requested "grilled soft-shelled turtle" was as wonderful as ever. The light fat burst with intense umami.As for the natural eel, I have become a fan of tubular grilled eel over white grilled eel, but the white grilled eel here, grilled to perfection, continues to surpass the best restaurants. The "nanban-zuke" paired with junzai and passion fruit left an even better impression than the white grilled eel.The freshly harvested corn, which can be eaten raw, was outstanding. One of my companions, who carries a sugar meter, measured it at 19 degrees. This sweetness rivals that of peaches, making it more like a fruit than a vegetable.The Chiyo Maboroshi pork tenderloin cutlet was crispy on the outside while the meat remained moist and tender. It was even better than what I had at the top katsu restaurants. Even the tightly set mizu-yokan and other desserts were exceptional, showcasing the restaurant's excellence, which has earned it the Tabelog Gold Award for three consecutive years.