FAQ

Where in Japan is Yamanaka?

Here’s a map on Google Earth. Yamanaka Onsen (hot spring) is part of Kaga Kaga City (actually a collection of small towns, includign Yamanaka), in Ishikawa Prefecture.

Ishikawa is on the western side of Honshu, Japan's main island, along the Japan Sea. It's in a region called Hokuriku, that also includes the prefectures of Fukui, Toyama, and Niigata (all along the Japan Sea).

The nearest big, well-known city is Kanazawa, about an hour away by car.

Is it the same as Yamanakako-mura?

No, that is in Yamanashi, a different prefecture. The Library of Congress initially made an error categorizing Water, Wood, and Wild Things as about that area.

Can you give me advice for my trip to Japan? Where should I go in Yamanaka?

If you want advice for an upcoming trip to Japan, please join my Patreon, check out my New York Times article about the Kaga Area (the Visit Kaga website also has a lot of great local information in English), and see what events are coming up at Mokkei, my kitchen studio in a 100-year-old farmhouse.

What crafts and activities are covered in the book, Water, Wood, and Wild Things?

  • sake, also known as nihonshu, and by the misnomer “rice wine”

  • onsen, Japanese hot spring baths

  • Yamanaka bushi, the folk music (minyo/min’yo) and dance

  • tea ceremony (sado/chado/chanoyu), omotesenke school

  • Yamanaka shikki, laquerware, and wood turning

  • urushi lacquer, harvest and processing

  • wagatabon, wooden trays carved from green chestnut wood

  • washi, Japanese paper, made from ganpi (gampi), and ganpi harvesting

  • sansai, foraged vegetables and herbs

  • samurai style duck hunting at Katano Kamoike, called saka-ami ryo

  • Japanese rice cultivation and natural farming

  • Local Japanese vegetables called Kaga yasai, and growing adzuki beans

  • Yamanaka’s festival, called Koi Koi Matsuri

Where is the best place to buy a copy of Water, Wood, and Wild Things?

Anywhere you like to buy books! If you buy it from an online retailer, would you be so kind as to leave a review? There is also an audio book read by the author.