Food is a great way to bring back memories and good times. Our October 2026 day in Gujo-Hachiman was one of those days.
The first bite of wild deer took me straight back to Kimie’s father. He loved cooking on the wood fire in the family business workshop. We’d sit down with a beer and freshly cooked meat, yakiniku style, and chat away. That’s what I tasted at lunch: wild meat, a little smoke, and good company.
A family lunch by the Yoshida River
This trip is about having fun, with family helping me find hidden gems like this one. My son and I went to Gujo-Hachiman to visit Kimie’s cousin, and the family took us to a local favourite: Seseragi-tei (せせらぎ亭).
Gujo-Hachiman sits in a narrow valley below Hachiman Castle. The town rebuilt the wooden keep in 1933 to give local people work in hard economic times. It’s one of the oldest wooden castle keeps rebuilt in Japan since the Meiji Restoration.
From the top you look down over the town and along the river towards the restaurant.
The sign out front says 郷土料理, local cuisine, and the menu sticks to what Gujo does best:
- Wild ayu and amago from the Nagara and Yoshida rivers
- Keichan and hoba miso made with Gujo Maidori, the local free-range chicken
- Hida beef and gibier: wild boar and deer caught in Gujo
It’s a certified Gifu Gibier restaurant (registration no. 101), so the game is properly sourced. The rice is Koshihikari grown in Gujo. Free cold green tea came with the meal. We sat in the tatami room, but there are Western-style tables and chairs too. I was more flexible in my younger years and find the tatami harder now, so it’s good to have the choice.
What we ate
I had the wild deer, my son had wild boar, and the family had keichan. All three came in a clay pot over a small flame at the table, with tofu, maitake, eggplant, capsicum, onion and a carrot cut into a flower.
- Deer (天然しか肉陶板焼): 100 g of thigh. The menu says the meat is aged to bring out its flavour, and that it gets better the more you chew. It wasn’t gamey, but it still had that wild texture and plenty of flavour.
- Wild boar (天然しし肉陶板焼): thinner slices with a ribbon of fat. The menu describes the fat as sweet and melting, never heavy.
- Keichan (鶏ちゃん): Gujo’s own chicken dish, cooked in a miso sauce under a mound of cabbage. The menu labels it B-kyu gourmet, Japanese for cheap, honest comfort food.
Each set came with a sesame and soy dipping sauce, miso soup, simmered pumpkin, pickled daikon and, of course, rice. Together they made a complete meal.
A tip on the tabletop burner. Cooking at the table is fun, but the pot keeps cooking after the meat is done, and I overcooked mine. I like my meat closer to medium rare. Next time I’ll pull it out early, or rest it on top of the vegetables to keep it warm.
Menu and prices
A set meal costs about ¥1,600–¥3,000 including tax. Prices are from the menu in October 2026.
| Dish | What comes with it | Price (¥, tax incl.) |
|---|---|---|
| Wild boar tōban-yaki set | Seasonal side, rice, red miso soup, pickles | 2,915 |
| Wild deer tōban-yaki set (thigh, 100 g) | Seasonal side, rice, red miso soup, pickles | 2,090 |
| Keichan set | Seasonal side, maitake soup, rice, pickles | 1,595 |
| Keichan gozen | Adds maitake tempura and half udon | 1,980 |
| Hoba miso chicken set | Seasonal side, raw egg, maitake soup, rice, pickles | 1,980 |
| Chicken karaage set | Seasonal side, maitake soup, rice, pickles | 1,595 |
| Amago gozen (medium) | Salt-grilled and dengaku amago, mountain vegetables, rice, red miso soup | 3,025 |
| Single wild amago, salt-grilled or dengaku | Add ¥220 to make it a set | 1,430–1,980 by size |
- Any set can be ordered without the sides for ¥220 less.
- The boar and deer hot pots (nabe) are only served from 1 November to the end of May.
- Fish dishes take a little longer, and you can book ahead.
- Some dishes sell out. On our visit the deer spare-rib mix and most of the amago sets were gone.
Before you go
| Address | 5-15-4 Ono, Hachiman-cho, Gujo, Gifu (岐阜県郡上市八幡町小野5-15-4) |
| Phone | 0575-67-0591 |
| Lunch | 11:00–15:00 (last order 14:30) |
| Dinner | 17:30–20:00 (last order 19:30) |
| Summer | Mid-July to early September, dinner runs 17:00–21:00 (last order 20:30) |
| Closed | Wednesdays (Thursday if Wednesday is a public holiday), plus some irregular days |
| Payment | Cards accepted |
| Parking | 7 spaces out front |
| Seating | Tatami room, or Western-style tables and chairs |
If you’re driving through Gujo-Hachiman, it’s an easy lunch stop. Try the game while it’s in season, and remember to take your meat off the flame early.
