Where Japan’s forests and farmland meet, a way of life is under threat

Keiko Kuwakino forages for wild vegetables in the forests of Minami-Uonuma, Niigata prefecture. The head chef at the Michelin-starred Sanaburi restaurant at the Satoyama Jujo luxury retreat designs her cuisine around the changing seasons and the surrounding landscape. (Photo by Ilgin Yorulmaz) Chefs, farmers and urban transplants work to preserve a centuries-old bond with the land MINAMI-UONUMA, Japan — Chef Keiko Kuwakino is on a mission. She is preparing dinner for 20 guests at Sanaburi, her Michelin-starred restaurant at the luxury retreat Satoyama Jujo in rural Niigata prefecture, but she is short on udo (Japanese spikenard), a slightly bitter spring wild vegetable she has gathered for the menu.

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