Milk From Tokyo!?
You may imagine lots of cows grazing in a vast meadow when you think of milk, so you may be surprised to learn about mil that is made in Tokyo. The name speaks for itself, ”Tokyo Milk”. It is made at a designated dairy farm in the Tama region. The dairy farmer milk the cows, the fresh milk is collected and sterilized, then distributed by Kyodo Milk Industry Inc. after some additional procedures. Milking and commercialization is all done in Tokyo. It truly lives up to its name. It is mainly sold in stores around the Tama area. Since it is not mass produced, you seldom see the product sold in the center of Tokyo. ”We want to expand sales by promoting its name as a brand,” said Westland Farm CEO Rikuo Shimizu.
The Cows Walk to the Milking Machines on Their Own
The milk is rich in flavor, yet has a refreshing aftertaste. We taste the fresh milk, which is extremely good. The secret is in the Westland Farm milking machines: the cows themselves walk to the milking machines to be milked. The milking machines comes from the Netherlands, and lures the cows into a gate using feed. When the cow walks in, the sensors automatically connect the milking hose to the cows and milks them. The amount of milk each cow produces is managed by the IC chips on the cow’s collar. Shimizu explains why this milking machine produces better tasting milk. ”Good milk comes from good feed plus good environment. The ordinary milking process follows the human’s working cycle, and is stressful for the cows. Eliminating the stress on the cows results in great tasting milk.”
You Can’t Beat the Freshness
The best tasting milk is obviously fresh milk drunk immediately. You can’t beat fresh milk. Although it’s not possible to visit the farm daily, if you want to drink fresh milk, the second best choice you have in Tokyo is to drink milk produced in Tokyo. That is one of the features the Tokyo dairy farmers want to highlight, to further promote the ”Tokyo Milk” brand name. While it is true that there have been offers from many companies, the number of farms in Tokyo has decreased from 200 to 60. In Tokyo, it is inevitable that the farms are located next to residences and apartment buildings. Yet, the farms in Tokyo are trying to adapt to the environment, a challenge in itself. As we have found in our travels, the taste differences by region. Here too, they strive for better taste.
