Based in Morioka City and Shiwa Town in Iwate Prefecture, “Sun Farm” Ltd. produces fruit trees and rice. Guided by the philosophy of “doing things differently,” President Satoshi Yoshida cultivates a wide variety of apples, including rare overseas varieties. The collection includes a staggering 140 varieties—it’s practically an apple museum.

“Sun Farm”: Committed to Iwate, Starting with “Soil Preparation”

Iwate Prefecture is a major apple-producing region, second only to Aomori and Nagano prefectures. Its history of apple cultivation predates that of Aomori and Nagano; apple cultivation is said to have begun in Morioka City in 1872.

　“Sun Farm” is an agricultural corporation based in Morioka City—which boasts the highest apple production volume in the prefecture—and the neighboring town of Shiwa to its south. The company grows apples and other fruit trees, as well as rice. It was founded by a family of farmers whose lineage has continued in this region for generations, and is currently led by Satoshi Yoshida, the 11th-generation head of the family.

Under the concept of “Iwate from Soil Preparation Onward,” the company practices circular agriculture using compost and oyster shells produced within Iwate Prefecture. Its apples and rice have earned “Special Cultivation” certification, which requires that pesticide use be kept to less than half that of conventional farming. The company also operates tourist farms where visitors can pick cherries and blueberries; people come from the local area, the Tokyo metropolitan area, and even overseas to enjoy the harvest experience.

140 Varieties of Cooking Apples, Curated by a Former Trading Company Employee

Mr. Yoshida is originally from Joetsu City in Niigata Prefecture. After graduating from the Faculty of Agriculture at Yamagata University, he joined a trading company specializing in aquaculture equipment. Following his marriage in 1995, he moved to Morioka City—the hometown of his wife, Mika—and joined Sun Farm, a business run by his father-in-law. Starting with no prior experience, he plunged into the world of agriculture and dedicated himself to mastering cultivation techniques, while also working to reform the business by launching initiatives such as a tourist fruit orchard and a direct-sales operation.

Among his initiatives, he has placed particular emphasis on cooking apples. He cultivates approximately 140 varieties, focusing primarily on rare varieties with a strong tart flavor. “In terms of the number of varieties we handle, I believe we’re probably number one in Japan,” Mr. Yoshida says with pride.

I’m a relative newcomer to apple farming. That’s exactly why I want to do things differently from everyone else.

Morioka City in Iwate Prefecture was one of the first places in Japan to introduce “dwarfing cultivation,” and the adoption rate there is over 90 percent. “Dwarfing cultivation” is a method in which fruit trees are grafted onto “dwarfing rootstocks”—which naturally suppress plant growth—and trained to grow at a low height. The benefits of this method include easier cultivation management and harvesting due to the trees’ compact size, as well as the ability to grow high-quality fruit because sunlight reaches every part of the tree.

Although the area has a long history of apple cultivation, the orchard was not growing apples when Mr. Yoshida began helping out there. “Our family has been farming for generations, but we didn’t start growing apples until 2009. Compared to our neighbors, we were latecomers,” says Mr. Yoshida. That is precisely why he says he makes a conscious effort to focus on “doing things that others aren’t doing.”

“The JA cooperatives in Iwate Prefecture handle 22 varieties of apples. Most apple farmers grow one of these 22 varieties, and the apples they grow are lumped together with those from other producers and distributed to the market. I felt that made it hard to stand out and wasn’t very interesting. So I decided to compete on a completely different playing field, and starting the following year—2010—I began expanding our variety selection.”

Most apples grown and distributed in Japan are sweet varieties meant for fresh consumption, such as Fuji and Jonagold. Mr. Yoshida decided to “go in the opposite direction” and focused on varieties with a strong tartness that are well-suited for cooking. He believed there was significant demand, particularly among restaurants, for cooking apples whose flavor is enhanced when heated. Therefore, he set his primary target audience as chefs and pastry chefs and visited restaurants and pastry shops across the country to understand their needs.

“As I spoke with various chefs, I came to realize that the characteristics required in apples differ depending on the intended dish or use—for example, apples that don’t release much moisture when baked, or those that break down easily when made into jam. So I started by searching for varieties suited to each specific need.”

The 140 varieties currently grown include classic British varieties such as “Bramley” and “Cox’s Orange Pippin,” as well as “Calville Blanc,” which originated in France. While the focus is on foreign varieties, they also handle rare domestic varieties such as “Moon Rouge,” which originated in Nagano Prefecture. In addition, they have set aside a portion of the orchard as a test plot where they trial-grow new varieties every year.

“Many of the countries of origin for these foreign varieties have drier climates with less rainfall than Japan. It’s difficult to grow them in Japan’s hot and humid climate, and there are some varieties we’ve had to give up on,” says Mr. Yoshida. Rather than trying to forcefully overcome the differences in the fruits’ characteristics through technical means, he explains, “We select and grow varieties that retain their unique characteristics and subtle nuances even when cultivated in Japan’s climate.”

Furthermore, the farm is reportedly working on breeding its own original varieties, which are derived from the foreign varieties they currently grow.

These apples are primarily supplied to restaurants and patisseries, including three-star restaurants and renowned hotels. The company’s reputation grew through word of mouth from chefs who actually used the apples on their menus, following a steady sales effort that began by visiting each establishment one by one. In addition, apples that do not meet standard specifications are sold wholesale as primary processed products—such as peeled, sliced, or grated apples—for commercial use. This helps San Farm reduce food waste and also helps its restaurant customers lower their labor costs. In addition, the company now sells directly to consumers through farm-to-consumer e-commerce sites such as Tabechoku.


“When we ship to organizations like JA, the distribution system makes it difficult for our rare varieties to be properly appreciated. But with direct sales, we can leverage our strength in handling a wide variety of apples to meet specific needs,” says Mr. Yoshida. The company enjoys strong trust from chefs and pastry chefs, and currently, 90 percent of Sun Farm’s sales come from direct transactions.

Furthermore, participating in the national “Hometown Revitalization Global Project” gave him a firsthand sense of the demand for Japanese apples overseas. Since then, by partnering with a fruit-specialized distribution company, he has experienced in-person sales at shopping centers in Thailand and appearances on TV shopping programs, allowing him to truly grasp the potential of Japanese apples in the global market.

“Red-fleshed varieties, such as ‘Beni no Yume,’ are particularly popular. While red-fleshed varieties from overseas tend to be astringent when eaten raw, people are delighted to find that Japanese ones are much easier to eat.”

Apple Picking in the City Center? A Collaboration with “Hobonichi”

Sun Farm’s efforts in growing a wide variety of crops also led to a collaboration with “Hobonichi,” a company headed by copywriter Shigesato Itoi.

The “Maybe It’s an Apple-Picking Exhibition,” held annually by “Hobonichi” since 2021, takes place at Shibuya PARCO and offers a simulated apple-picking experience. Sun Farm provides a variety of apple varieties for this event every year.


At the venue, a wide range of varieties—from sweet to tart, and varying in size and color—are on display. Visitors can choose and purchase their favorite apples from the selection and eat them right there.

“We have many varieties on display that you rarely see in supermarkets. Children often eat tart apples without batting an eye. Even when parents try to stop them by saying, ‘That’s sour,’ the kids will reply, ‘I like this one.’ I’d be happy if people could discover the many charms of apples without being bound by the preconception or standard that ‘sweet equals delicious,’” says Ms. Yoshida with a smile.

Addressing Climate Change and New Challenges

Sun Farm has earned the trust of chefs and pastry chefs across the country, including those at renowned restaurants and patisseries. While the farm’s operations appear to be going smoothly, there are challenges. Among them, adapting to climate change is a pressing concern.

“In recent years, both apples and cherries have been plagued by heat-related issues—such as softening fruit and poor color development—caused by extreme heat. Rising temperatures in early spring are also a problem. Flower bud development is progressing faster than usual, causing the timing of blooming to coincide with late-spring frosts. Cherry flower buds, in particular, are vulnerable to frost; if the flowers die from frost, the trees won’t bear fruit. To address this, we’ve installed anti-frost fans and, on days when a cold snap is expected, we use the ‘burning method’—lighting fires to warm the entire orchard.”

Even if these efforts prevent spring frost damage, a prolonged heatwave in the summer is highly likely to cause heat stress. If global warming continues at this rate, cherry and apple yields will likely decline in the future. Anticipating this, Mr. Yoshida has reportedly begun cultivating heat-tolerant fruits such as peaches and nectarines.

I want to prove that “farming is profitable” and pass this on to the next generation.

“Farming is a process of trial and error,” says Mr. Yoshida. “And you only get one chance to try each year.” It’s been about 30 years since he left his corporate job to become a farmer. I asked him what kind of future he envisions at the end of this journey of challenges he’s built up one by one.

“I don’t mind if my own children don’t take over the farm. However, I want to establish a solid business model so that employees who are interested—or the next generation—can successfully carry on the legacy. If I can prove that farming is a genuinely profitable business, young people will naturally be drawn to it.”

Mr. Yoshida says that what he “wants to do most right now” is to open a café on the farm.

“I want guests who come for cherry or blueberry picking to be able to stay at the farm after their experience—to relax at the café or take a stroll and enjoy a leisurely time,” he says.

Now in his mid-50s, Mr. Yoshida says, “I want to be ready to pass the baton to the next generation in about 10 years.” So that apples can continue to be grown on this land, no matter how the climate changes or who takes over. Mr. Yoshida’s journey continues.

The post “Doing Things Differently.” “Sun Farm,” a one-of-a-kind orchard that grows 140 varieties of apples / Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Yamada Town is located roughly in the center of Iwate Prefecture’s coastline. Because it faces the Pacific Ocean, it is strongly associated with fishing, but the town is also known for its log-grown shiitake mushrooms, and almost every year, farmers from the town have won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award at national competitions. Eizo Haga, one of only a handful of renowned experts in this field nationwide, is considered a pioneer in the cultivation of log-grown shiitake mushrooms in Yamada Town.

A cool climate and lush mountains nurture log-grown shiitake mushrooms

Yamada Town, located in Shimohei District, Iwate Prefecture, is a town embraced by nature, with the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Kitakami Mountains stretching to the west. Because the mountains are rich in broadleaf trees such as beech, oak, and red pine, the area is ideal for growing shiitake mushrooms on logs, and shiitake cultivation is thriving here. Since log-grown shiitake mushrooms prefer locations that are sheltered from direct sunlight, well-ventilated, and have moderate humidity, the mountainous forest environment—where vegetation provides shade, the cool climate at higher elevations, and the moisture released by trees’ respiration help maintain optimal conditions—is ideal.

Incidentally, shiitake mushrooms are classified as “log-grown shiitake” or “substrate-grown shiitake” depending on the cultivation method, and most fresh shiitake mushrooms sold in supermarkets are substrate-grown. The reason for this is that substrate-grown shiitake are cultivated by artificially adding nutrients to blocks of compressed sawdust, allowing them to be harvested in 3 to 6 months—a growth rate nearly four times faster than that of log-grown shiitake. Furthermore, as long as the necessary facilities are in place, they can be grown anywhere and are not affected by the climate, resulting in stable production volumes.

On the other hand, log-grown shiitake mushrooms are cultivated by inoculating natural logs with spawn, so they rely solely on the nutrients from the wood and take time to grow. While it is possible to cultivate them indoors as long as you have the logs for inoculation, log-grown shiitake mushrooms that have been carefully cultivated in a natural environment with optimal conditions are said to have a particularly rich flavor and thicker caps.

In Yamada Town, these log-grown shiitake mushrooms are often dried and processed into dried shiitake mushrooms (hoshishitake). Among dried shiitake mushrooms, those with large, well-shaped caps are highly prized as gifts and high-end ingredients. 

Dried shiitake mushrooms from Yamada Town—a premium ingredient

Dried shiitake mushrooms have several names. “Hana-donko” refers to mushrooms with white, flower-like cracks on the surface of the cap; due to their beautiful appearance, they are often used as gifts. “Kōshin” refers to mushrooms with caps that are more open than those of standard donko and have gills; because they produce a rich broth, they are highly valued in simmered dishes and the like. The Zen-Noh Dried Shiitake Mushroom Competition features categories such as “Kōshin (medium-leaf, thick-fleshed),” “Hana-donko,” and “Donko,” with entries judged based on color, shape, and size.

Dried shiitake mushrooms that win awards at these competitions are used as premium ingredients in hotels and traditional Japanese restaurants. Yamada Town’s dried shiitake mushrooms, prized for both their appearance and flavor, are in high demand among chefs and sushi masters.

As a master of log-grown shiitake mushrooms

Eizo Haga, a master of log-grown shiitake mushrooms, has established a mushroom workshop in the Toyamane district—located inland within Yamada Town—where he cultivates log-grown shiitake mushrooms. In the fall, he heads into the mountains to forage for matsutake mushrooms as well. The matsutake mushrooms gathered by Mr. Haga, who knows the mountains well, are renowned for their high quality, and he is known among locals as the “Mushroom Master.”

Mr. Haga began cultivating log-grown shiitake mushrooms in 1983, when he was about 38 years old. He won his first Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award at a national competition when he was 49. Since then, he has won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award five times in the “Hanadonko” category. Having become a regular recipient of the highest honors, Mr. Haga was awarded the title of “Master.” Since then, he has continued to enter competitions in various categories and has accumulated numerous awards.

Cultivating log-grown shiitake mushrooms using the abundant oak trees in Yamada Town

Mr. Haga’s log-grown shiitake mushrooms are cultivated both outdoors and in greenhouses. The logs used to inoculate the shiitake spores are made from Japanese oak. Broadleaf trees, not conifers, are best suited for these logs. While oak is commonly used in other prefectures, there are no oak trees growing in the forests of Yamada Town; however, since Japanese oak is abundant there, that is the wood used. Japanese oak also has a characteristic bark with cracks, making it easier to inoculate with shiitake spawn. Mr. Haga says, “Some places cultivate shiitake using other broadleaf trees, but even after trying them, shiitake grown on Japanese oak still tastes the best.” Since shiitake mushrooms grow best in cool, moderately humid environments, it is preferable for the logs to be shielded from direct sunlight. Therefore, even though it is called “open-field cultivation,” the mushrooms are actually grown in mountain forests shaded by tall trees. The size of the shiitake mushrooms is said to be proportional to the size of the logs. In other words, the thicker and sturdier the log, the larger the shiitake mushrooms will grow.

A Leading Force in Log Cultivation in Yamada Town

The year 1983, when Mr. Haga began cultivating log-grown shiitake mushrooms, coincided with the time when Yamada Town was just beginning to focus its efforts on shiitake cultivation. Many others also began growing log-grown shiitake mushrooms around the same time. However, once the Heisei era began, inexpensive Chinese shiitake mushrooms flooded the market, causing market prices to plummet. There was a period when Yamada Town’s log-grown shiitake industry also faced difficult times. It is said that some growers even went out of business during that period. Even amid these challenges, Mr. Haga continued to actively enter his mushrooms in competitions across the country. 

Reflecting on the Future of Log-Grown Shiitake Mushrooms

Even at over 80 years old, Mr. Haga continues to energetically cultivate log-grown shiitake mushrooms. “Log-grown shiitake mushrooms have a better texture and more umami than those grown on sawdust beds,” he says, explaining his commitment to log-grown shiitake.
He explains that to win awards at competitions, he enters shiitake mushrooms with caps that are as uniform as possible in size, color, and shape. To grow a large number of mushrooms of the same size, the logs must also be uniform in size. The logs have a diameter of about 18 cm. Because they are quite heavy, managing them is hard work for the elderly Mr. Haga.

“If you keep them inside the greenhouse for too long, they’ll suffer from heat stress. By July, it gets hot inside the greenhouse. When that happens, we move the logs back to the mountains. Rather than spraying them with pesticides, returning them to the mountains provides better ventilation and is better for them,” said Mr. Haga. November. Although no shiitake mushrooms had yet sprouted on the logs in the greenhouse, he said they would be ready for harvest around April. Because they are cultivated using logs that have not been treated with pesticides, log-grown shiitake mushrooms are safe and reliable.

I will continue to grow shiitake mushrooms on logs for as long as I live.

Mr. Haga has been at the forefront of shiitake cultivation on logs in Yamada Town ever since it first took off. Even as other producers his age have stopped farming, he continues to lead the way in shiitake cultivation. “My biggest challenge is my own physical stamina,” he says. “I work every year thinking this might be my last batch of shiitake.” Yet even under these circumstances, Mr. Haga continues to achieve outstanding results at competitions. “I suppose it’s the result of many years of experience. If you visit the farm every day, the weather tells you what to do. When the humidity rises, the caps split open, revealing distinct white cracks, and the shiitake mushrooms turn out beautifully. When the humidity is too low, I water them. I have to say, I’m doing a pretty good job. I also need to train the next generation. I want to keep doing my best as long as I live,” says Mr. Haga. His expression radiated the pride of a master craftsman.

The post Continuing to Lead the Way in Yamada Town’s Log-Grown Shiitake Mushrooms: Eizo Haga, Master Mushroom Grower / Yamada Town, Iwate Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Kikuzakari Brewery, located in Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture, produces many distinctive sake varieties, including its flagship brand, “Taxi Driver.” Takuya Fujimura, the brewery’s owner, took over as the fifth-generation head at the age of 30. While overcoming the hardships of the Great East Japan Earthquake, he steered the brewery toward becoming Iwate Prefecture’s first “all-junmai sake brewery,” using only rice grown in Iwate Prefecture. Each of these choices has shaped the unique character of Kikuzakari Brewery today.

Born as the fifth-generation head of a sake brewery, he became president at the age of 30.

Kitakami City is located in central Iwate Prefecture, where the Kitakami and Waga Rivers converge in a fertile basin dotted with rolling countryside. At the northern tip of the city stands Kikuzakari Sake Brewery Co., Ltd., which was founded in 1894 as Fujimura Sake Brewery. Following the consolidation and restructuring of sake breweries under wartime regulations, the company adopted its current name in 1951. Since then, it has continued to brew sake deeply rooted in the local community under brands such as “Kikuzakari” and “Onikenbai.”

“The heyday was during my grandfather’s time—he was the third-generation owner—and in the 1970s, we were producing approximately 4,000 koku (equivalent to 400,000 one-shō bottles) of sake annually. Since local consumption accounted for over 90 percent of sales, it seems we mainly produced everyday standard sake. My grandfather also served as chairman of the local tourism association, so he created various sake brands inspired by the region, such as ‘Onikenbai’ and ‘Shishi Odori’—traditional performing arts of the area—as well as the local song ‘Kitakami Yakyoku.’ There was also a soy sauce brewery on the same grounds, and with so many people working there, it was a bustling place.”

These are the reflections of Takuya Fujimura, the fifth-generation head of Kikuzakari Sake Brewery. He explains that ever since he was old enough to understand, he had always been aware that he would one day take over this brewery, which has been preserved by the Fujimura family for generations since its founding in the mid-Meiji period. “Until then, I wanted to do what I loved,” he says. After graduating from high school, he left his hometown, attended a vocational school, and worked as a game designer at a game development company in Tokyo. However, he returned home when his father—the fourth-generation head of the brewery—fell ill. Three years later, following his father’s passing, he assumed the position of president of Kikuzakari Sake Brewery. It was February 2003, and he was 30 years old.

“Make a sake that the owner of a yakitori restaurant would like.”

When Mr. Fujimura took over the brewery, the world was in the midst of a boom in authentic shochu. Meanwhile, sake consumption had been on a steady decline since peaking in 1974. Kikuzakari Sake Brewery was also affected by this trend; “By the time I became president, production had fallen to 500 koku,” he recalls. How could he preserve this brewery, which had lost its former vitality? The guiding principle that helped Mr. Fujimura find his way was his grandfather’s advice: “Make sake that the owner of a yakitori restaurant prefers, rather than sake that’s highly rated by judges at tasting competitions.”

“Apparently, that was something my grandfather often told his employees back when he ran the brewery. For him, ‘good sake’ meant the kind of sake that’s enjoyed in bars—what you might call a ‘meal-accompanying sake.’ So I decided to follow in his footsteps while crafting good sake through my own interpretation,” he explains.

To that end, the first step he took was to reevaluate the brewery’s approach to sake production. At the time, Kikuzakari Sake Brewery was also producing “Sanbai Zōjōshu*”—a type of sake diluted with water and brewing alcohol to increase volume—but as soon as Mr. Fujimura assumed the presidency, he discontinued its production and shifted the brewery’s focus to “Junmai-shu,” made exclusively from rice, rice koji, and water.

“I don’t want to compete on price; I want to deliver sake that I personally believe is good.” Driven by this desire, Mr. Fujimura began to think, “I want to create a new brand that reflects my own values and preferences.”

*A brewing method introduced to address postwar rice shortages, with the aim of producing more sake using less rice. Due to the 2006 amendment to the Sake Tax Act, this method is now effectively impossible.

“Remixing” various cultures. Taxi Driver marked his breakthrough.

Mr. Fujimura has an unconventional background as a former game designer and has also been active as an amateur martial artist. He has also long been a fan of niche subcultures such as music, movies, and manga. Given this background, for the first release of the new brand, he commissioned Kei Nemoto—a manga artist he deeply admires—to name the sake, and Takashi Uechi, a graphic designer known for his many pro-wrestling T-shirt designs, to create the label design. In 2004, the junmai daiginjo sake “Denki Bosatsu” was born.

Then, the following year, “Taxi Driver”—the brand that now represents Kikuzakari Sake Brewery—was born.

“It all started when I had a drink with art director Yoshiki Takahashi in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Since Mr. Takahashi had designed the packaging for some of my favorite movies, we hit it off right away. The conversation got lively as we discussed, ‘Let’s come up with a new sake brand,’ and ‘Taxi Driver’ was one of the many ideas that came up. We felt this could actually work, so we decided on the spot to bring it to market, and Mr. Takahashi agreed to design the label.”

When brewing “Taxi Driver,” Mr. Takahashi’s request was for “a sake that tastes good when served hot.”

“Sakes from Kikuzakari Brewery are known as dining sakes characterized by a robust umami and crisp acidity. They’re naturally well-suited for serving hot. So I thought we could create a sake that met his request without needing to make any special adjustments,” says Mr. Fujimura. Reflecting Mr. Fujimura’s own preference for “rich sake with a high alcohol content,” the sake was brewed as “junmai genshu”—pressed and bottled straight from the press without adding water to adjust the flavor. The result is a robust flavor that holds its own against the striking impact of the label design created exclusively by Mr. Takahashi.

Since then, Kikuzakari Sake Brewery has continued to collaborate with various creators, releasing sake with unique names and labels as the “Jacket Buy Series.” This “remix” of sake with different fields—such as music and video games—has also attracted the interest of people who don’t usually drink sake.

Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. While renting space in a brewery, they transitioned to a “100% Junmai Brewery.”

Kikuzakari Sake Brewery had been expanding its customer base by focusing on the production of junmai sake while also developing products and promotional campaigns that incorporated elements from other cultural fields. However, the company suffered a major blow from the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck in March 2011. Although Kitakami City is inland and thus escaped tsunami damage, the building was struck directly by a long, intense tremor. Fortunately, both the employees and the sake that had just been brewed were unharmed, but the brewery was left half-destroyed.

“When you factor in the completely destroyed soy sauce warehouse and other structures, the scale of the damage was immense. After receiving estimates from contractors, we realized that whether we repaired the building or demolished and rebuilt it, the costs would be astronomical. As the fifth-generation head of the Fujimura family, I couldn’t let this brewery—which our family had safeguarded for generations—disappear. Even though I felt that way, it wasn’t a sum of money we could easily raise.”

Since part of the brewery was still barely usable, he managed to resume sake production with minimal equipment; however, this was merely a temporary restoration with clear limitations. About three years had passed with no clear outlook for the future when a sake brewery in the neighboring city of Hanamaki decided to go out of business, and they agreed to lend him their brewing facility.

Although it was in a neighboring city, it was only about a five-minute drive from Kikumzakari Sake Brewery, and the water quality for brewing was virtually the same. Mr. Fujimura decided to relocate, planning to conduct brewing at the rented facility while handling shipping operations at the original brewery.

Then, in the spring of 2014, Kikuzakari Sake Brewery began brewing in its new location. At the same time, the company shifted its focus to becoming a “100% Junmai Brewery,” dedicated exclusively to brewing junmai sake.

Made with koji mold and rice from Iwate

Ever since Mr. Fujimura became president, Kikuzakari Sake Brewery had primarily focused on brewing junmai sake. While the brewery did produce a limited amount of “futsūshu” (standard sake) with added distilled alcohol for local consumption, demand for this type of sake in the local market has been declining year by year. Meanwhile, nationwide, the popularity of junmai sake has been rising as consumers increasingly seek authentic products. Particularly after the earthquake, driven by a spirit of support for reconstruction, the junmai genshu sake “Taxi Driver” began selling well in the Kanto and Kansai regions.

Against this backdrop, just as we were reviewing our production system with the goal of “increasing junmai sake production,” the decision was made to relocate the brewery. Mr. Fujimura seized this opportunity to commit fully to producing only junmai sake. “At the time, there were no other breweries in Iwate Prefecture producing exclusively junmai sake, so I thought, ‘Since we’re doing this anyway, let’s be the first in Iwate,’” he recalls.

The rice used as raw material is 100 percent grown in Iwate Prefecture. What’s particularly noteworthy is that the brewery primarily uses “table rice” rather than sake-brewing rice. “We used to use sake-brewing rice and even sourced Yamada Nishiki from other prefectures, but in the end, table rice produced a flavor that better suited my preferences,” says Mr. Fujimura. For example, “Taxi Driver” is made using “Kakehashi,” a table rice variety native to Iwate Prefecture. Although it was once widely cultivated as a prefectural recommended variety, production has plummeted due to the rise of new varieties. However, Mr. Fujimura maintains, “This rice is the very source of ‘Taxi Driver’s’ flavor,” and he continues to safeguard both its quality and quantity through contract farming.

Furthermore, for “koji”—a crucial element that determines the quality of the sake—the brewery uses “Reimei Hiraizumi,” a koji mold strain developed exclusively by Iwate Prefecture. This koji mold produces moderate amounts of glucose—the source of sweetness—and is well-suited for bringing out a sake profile ideal for aging, perfectly aligning with the brewery’s vision for flavor. The junmai sake brewed in this way is released as “unfiltered genshu”—without any dilution or filtration—to deliver its flavor directly to the consumer. This robust, unfiltered character—straight from the press—has become a defining feature of Kikuzakari Shuzo’s identity, captivating sake enthusiasts across the nation.

Shiki Brewing’s new brewery is complete. Back to the place where it all began.

Kikuzakari Sake Brewery’s “brewing in a rented facility” continued for about 10 years.

“We are the only sake brewery remaining in Kitakami City. Although we temporarily relocated to neighboring Hanamaki City, we always wanted to return to our founding location,” said Mr. Fujimura. However, the disaster-damaged brewery had undergone repeated expansions and renovations, resulting in a complex structure that made restoration difficult. Furthermore, in 2021, the roof collapsed due to the Fukushima Offshore Earthquake and heavy snowfall, damaging the boiler used for bottle washing and pasteurization.

Even so, Mr. Fujimura refused to give up on “rebuilding at the founding site.” Utilizing crowdfunding, he constructed a new brewery and an office/warehouse on the company’s headquarters grounds. In the summer of 2024, he resumed sake brewing in Kitakami. “We were able to return here in the milestone year of our 130th anniversary,” Mr. Fujimura said with a smile.

The new brewery is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, enabling year-round brewing across all four seasons. They also introduced temperature-controlled thermal tanks, making it possible to handle the entire process—from mashing to bottling—within this single facility.

Meanwhile, for the pressing process—which separates the mash (moromi) into sake and sake lees—they adopted the “Sase-style” press. The Sase-style method involves stacking bags of mash inside a vat and applying pressure from above to extract the liquid. Although it involves the labor-intensive steps of bagging and stacking, the slow, gentle pressing—without excessive force—is said to result in a mellow sake with a smooth mouthfeel.

One reason for choosing the Sase method—which is by no means efficient—is that they had been using it for pressing during the 10 years they rented space at another brewery. “The press at the brewery we were renting was a Sase-style model manufactured in the Showa 30s,” says Mr. Fujimura. “It took at least three days, and sometimes as long as a week, to press a single tank of mash.” The fact that pressing takes time means the sake is exposed to air for that duration, accelerating oxidation. While this method is unsuitable for producing fresh, fruity sake, it proved effective for crafting sake with rich umami flavors suited for aging or serving hot. Furthermore, the refined sediment produced by the Sase-style pressing adds depth to the flavor, becoming one of Kikumori’s defining characteristics.

“Our brewery has always been known for sake with a robust flavor, and I believe the Sase-style pressing has further solidified that direction. “The Sase-style press at our brewery is state-of-the-art, so the pressing itself takes about a day. However, we press on the weekend and bottle the sake at the start of the week. By deliberately letting it sit for a few days, we ensure the flavor remains unchanged from before, while at the same time, the physical labor involved in tasks like transferring the sake has been reduced, making the process much more efficient.”

Bringing the unique flavors of this brewery to the rest of Japan and the world

“Now that our new brewery is complete, we’ll finally be able to stabilize our production system,” says Mr. Fujimura with high hopes. While local consumption once accounted for 90 percent of sales, out-of-prefecture sales now make up 70 percent. Sales in Osaka, in particular, account for more than half of the total. “It seems that people in the Kansai region tend to prefer sake with a robust umami flavor and a clean finish,” he explains. In recent years, inquiries from overseas have also increased, and the brewery has secured export deals to the United States, Italy, and New Zealand.

At the same time, he also hopes to expand his customer base in the Kanto region, particularly in Tokyo.

“To achieve that, I believe the key challenge is finding the right match with liquor stores and authorized dealers. I want to find partners who truly understand the direction of our sake-making and can convey that to customers in their own words, rather than just parroting our message. That’s one of my goals for the future,”

says Mr. Fujimura. While exploring new connections with liquor stores in the Kanto region, he is carefully nurturing relationships with stores and fans with whom he already has ties.

Bringing the sake that only this brewery can produce from Iwate to all corners of Japan—and to the world. Having made a fresh start from its “origins” at the founding site, Kikumori’s sake brewing is now heading into its next chapter.

The post Drawing strength from tradition and innovation, they remain committed to producing “100% Junmai Sake.” Takuya Fujimura of Kikuzakari Sake Brewery / Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

“Fuyukoi” is a special apple brand from Iwate Prefecture, featuring only the finest “Haruka” apples that meet stringent criteria for sugar content and honeycore. Available only during the brief start of winter, its rich sweetness and crisp texture offer truly premium flavor.

Iwate: A Diverse Apple-Producing Region with “Original Varieties”

Iwate Prefecture ranks as Japan’s third-largest apple-producing region, following Aomori and Nagano. Leveraging natural conditions like significant temperature fluctuations and rich soil, high-quality apples are cultivated primarily in inland areas.

The first Western apple seedlings were imported to Japan in 1871, shortly after the country opened its doors. The following year, Western apple cultivation began in Iwate Prefecture, making it one of the earliest regions in Japan to engage in apple production.The region focuses not only on productivity but also on quality improvement and variety development. Through collaboration among producers, agricultural cooperatives (JA), local governments, and research institutions, Iwate has created numerous “original Iwate varieties,” such as the “Beni Iwate” with its deep red skin and strong sweetness, and the juicy, large “Ooyume.” One of these is the “Haruka” variety, which serves as the base for the “Fuyukoi” apple.

The Iwate-born apple variety “Haruka”

Haruka was born in 1976 in the orchard of Iwate University’s Faculty of Agriculture and made its market debut as a registered variety in 2002. Its name comes from the grandson of its creator, the late Professor Emeritus Kiyoshi Yokota.It is a late-season variety with yellow skin, known for its abundant honey, rich sweetness, and crisp, juicy texture. However, it also has characteristics that initially hindered its popularity: smaller fruit size and a tendency to develop “rust” – a condition where the skin discolors and becomes rough. As a result, it was considered “unattractive” when first introduced, and few producers initially took up its cultivation.

However, some recognized Haruka’s potential. In 2006, dedicated growers from across the prefecture gathered and established the “Iwate Haruka Research Group” (now the Iwate Fuyukoi Research Group) with fruit-growing organizations. They began working to improve quality and establish cultivation methods, aiming to “develop Haruka into Iwate’s brand apple.”

One of the founding members was Mineo Kumagai of Shimokubo Farm in Morioka City. Having dedicated over 20 years to improving Haruka’s quality and establishing cultivation methods, and serving as chairman of the Iwate Fuyukoi Research Group until 2024, Kumagai reflected on the group’s origins: “While its appearance isn’t great, Haruka’s excellent honey-infused sweetness and high sugar content are major attractions. I wanted to find a way to make the most of that.”

Overcoming Weaknesses with “Bagging”

Members of the “Iwate Haruka Research Group,” who cultivate apples across the vast regions of Iwate Prefecture, grew Haruka in a corner of their respective orchards. Through repeated information exchange and discussions, they tested various cultivation methods. One year, a member accidentally bagged a Haruka tree instead of a neighboring one. Surprisingly, it produced a clean, rust-free yellow fruit.

“Bagging” refers to the cultivation method of placing bags over apples after thinning. This protects against disease and sunburn, maintains freshness and quality post-harvest, and improves “storage life” for longer preservation. Additionally, removing the bags just before harvest to expose the fruit to sunlight promotes coloring, resulting in an even, vibrant hue.

Feeling confident that “this could work,” Mr. Kumagai and his team switched Haruka cultivation from “unbagged” to bagged. As a result, the occurrence of rust and blemishes decreased significantly.

However, bagged apples develop lower sugar content compared to unbagged apples that grow with ample sunlight. To overcome this, they experimented extensively: testing multiple types of bags with different materials and specifications, and drastically reducing the number of fruits per tree to concentrate nutrients on each remaining fruit.After years of effort, they succeeded in growing larger fruit without compromising its inherent flavor. Today, techniques for cultivating high-quality Haruka apples are becoming established, including using specialized bags for bagging and allowing the fruit to fully ripen on the tree before harvest.

“Still, apple cultivation happens only once a year. Even after growing Haruka for 20 years, I’ve only experienced 20 harvests. There might be a more suitable bag, or other better methods—research never ends,” says Kumagai. This relentless accumulation of effort is steadily elevating Haruka’s quality and reputation.

Only the most meticulously selected apples become “Fuyukoi”

Among the Iwate-grown “Haruka” apples cultivated this way, only those meeting specific standards—such as sugar content, honeycore presence, and appearance—are granted the “Fuyukoi” designation.

“Fuyukoi” is a branded apple handled by JA Zen-Noh Iwate. Harvested Haruka apples are individually measured using light sensor sorting machines, selecting only those with “sugar content of 15 degrees or higher,” “honeycore,” and “excellent appearance.” Only these selected apples are shipped as “Fuyukoi.”Furthermore, those meeting even higher standards—”sugar content of 16 degrees or higher and honeycore” and “free of rust spots or blemishes”—become “Premium Fuyukoi.”

The shipping period is late November to December. Named “Fuyukoi” (Winter Love) because they are harvested just before winter, the latest among apples produced in Iwate Prefecture, and their high sugar content evokes the image of sweet love, “Fuyukoi” is gaining recognition year by year and is popular as a gift. It is also handled by department stores and high-end produce shops.

“Haruka is inherently a high-sugar variety that easily develops honeydew. The Haruka we grow averages around 18 degrees Brix, with many exceeding 20 degrees,” says Mr. Kumagai. The typical sugar content for apples is around 13 degrees Brix. Considering this, even Haruka apples not selected for Fuyukoi are sufficiently sweet.

“So what makes Fuyukoi special? Its visual beauty. For personal consumption, even unbagged Haruka with rust spots is fine—I even think it might taste better that way. But when giving them as gifts, you naturally want something that looks beautiful.”

Haruka’s skin is extremely delicate. Even when carefully cultivated with bags to protect it from external stress, bruises or blemishes can sometimes appear. Fuyukoi’s flawless, smooth texture is the crystallization of the grower’s meticulous work.

Adding value through labor

To grow large, high-quality apples, thinning young fruit—known as “fruit thinning”—is essential.Apples rely on leaves for photosynthesis to deliver nutrients to the fruit, making the balance between leaves and fruit crucial. Typically, thinning aims for a ratio of about 40-50 leaves per fruit. For Haruka, however, it’s astonishingly 100 leaves per fruit. By drastically reducing the number of fruits on the tree, nutrients are concentrated, resulting in sweeter, larger apples.

Haruka apples, cultivated through this “select few” approach, are still grown on a relatively small scale with limited production, making them rarely seen in stores. The “Fuyukoi” and “Premium Fuyukoi” grades selected from these are even more scarce.”We want to turn that rarity into value and return as much profit as possible to the growers,” says Kumagai. He explains that the research group was established precisely because they wanted to create a system where “hard work producing excellent fruit is properly valued and leads to profit.”

A Voice for Iwate’s Apple Appeal

As chairman of the Iwate Fuyukoi Research Group, Kumagai actively promotes the apples at events and markets both within and outside the prefecture. “Over the past few years, I’ve really started to feel that Haruka and Fuyukoi are gaining fans,” he says. “More producers are supporting this initiative, and our membership is growing. We want to ride this momentum and bring in even more partners.”

Haruka is a variety born in Iwate, but there are no restrictions on where it can be grown, and it is now cultivated outside the prefecture as well. However, only Haruka apples grown in Iwate can carry the “Fuyukoi” brand name. “Nationally, when people think of apples, they probably think of Aomori or Nagano,” Kumagai says with hope. “I want to spread the word widely that ‘Iwate also has such excellent apples.’ I believe Fuyukoi and Haruka are major selling points for that.”

There are no limits to “making good things”

The apple orchards of Shimokubo Farm spread across the rolling hills overlooking Mount Iwate. Located at an elevation of approximately 360 meters, it is one of the highest apple farms in Iwate. Compared to lower-lying areas, the temperatures are cooler. When the farm acquired this land 40 years ago, they struggled because the fruit didn’t grow large. However, with global warming, temperatures have gradually risen. “Now, we grow better apples than other farms at lower elevations,” Kumagai explains.The higher elevation also means a greater temperature difference between day and night, resulting in apples with a firm, crisp texture,” says Kumagai.

Nevertheless, global warming remains a serious problem. Apples thrive in cool climates, and high temperatures cause various issues like poor coloring, sunburn, and diminished flavor. They also tend to develop less honeycore, which could undermine the brand value of varieties like Haruka and Fuyukoi that pride themselves on this characteristic.

Furthermore, soaring material costs and rising labor expenses are major burdens. Unlike crops like rice, where mechanization is advancing, apple cultivation remains largely manual. Tasks like bagging and harvesting, which require delicate handling of the fruit, must be done by hand, one by one. “If we could mechanize, maybe my son and I could manage it, but that’s not possible. So we have to hire people, and the more labor-intensive it is, the higher the labor costs,” says Kumagai.The environment surrounding apple farming grows harsher each year, with global warming, persistent abnormal weather patterns, and rising production costs all taking their toll.

“I’m completely exhausted. It’s like hanging on by a thread, barely managing to keep going,” he says with a wry smile. Yet he adds, “Even while being swept up by changes in the times and environment, I feel fortunate to have made it this far.” His eyes still burn with passion for apple growing. “This work is enjoyable because I can devise my own methods and experiment. I know there’s still so much I don’t know, and I believe there’s still more I can do. There are no limits to making something truly good.”

To avoid cutting down apple trees

“It would be easy to quit apple farming and just cut down the trees. But then all the years of care invested up to that point would be lost in an instant, and if I ever wanted to get it back, it would take just as much time. That’s why I want to keep going as much as possible. So I won’t have to cut down the apple trees I’m growing now.”

His son Katsuhiko, who runs the orchard with his father, shares this sentiment. “With global warming continuing like this, I wonder if there will come a time when we can’t rely solely on apples. That’s why we’re also growing other crops in separate fields. But I don’t want to give up apple farming. It’s hard work, but it’s still enjoyable.”

“Growing apples is fun,” the Kumagai father and son say in unison. Despite facing various challenges and hardships, their sincere commitment to “producing something better” is what underpins the special flavor of Haruka and Fuyukoi apples.

The post All high-sugar content, honey-filled. The specially selected apple “Fuyukoi” / Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Koishihama Scallops. What a wonderful name! Among the scallops produced along the coast of Iwate Prefecture, the “Koishihama scallops” from the fishing port of Koishihama, Ayari, Sanriku-cho, Ofunato City, are renowned as a brand of scallops. Jun Sasaki, the producer and president of the Iwate Prefecture Fishermen’s Association, has overcome the disaster and continues to produce high quality scallops.

What is Koishihama, Ofunato City, where Koishihama Scallops are produced?

The area off the coast of Sanriku is known as one of the best fishing grounds in the world, where the Oyashio tide from the north meets the Kuroshio tide from the south. Of the three prefectures of Sanriku (Aomori, Iwate, and Miyagi), the coast of Iwate Prefecture is characterized by a series of bays and a saw-toothed rias coastline.

Ofunato City, located in the southern part of the coast of Iwate Prefecture, has a number of bays, including Yoshihama Bay, Okirai Bay, Ayari Bay, and Ofunato Bay, where various types of fishing have been practiced since ancient times. In the bays where the waves are calmer, wakame seaweed, scallops, and ascidians are cultivated actively.

Koishihama in Ayazato, Sanriku-cho, Ofunato City, has been particularly active in scallop cultivation. Jun Sasaki, a fisherman from Koishihama and president of the Iwate Prefecture Fishermen’s Association, has been farming scallops here since his father’s generation.

What are “Koishihama Scallops”?

Iwate scallops have long had a good reputation in the central market, and around 1985, they once commanded the highest wholesale price in Japan at the Tsukiji market.

In 2008, Mr. Sasaki founded the Koishihama Youth Club. Until then, Koishihama fishermen had been shipping scallops to the market, but that did not show the name of the beach. So, through the Ayasato Fisheries Cooperative Association, they developed a sales channel for the scallops they grew so that they could ship them directly to ordinary consumers. The scallops were branded as “Koishihama scallops. The name “Koishihama Scallops” is a play on the Japanese pronunciation of “Koishihama. It has a nice sound to it.

The Sanriku Railway runs near the fishing port, and in 2009 the station name was changed to “Koishihama. The station has become a power spot for romance, and the station waiting room is decorated with ema (votive picture tablet) in which wishes are written on scallop shells.

High-quality plankton nurtures scallops.

Looking out over the landscape of Koshiki Bay, one can see that there are many broadleaf trees. In autumn, broadleaf trees fall off their leaves and turn to leaf litter. The seawater containing nutrients from this leaf litter provides nourishment for marine life. On the other hand, off the coast of Sanriku, where the Oyashio and Kuroshio currents collide, phytoplankton is born, and zooplankton that feed on the phytoplankton gather there.

Ofunato’s inner bay, which contains plankton from the sea and nutrients from the mountains, is a very good environment for scallops. In Koishihama, only scallops that meet certain standards among those raised with care are sold as “Koishihama scallops.

Ear-suspension type of aquaculture born in Ofunato

Scallop cultivation begins with the collection of scallop larvae (rahbas) that come in from the northern ocean on the Oyashio tide from April to June. rahbas are collected in May, and by September they are about 1 cm in size. 20 tiers of cages are made, each containing 50 scallop larvae. As the scallops grow, the number of scallops in the cage becomes denser, so the number is reduced to 25 in December, then 10 in February, and so on, until the scallops are 8 cm in diameter, which takes about one year.

Once the scallops have grown to 8 cm in diameter, holes are made in the shells and the scallops are hung from ropes for aquaculture. This method of cultivation is called the “ear-hanging” method. This method of cultivation is currently practiced from Aomori to Miyagi, but was actually invented in Ofunato.

The “ear-suspension” method was established around 1960. It was devised to efficiently raise scallops in Ofunato, where the water is deep and the bays are intricate, and has been used to this day. Ofunato does not have shallow sandy beaches like those in Hokkaido, so it is not possible to harvest a large number of scallops using the “ground sowing” method of cultivation, which grows scallops on the sea bottom. Therefore, the “ground sowing” method of cultivation, in which scallops are hung from ropes suspended in the water, was devised in an attempt to cultivate as many scallops as possible by taking advantage of the depth of the sea. Because the scallops do not stick to the seafloor, sand does not get inside the shells.

Ofunato’s bay is about 40 meters deep, and scallop cultivation has flourished because of this topography.

Sparing no pains to produce high-quality scallops

Scallops are hung from ropes and grow to a large size in the bay over a period of about one year. Counting from the larvae, the scallops are shipped after about two years. Koishihama scallops compete on the quality of each scallop, as the fishing grounds are limited.

In order to grow high-quality scallops, Mr. Sasaki keeps a gap between shells and cleans the shells at least twice a year. Seaweed and barnacles adhere to the shells. If these are not removed regularly, the seaweed and barnacles will take away the nutrients that the scallops feed on. Not only that, but the rope will become heavier due to the attached materials, causing it to fall.

Even so, the larger the scallops grow, the lower the ropes become. It is the fisherman’s job to adjust the height of the rope. Sasaki says, “The scallops are held together by ropes, so we raise and lower the height of the ropes all year round to keep them suspended at a depth where there is plenty of food.” He raises and lowers the ropes based on his years of experience in checking whether the sun’s rays are reaching the area and whether the tide is running fast enough. Mr. Sasaki is particular about the scallops he grows, cleaning the shells and adjusting the ropes.

Overcoming the Earthquake

Koishihama scallops, sold directly by the Ayasato Fisheries Cooperative, have been successfully branded. The thick scallops, sweet and delicious even when eaten as is, gained a reputation, and the number of orders increased. However, in March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. The Great East Japan Earthquake struck. Koishihama was also hit by the tsunami.

I was at sea when the Great East Japan Earthquake hit. When I returned to the beach, I found that the situation was very serious,” said Sasaki. After the earthquake, it was not possible to start fishing immediately. The fishing port had subsided and the cargo handling station had been washed away.

Immediately after the disaster, people he met through Koishihama Scallops offered their support. Some people even rushed to the area to offer their support. In the midst of all this, an overseas volunteer group appeared to offer support for the damaged fishing port, and Mr. Sasaki negotiated with them about the current status of the fishing port and what was needed for its recovery. His natural mobility and sociable personality, which helped him brand the “Koishihama scallops,” made it possible for him to engage in dialogue with foreign dignitaries without fear, which paid off.

Thanks to support from overseas, in 2014, the subsided fishing port was improved and a cargo handling station was completed in Koishihama. The speed of reconstruction was one of the fastest on the coast. Along with the reconstruction of the fishing port and cargo handling station, the scallops that had been cultivated were ready for shipment. In 2014, scallop shells were cleaned and sorted at the cargo handling station, and scallops of good quality were ready for shipment.

He was told by a support group that if they had not known about Koishihama Scallops, they might not have come here. Mr. Sasaki is grateful for the support and human connections he has received, saying, “When we first started (Koishihama Scallops), some people said, ‘What are you trying to do?

Going to the Sea with His Wife Isabelle

Mr. Sasaki met his wife, Isabelle, after the disaster. Originally from inland France, Isabelle had practiced karate since childhood and grew up interested in Japanese culture. After graduating from a Japanese university and finding a job, Isabelle visited Ofunato many times as a volunteer after the earthquake. Although Isabelle was working in Tokyo at the time, Ofunato became like a second home to her.

In 2020, she married Mr. Sasaki. She now works as a tourist guide and interpreter, and also rows out to sea with Mr. Sasaki to work as a fisherman.

In France, I was not much of a seafood eater, but I did like scallops. But when I ate Koishihama scallops, I was surprised (laughs). I thought,” he laughs cheerfully.

The Sea Connects Ofunato and Europe

In France, scallops are called “Coquilles Saint-Jacques. These are called “European scallops,” and technically speaking, they are a different species from Japanese scallops. However, off the coast of Sanriku in Japan, far away from France, coquille saint-Jacques can sometimes be found in the nursery. These are the shells depicted in Botticelli’s painting “The Birth of Venus,” which have a slightly fluffier shell than Japanese scallops.

In other words, the oceans are connected. In this light, the story of the “Koishihama Scallop” is a romantic tale of a man of the sea.

Delivering Quality Koishihama Scallops in the Future

Global warming is having a tremendous impact on the oceans. The place where the Oyashio (cold current) and the Kuroshio (warm current) collide is moving northward. The warm currents are so strong that the fishing grounds for lobsters, which should normally be caught off the coast of Ibaraki, are also moving northward.

Scallops prefer a cold environment. Scallops hibernate when the water temperature drops below 5°C. After hibernation, they feed on nutrients when the water temperature rises and grow larger. In recent years, due to global warming, water temperatures no longer fall below 5°C. Because the sea water temperature does not drop in winter, scallops lose the opportunity to hibernate. It is as if the next summer will arrive without the scallops having recovered from their summer fatigue. Some of them die without growing large.

The fisherman’s job is a natural one. They do not know what will happen the next year due to changes in the environment. Even so, Mr. Sasaki says, “We will never give up on scallops. He is determined to maintain the quality of Koishihama scallops. Even if the sea changes, we will live by the sea with the pride of being fishermen. As Mr. Sasaki gazes out to sea with his arms folded, I felt the determination of a man with a mission on his shoulders.

The post In “Longing Beach Scallops,” I see the romance of a man of the sea. Fisherman Jun Sasaki / Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

真牡蠣の産地といえば広島県や宮城県が有名だが、東京・豊洲市場では岩手県陸前高田市のマルテン水産の殻付き真牡蠣が、2017年から連続で初競り日本一を獲得しているという。同社の真牡蠣は3年かけて育てる「3年物」で、その大きさや風味の良さが高く評価されている。

栄養豊富・水質良好の広田湾で育つ

暖流と寒流がぶつかって多くの魚が集まることから、世界三大漁場のひとつとされる三陸海岸。マルテン水産のある陸前高田市の広田湾もその一角にあり、周囲の山々の落ち葉に含まれる植物プランクトンが伏流水や気仙川を通じて海に流れ込み、豊かな漁場となっている。しかも周囲には工業地帯が無く、都会とは違って生活排水量が少ないため、水質は良好。さらに、内湾で波が穏やかなので、昔からワカメやホタテ、真牡蠣などの養殖が盛んに行われている。

養殖筏には地元の気仙杉を利用

日本で多く流通している牡蠣は、主に真牡蠣と岩牡蠣の2種だ。前者は冬が旬で、ほとんどが養殖もの。それに対し後者は夏が旬で、養殖もののほか天然ものもあり、日本海側が主な産地になっている。

真牡蠣の養殖法にはいくつかあるが、マルテン水産では、“種”と呼ぶ牡蠣の幼生、つまり赤ちゃんを付けた貝殻をロープにくくりつけ、海上に浮かぶ筏（いかだ）に吊るす「筏式」で養殖している。牡蠣の種は宮城県から購入。種を海中で採取するためには遠浅の環境が必要で、県内では難しく、宮城県がその条件に適っているからだ。また、筏の材料には地元の気仙杉を使用。周辺の山に生育していたものを利用したのが始まりで、使ってみると丈夫だったことから現在も利用が続いている。

「3年物」の大きさ＆身入りと風味の良さが高評価の秘密

一般的に真牡蠣の生産者は1〜2年育てて出荷するケースがほとんどだが、マルテン水産では3年かけて育てた「3年物」を出荷している。もともと他産地同様「1〜2年物」を市場に出荷していたが、昭和末期に佐々木さんの父親や同世代の生産者たちが、3年かけて大きく育て差別化・ブランド化を図ることに。現在広田湾の真牡蠣生産者は10人だが、そのうち佐々木さんを含めた4人がそれを継承しているのだ。佐々木さんが出荷する3年物の殻付きの牡蠣はSMLの3サイズがあり、Lサイズは大人の男性の手のひらからはみ出す大きさ。しかも中の身も大きく味も良いことから、豊洲市場の初競りで2017年から連続して日本一を獲得している。また、直売先の飲食店からも評判で、年々注文が増えている。

リスクがあっても「3年物」を手掛けたい

ただ、3年物を手掛けるにはリスクもある。海中で育てる期間が長くなるので、その間に時化で筏やロープから落下する確率が高くなるのだ。しかもそうしたリスクを抱えながら育てても、市場価格は2年物とほとんど変わらない。それでも佐々木さんが3年物にこだわって養殖しているのは、親世代の想いと努力を無駄にしたくないのと、繰り返し注文してくれる飲食店の要望に応えたいからだという。

身入りを良くするための工夫

前述のとおり、佐々木さんの3年物の殻付き牡蠣が高く評価されているのは、殻だけでなく身も大きく、味が良いからだ。その秘密は、出荷直前に牡蠣を1個ずつロープから外してネットに入れ、海中に沈める作業にある。日々海水温が下がるなか1か月間育てることで、身が大きく白くなり、引き締まるという。

「出荷できるサイズの殻付き牡蠣をさらに1か月間育てるので、手間もコストもかかるのですが、一目見て大きさがわかるむき身と違って殻付き牡蠣の身は殻の中で大きく育っているかどうかわからず、『当たり外れ』があります。例えば飲食店の方が来店客に殻を開けて提供したときに身が小さいと恥をかかせることになってしまいますが、逆に大きいと飲食店から信用を得られ、次の受注につながる。ですからできるだけ『外れ』がないよう、『出荷前の仕上げ』としてこの作業を行っているんです」と佐々木さん。実は、広島県など西日本ではキログラム単位で出荷するので重さで身の大きさを想定できるが、陸前高田市など宮城県より北の地域では個数単位で出荷するため身の大きさを想定できず、身が小さい「外れ」が紛れ込む可能性がある。その確率をできるだけ低くすることが、顧客からの信用獲得につながるのだ。

身を大きく育てるための工夫はほかにもある。稚貝のときの「間引き作業」と、夏に船上で75℃の湯に30秒ほどくぐらせる「温湯処理」だ。間引くことで、残った牡蠣は海中の栄養をたっぷり摂取することができるし、温湯処理によって殻に付いたワカメやフジツボなどの付着物を取り除くこともできる。これによって、殻に付着したワカメやフジツボが、牡蠣の成長に必要な海中の栄養を奪ってしまうのを防ぐのだ。

ちなみに牡蠣は殻が厚く密閉度が高いので、前述の温度・時間なら湯にくぐらせても生き続けるという。

生食のほかに「蒸し牡蠣」もおすすめ

佐々木さんの真牡蠣は、風味の面でも評価が高い。一般的に三陸産の牡蠣は西日本産や北海道産の牡蠣よりも塩分濃度が高く、噛むほどに甘みが感じられる。佐々木さんの真牡蠣もそのとおりで、さらに身が引き締まっているために生で食べるとサクサクした食感が楽しめる。一方で佐々木さんは、「子どもなど牡蠣を食べ慣れない人なら、蒸して食べるのがおすすめ」ともアドバイスする。磯の風味がやわらかくなるうえ甘みが増すそうだ。

直売で、付加価値と値段のアップを図る

マルテン水産では飲食店のほか、個人への直売にも力を入れている。前述のとおり市場では3年物の価格は2年物とほとんど変わらないため、直売することで3年物の付加価値と値段のアップを図っているのだ。「牡蠣は殻を開けるまで生きているので、店や家に届いた殻付き牡蠣はまだ生きている状態で新鮮。その最高な状態の牡蠣を味わってほしい」と佐々木さん。殻付き牡蠣の扱いに慣れていない人が殻を開けるのは難しいが、直売の際には、希望者に有料の「牡蠣オープナー（専用ナイフ）」を付けて発送しているので、それを使えば、直前まで生きていた牡蠣の身ならではのミルキーな味やサクサクした食感を体験できる。

同社を含め陸前高田市の牡蠣の生産者は、夏のウニ漁や冬のアワビ漁などをやらず、牡蠣専業が多いという。それだけ、一年中「いかに良質の牡蠣を育てるか」について考え、生産に力を入れているといえる。実は同市産の真牡蠣のむき身も、豊洲市場で日本一の単価で取り引きされているそうで、その背景にはそうした生産者の努力があることが想像できる。陸前高田市産の真牡蠣のブランド力は、ますます大きくなるに違いない。

The post 身が大きく風味の良い「3年物」の殻付き真牡蠣で日本一の評価を獲得「マルテン水産」／岩手県陸前高田市 first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Hiroshima and Miyagi prefectures are well-known for producing oysters, but at the Toyosu Market in Tokyo, Maruten Suisan of Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, has won Japan’s top first-round competition in consecutive years since 2017 for its oysters in the shell. The company’s oysters are “three-year-old” oysters, which take three years to grow, and are highly valued for their size and flavor.

Grown in Hirota Bay, which is rich in nutrients and has excellent water quality

The Sanriku coast is considered one of the three best fishing grounds in the world, where warm and cold currents collide and attract many fish. Hirota Bay in Rikuzentakata City, where Marten Suisan is located, is part of this area, and the phytoplankton contained in the fallen leaves of the surrounding mountains flows into the sea through the underground water and the Kesen River, making it a rich fishing ground. Furthermore, there are no industrial areas in the surrounding area, and unlike urban areas, the amount of wastewater from daily life is low, making the water quality excellent. In addition, the bay’s calm waves have long been a source of seaweed, scallops, oysters, and other fish.

Local Kesen cedar is used for cultivation rafts.

There are two main types of oysters widely distributed in Japan: oysters and rock oysters. The former is in season in winter, and most of them are cultivated. The latter, on the other hand, is in season during the summer, and is available both cultured and wild, with the Sea of Japan being the main production area.

There are several methods of cultivating oysters, but Marten Suisan cultivates oysters using the “raft method,” in which oyster larvae, or baby oysters, are tied to a rope and suspended from a floating raft on the sea. Oyster seeds are purchased from Miyagi Prefecture. The oyster seeds are purchased from Miyagi Prefecture, because the oyster farmers need a shallow water environment in order to collect the seeds in the sea, which is difficult to do in Miyagi Prefecture, and Miyagi Prefecture meets the requirements. The rafts are also made of local Kesen cedar. The first cedar used for the rafts was one that grew in the surrounding mountains, and it has been used to this day because of its sturdiness.

The secret of the oysters’ high reputation is their “3-year-old” size, body, and flavor.

Generally, most oyster producers grow oysters for one or two years before shipping them out, but Marten Fisheries ships “3-year-old” oysters that have been grown for three years. Originally, like other oyster producers, “one- to two-year-old” oysters were shipped to the market, but at the end of the Showa period, Mr. Sasaki’s father and other producers of the same generation decided to grow oysters for three years in order to differentiate and brand them. Currently, there are 10 oyster producers in Hirota Bay, and four of them, including Mr. Sasaki, have taken over the business. The three-year-old oysters with shells that Mr. Sasaki ships come in three sizes (SML, L, and L), with the large size overflowing the palm of an adult man’s hand. Moreover, because the meat inside is large and tasty, they have won the top prize in Japan at the Toyosu Market’s first auction since 2017. They are also well-received by the restaurants to which they sell directly, and orders are increasing every year.

We want to handle “3-year products,” even if it is risky.

However, there are risks involved in producing three-year products. Since the fish are raised in the sea for a longer period of time, there is a higher probability that they will fall from the rafts or ropes during the time they are in the sea. Even with this risk, the market price is almost the same as for two-year-old fish. Even so, Mr. Sasaki insists on raising three-year-old fish because he does not want to waste the efforts of his parents’ generation, and also because he wants to meet the demands of restaurants that repeatedly order his fish.

Innovations to improve the meat content

As mentioned above, Mr. Sasaki’s three-year-old oysters with shells are highly valued because not only the shells but also the meat is large and tasty. The secret lies in the process of removing the oysters one by one from the rope, putting them in a net, and submerging them in the sea just before shipment. The oysters are then submerged in the sea for a month while the temperature of the sea water drops daily, which makes the meat bigger, whiter, and firmer.

Unlike peeled oysters, where you can tell the size of the oyster at a glance, the meat of oysters in the shell is not always clear whether it has grown well inside the shell or not, and there is always a chance of being wrong. For example, when a restaurant opens the oyster shell and offers it to a customer, if the oyster is small, the customer will be embarrassed, but if it is large, the restaurant will trust the oyster, which will lead to the next order. That is why we do this work as a ‘finishing touch before shipping’ to ensure that there are as few ‘outliers’ as possible,” says Sasaki. In fact, in western Japan, such as Hiroshima Prefecture, the fish is shipped by the kilogram, so the size of the fish can be estimated by weight. Reducing the probability of such a situation as much as possible is the key to gaining the trust of customers.

There are other ways to grow the body size. These are “thinning” of the young clams and “hot water treatment,” in which the clams are submerged in 75°C water for 30 seconds on the boat in the summer. By thinning out the oysters, the remaining oysters are able to consume plenty of nutrients from the sea, and the hot water treatment also removes seaweed, barnacles, and other attached matter from the shells. This prevents wakame seaweed and barnacles on the shell from taking away the nutrients in the sea that the oyster needs for growth.

Incidentally, because oysters have thick shells and are highly sealed, they will survive even if they are submerged in hot water at the temperature and for the time mentioned above.

Steamed oysters are recommended in addition to raw oysters

Mr. Sasaki’s oysters are also highly regarded for their flavor. In general, oysters from Sanriku have a higher salt content than those from western Japan or Hokkaido, and the more you bite into them, the sweeter they taste. Mr. Sasaki’s oysters are no exception to this rule, and their firm flesh gives them a crispy texture when eaten raw. On the other hand, Mr. Sasaki also recommends steaming the oysters for those who are not used to eating oysters, such as children. It is said to soften the flavor of the sea and increase the sweetness.

Direct sales to increase value-added and prices

In addition to restaurants, Marten Suisan also focuses on direct sales to individuals. As mentioned earlier, the price of three-year-old oysters is almost the same as that of two-year-old oysters, so the company aims to add value and increase the price of three-year-old oysters by selling them directly. Oysters are alive until they are shucked, so the shucked oysters that arrive at the store or home are still alive and fresh. I want people to taste the oysters in their best condition,” says Sasaki. It is difficult for those who are not accustomed to handling oysters in the shell to open them, but for those who wish to use an oyster opener (a special knife), which is available for a fee for direct sales, they can experience the milky taste and crispy texture of oyster meat that was alive until just before the oyster was delivered.

Many oyster producers in Rikuzentakata, including the company, do not engage in sea urchin fishing in summer or abalone fishing in winter, but specialize in oysters. That is why they are thinking about “how to grow good quality oysters” all year round and putting their efforts into oyster production. In fact, peeled oysters from Rikuzentakata are sold at the highest unit price in Japan at the Toyosu Market, and one can imagine that the efforts of these producers are behind this. The brand power of Rikuzentakata’s oysters is sure to grow even stronger.

The post Maruten Suisan” won the highest evaluation in Japan for its “3-year-old” oysters with large, flavorful shells / Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture. first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Abalone is known as a high-end shellfish. In Iwate Prefecture, which boasts the largest catch of abalone in Japan, Gensho Ei Kitanihon Suisan has been engaged in land-based aquaculture for more than 40 years. The abalone, which is cultivated by devising unique water and feed, is named “Sanriku Jade Abalone” and branded as such. The abalone is characterized as “thick, tender, and tasty right down to the liver,” and has been well received by chefs and consumers.

Both natural and dried abalone are available. Iwate is famous for abalone

Abalone is a type of mollusk, of which there are about 70 species in the world. They are characterized by their crispy texture and are especially suitable for eating raw.

Iwate Prefecture, where Ezo abalone are caught, boasts the largest catch of wild abalone in Japan. The abalone grows slowly when the sea water temperature is low, but in the Sanriku region of Iwate Prefecture, the warm Oyashio Current flows in and stimulates the growth of the abalone, there is an abundance of seaweed such as kelp and wakame (seaweed is the food for abalone), and the fishing season is limited to two months from November to December to protect resources. Incidentally, since the Edo period, abalone caught in Yoshihama, Sanriku-cho, Ofunato City, in the prefecture had been dried and exported to China as “kippin-kampo” (dried abalone). In the Meiji period (1868-1912), the production method was improved, and the abalone was regarded as the world’s best quality in China.

Land-based aquaculture cultivates abalone with quality that rivals that of natural abalone.

Founded in 1982, Motoshoei Kitanihon Suisan is engaged in land-based cultivation of abalone in Ofunato City, which has long been famous for its abalone production. Katsuhiro Furukawa, a local fisherman, originally took up the challenge of land-based abalone aquaculture because he was concerned that the catch of natural abalone was declining year by year. The cultivation method was a matter of trial and error, and even if he tried the same method as the previous year, the abalone did not grow in the same way. Furthermore, even after finally establishing the aquaculture method, it was difficult to brand the product and differentiate it from natural products, and the product did not sell as well as expected. The turning point came when he received support from a private organization that assists companies in the six Tohoku prefectures and Niigata Prefecture. After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, the business has been taken over by his son, President Toshihiro, and grandson, Sales Manager Shota, who produce 1.2 to 1.3 million pieces per year. They produce 1.2 to 1.3 million pieces per year. The company produces 1.2 to 1.3 million pieces per year, which is said to be one of the highest production volumes for land-based aquaculture in Japan.

Why are abalone soft and tasty right down to the liver?

There are two ways of cultivating abalone: “sea cultivation,” in which abalone are raised in fishponds at sea, and “land cultivation,” in which abalone are raised in facilities on land. The former is the most common method in Japan because it is less expensive in terms of equipment and technology, but there is a risk of natural disasters such as typhoons and theft. The latter, on the other hand, is more costly in terms of equipment, etc., but the growing environment, including water quality and feed, can be controlled, and stable production is possible throughout the year. Shota explains the advantages of land-based aquaculture, “In particular, the fact that we know the history of the feed should give consumers peace of mind.

One of the key points of the company’s land-based aquaculture is that the fish are raised in “seawater that percolates underground. This is seawater that passes through the sandy layer of the seafloor, which acts as a “filtration system” to purify the water. The company pumps this water up, filters it further, and then spills it into aquaculture tanks 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so the tanks are always filled with fresh water and are clean. When abalone eat food, they take in sand and dirt, which accumulate in their livers, but the water in the company’s tanks is clean and free of sand, which is why Sanriku Jade Abalone is “delicious right down to the liver.

Also, when abalone grow up in the ocean with currents, they are more active, their muscles develop, and their meat becomes tough. This is the reason why Sanriku jade abalone are described as “softer than natural ones.

Seaweed pigments give the shells a beautiful jade color.

The second key point is the bait. In addition to seaweed, mainly kelp, the company also feeds the fish artificial feed in the form of pellets made from Japanese kelp powder, white fish powder, and other ingredients. Because most of the abalone currently available in Japan is produced in South Korea, Motomasauei Kitanihon Fisheries believes that, as long as it claims to be domestically produced, it should focus on high quality rather than production volume first. Believing that the quality of the abalone is directly related to the quality of the feed, the company uses completely additive-free feed to which no antibiotics or other substances are added. This resulted in abalone that are thick, tasty, and free of any unpleasant taste. Incidentally, the beautiful jade green color of the abalone’s shell, which is the origin of its name, is due to the coloring of the abundant kelp that is fed to the abalone. It is clearly different from natural abalone, which eat a variety of seaweed and have difficulty producing a green color in their shells. “Individual customers are pleased with the beauty and appearance of this product,” Shota proudly states.

Integrated production with in-house breeding and hatching

While many abalone farmers raise abalone from young, the company is unique in its integrated production process, in which it breeds and hatches abalone in-house. After hatching, the abalone are raised in a container with a “corrugated plate” with seaweed on it until they reach 7mm in length, after which they are kept in an aquarium and fed the aforementioned artificial feed. Although there are individual differences, abalone grow to 3 to 4 cm in one year, 5 to 6 cm in two years, 7 to 8 cm in three years, and 9 cm in four years. Incidentally, it takes five years for a natural abalone to grow to 7 cm, the size of an adult edible abalone, while the company’s abalone grows at a faster rate of three years. The main reason for this is that the company selects fast-growing abalone for breeding. Abalone that resemble their parents also grow fast, so even though they are not given growth hormones, they grow quickly. Furthermore, the company sells half of the 2 million larvae it hatches to local fishermen. The fishermen release them into the ocean and harvest the mature ones, thus helping to conserve resources.

The company’s main product is a three-year old abalone that measures 7 to 8 centimeters, but some customers want a different size, so the company sells the desired size in the desired quantity. Shota says that 90% of the abalone is shipped fresh to restaurants and hotels, and the rest is processed into “steam-frozen products” and shipped mainly to private customers.

Undeterred by forest fires, the company is working to revive the industry.

The rise in seawater temperature due to global warming over the past few years has made it easier for bacteria to proliferate in seawater, and the company is considering installing sterilization equipment and switching to “closed-circulation land aquaculture” to prevent abalone diseases caused by bacteria. The “closed-circulation land-based aquaculture” is a method of raising abalone by circulating artificial seawater in a tank, and has been under research and development for the past five years in cooperation with a major general contractor. This method eliminates the use of seawater containing bacteria and is also environmentally friendly since the water in the tank is no longer discharged into the sea by “pouring” it over the tank.

Just as such a new experiment was being planned, a forest fire in Ofunato City destroyed part of the company’s facilities in March of this year, wiping out the approximately 2.5 million abalone in the tank. The damage amounted to approximately 500 million yen. Even if the company resumes aquaculture with new equipment, it will take three years to grow the few remaining juvenile clams to a size where they can be shipped, and there will be no income during that time. Nevertheless, both Suehiro and Shota have not given up for the sake of their employees, customers, and the local community, and have even taken on the challenge of crowdfunding to rebuild their business. We will continue to wait and believe that the day will come when Sanriku jade abalone will once again be available on the market.

The post Sanriku Jade Abalone” is thick, tender, and tasty right down to the liver, produced by land-based aquaculture. Motoshoei Kitanihon Sanriku Fisheries / Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Iwate Prefecture boasts Japan’s largest charcoal production. In Iwate Prefecture, about a quarter of the charcoal produced is from the town of Hirono in the northern part of the prefecture. One of the charcoal makers in Hoku Sangyo, a longtime charcoal producer in the town of Hirono, is Sachiko Ichijo, a charcoal maker who has won awards at the Iwate Prefecture Charcoal Fair.

Charcoal Production in Hirono Town Developed in Connection with Steel Manufacturing

One of the reasons why charcoal production is thriving in Hirono Town is the abundance of native hardwood trees, the material used to make charcoal. Moreover, the mountains where the hardwood trees grow are gentle, making it easy to cut and transport the charcoal.

Another reason is the connection with iron manufacturing. The Ono area of Hirono Town prospered during the feudal era because of its iron manufacturing industry, known as “tatara-zeki” (tatara iron manufacturing). Tatara-tekketsu is a traditional Japanese iron manufacturing method in which iron sand and charcoal are placed in a clay furnace and burned while air is blown through the furnace to produce iron. Charcoal was indispensable to iron manufacturing because iron sand was transformed into iron oxide by combustion, which was then reduced to iron by combining with carbon, a component of charcoal.

In the Meiji period (1868-1912), Western-style blast furnaces began to be used to make iron, and tatara iron manufacturing declined, but charcoal production continued in the Ono area as the demand for charcoal as a household fuel increased. In addition, many farmers in other areas of Iwate Prefecture also made charcoal during the off-season, and the opening of the Tohoku Line made it easier to ship charcoal to the Tokyo market, and the prefecture encouraged charcoal production. In 1912, the prefecture became Japan’s largest charcoal producer.

The raw material is oak trees 20 to 30 years old.

Charcoal is carbonized by heating wood in the absence of oxygen to remove oxygen, hydrogen, and impurities, leaving only carbon. White charcoal is represented by binchotan, which is made mainly from ubame oak trees. On the other hand, black charcoal is made in Iwate, and the wood used to make it is oak, which grows abundantly in the prefecture. The trees are 20 to 30 years old, and one of the reasons for this is that “when calculating backwards from the thickness of the finished charcoal, a tree with a diameter of 20 cm is suitable,” he says.

Since many of our customers are restaurants, such as Robata-yaki restaurants and Yakitori restaurants, they require charcoal to have a long-lasting flame. Hard and dense oak holds fire well when made into charcoal, which is another reason why we use oak as a raw material,” explains Akira Sasaki, president of Hoku Sangyo, located in Yono-cho. The company was formerly known as “Sasaki Lumber Store” founded in 1952, and started its charcoal-making business a few years later. Currently, the company has 16 kilns producing “Iwate Charcoal,” which is a registered product under the Geographical Indication (GI) protection system, as well as charcoal, powdered charcoal, wood vinegar solution, and other products.

Good Charcoal” Means “Good Fire Life

Sachiko Ichijo began making charcoal three years ago. Until then, she had been in charge of cutting and packing finished charcoal into bags and boxes, but she became interested in the charcoal-making process and decided that she wanted to try it herself, rather than just watching and listening to the process.

He learned charcoal making from a senior craftsman. First, he cut the oak logs to the standard length and thickness, stood them inside the kiln, lit the fire at the entrance, and let them dry for four days. The entrance to the kiln is then closed, and the amount of oxygen in the kiln is adjusted by moving the ventilation openings and smoke openings to carbonize the wood. Once completely carbonized, the kiln is closed at all entrances to shut off the oxygen and allowed to cool for about a week before the kiln is complete. The time from ignition to digestion varies depending on the dryness of the logs and the climate, but it takes about two to three weeks. In other words, it takes three to four weeks to complete the process.

Aiming for “hard,” “heavy,” and “low-pasteurization” charcoal

The most difficult part is to line up the logs in a straight line with no gaps between them in order to keep the inside of the kiln in an acidic state,” says Mr. Kikuchi. But the most important part is to block the entrance to the kiln and move the ventilation openings and smoke openings while carbonizing the charcoal,” says Ichijo. This is where the quality of the charcoal is determined. For Ichijo, good charcoal is “hard and heavy,” or “dense,” which is also a requirement for “charcoal that burns well. If the burning (carbonization) speed is too fast, it will result in low-density, scraggly charcoal, so he adjusts the carbonization speed by measuring the temperature at the smoke opening.

He says, “Before the charcoal is digested, the smoke outlet is opened wide to raise the temperature inside the kiln and increase the carbonization rate. The lower the value, the lower the impurities and the higher the carbon purity (carbonization), in other words, the higher the quality of charcoal. Iwate Charcoal, which has been approved for registration under the Geographical Indication (GI) protection system, is defined as having a purity of 8% or less, and this value is used as the standard for the fair. The bottom part of the finished charcoal is highly refined, so in the case of “Iwate Charcoal” it is cut off before shipping, but Hokubu Sangyo does not cut off the bottom part but inspects it according to its own standards and ships it as “Nara Charcoal.

Senior charcoal makers say that you can tell the state of carbonization and the timing of refining by the smoke and smell, but I have not reached that level yet, so I don’t know. So now I start refining when the temperature at the smoke outlet reaches 320°C. But I hope to be able to tell someday. But someday I would like to be able to understand it. That’s why every day is a learning experience, and that’s why every day is interesting,” Ichijo says with a smile.

Appearance is also an object of evaluation at the fair.

In the course of repeated charcoal making, Ichijo finds charcoal that he thinks is “well done,” and saves it to exhibit at a charcoal show. In addition to the aforementioned “hardness, heaviness,” and “degree of refinement,” Ichijo also considers “appearance” to be a requirement for “good charcoal,” so he selects charcoal with clean bark. As a result, at the 2022 Iwate Charcoal Fair, the company received the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award in the black charcoal cut charcoal category and the Director-General of the Forestry Agency Award in the black charcoal long charcoal category. The cut charcoal was approximately 6.5 cm long and the long charcoal was approximately 30 cm long.

I don’t want to end the charcoal-making technique and culture.

According to Mr. Sasaki, there is so much demand for charcoal in Japan right now that the company’s production cannot keep up. The company has been receiving an increasing number of orders for charcoal for use in camping at Corona Disaster and later for use in restaurants such as yakitori (grilled chicken) restaurants.

Even under such circumstances, we always try to produce charcoal of consistent quality. Also, we want to respond to any order. For example, some customers want charcoal that is softer and easier to crush than our Iwate Charcoal or Nara Charcoal, so we sometimes have to search inside the kiln to deliver it to them,” Sasaki says proudly.
Mr. Ichijo, on the other hand, says, “When you make charcoal, you also get ash for incense burners and braziers, and ‘wood vinegar,’ which is made by cooling the smoke, so there is no waste. I don’t want to let this charcoal-making technique and culture die out, so I want to continue making charcoal for 10 years, or even 20 years,” he says. Mr. Ichijo concentrates on each and every task, day in and day out, with only one thing in mind: making “good charcoal. Ichijo’s attitude will surely lead to the emergence of the next generation of young people who aspire to become charcoal makers.

The post Aiming for charcoal with “good fire retention,” which has three key qualities: hardness, fineness, and appearance. Sachiko Ichijo, Hokubu Sangyo / Yono-cho, Iwate Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Nakahora Farm is a pasture-farming dairy farm of mainly Jersey cows in the vast mountainous area of the Kitakami Mountains. The milk is pasteurized and non-homogenized at the company’s own milk plant, and is highly praised both inside and outside of the prefecture for its “rich flavor with a clean aftertaste.

Aiming for mountain dairy farming in his hometown

The Kitakami mountain range covers approximately 60% of Iwate Prefecture, with gently sloping mountains stretching from the center to the periphery. Nakahora Farm is located in a hollow 700 to 850 meters above sea level. It covers an area of 120 hectares, about 25 times the size of the Tokyo Dome. Here, 110 dairy cows, including calves, graze.

Nakahora Farm was established in 1984 by Tadashi Nakahora, a native of Iwate Prefecture, who settled in the Arigei district of Iwaizumi Town. While a student at Tokyo University of Agriculture, Mr. Nakahora learned about “Yamachi Dairy Farming,” a style of dairy farming advocated by Dr. Kyoji Naobara, a plant ecologist, and was shocked by it. In order to provide large amounts of milk at low prices, many dairy farmers in Japan today do not pasture their cows, but keep them in barns and feed them nutritious foreign grain feed. In contrast, “mountain dairy farming” is to plant wild buckwheat on mountains and let cows, which are herbivores, graze on the grass, thereby effectively utilizing the mountains, which cover about 70% of Japan’s land, for dairy farming and turning them into green grasslands. Furthermore, when one hears the word “grazing,” one tends to think that flat, wide grasslands are necessary, but cows can easily walk on slopes as long as they have grass, their favorite food. Thinking that this would make dairy farming possible even in the mountain forests of Iwate, where there are many steep slopes, Mr. Nakadora returned home after graduation and purchased his current farm, which had been put on the market by the “Kitakami Mountain Range Comprehensive Development Project. The project was to attract dairy farms to 17 cities, towns, and villages in eight regions of the prefecture, and the farm was a “build-to-order farm” that included a 50-hectare plot of land, various facilities, barns, and housing. Some of the equipment, such as a manure disposal machine, was unnecessary for mountain dairy farming, where cow manure is used to fertilize pastureland, and the farm was heavily in debt, but he made the decision to pursue his dream of “practicing pasture-based dairy farming in my hometown.

Why he chose Jersey cows

After settling in the area, Mr. Nakadora first cut down trees, put up fences around the farm to prevent the cows from escaping, and put 11 dairy cows out to pasture. The cows roam around and eat underbrush and leaves, which they eat up, leaving the soil bare. The cows’ manure and manure then became fertilizer, and eventually native wild grasses, such as wild buckwheat, began to grow. By repeating this process little by little, the pastureland with wild grass grew and the number of dairy cows increased. Dr. Naohara’s idea of the right balance between enough food for the cows and enough wild grass not to disappear due to overfeeding is “1.5 adult cows per hectare of pastureland,” and Nakahora Pasture follows this scale.

Making the Most of the Original Flavor of Raw Milk

Cows at Nakahora Farm are pastured day and night throughout the year. They enter the barn only twice a day for milking. The rest of the time, from spring to fall, the cows are fed on wild grasses and wild oats in the pastureland, and in winter, when the pastureland is covered with snow, they eat silage made from fermented pesticide-free grass from their own pastureland and Japanese hay. Mating and birthing are done in a natural way. Breeding and births are done in a natural way. Even after giving birth, cows are breast-fed for up to two months, so both mothers and calves are stress-free. They are healthy both mentally and physically.

Pasteurization at 63°C for 30 minutes

Nakahora Farm processes raw milk from such healthy cows into milk at its own milk plant and sells it. Mr. Nakahora shipped raw milk to an agricultural cooperative for seven years after settling in the area, but in 1987, the raw milk trading standard was changed to “fat content (percentage of fat in raw milk) of 3.5% or more,” and the purchase price of raw milk that did not meet the standard was reduced by about half. Nakahora Farm’s raw milk was not high in milk fat content due to the high amount of pastoral exercise, but from spring to fall, when the milk is fed on green grass with high water content, the milk fat content is even lower. Mr. Nakahora therefore felt a sense of crisis, saying, “I can’t run a business under this standard,” and decided to launch his own brand. With a loan from a bank, he built a milk plant and began producing milk. Incidentally, the dairy has since increased the ratio of Jersey cows to increase the fat content of its raw milk, which now ranges from 3.6 to 3.8% in summer and 4.3 to 4.5% in winter.

The ranch’s milk is characterized by its full-bodied flavor with a clean aftertaste. This is due to the fact that the milk is pasteurized at 63°C for 30 minutes. The pasteurization temperature and time change the proteins in the milk, causing it to lose its original taste. After much trial and error, we arrived at the legal limit of ’63°C for 30 minutes,'” explains Toru Makihara, who will replace Mr. Nakahora as head of the dairy farm in 2021. According to Makihara, the milk takes on a “matured flavor” as the days go by, and some customers enjoy the change in taste from the day of purchase to one week later.

Enjoy the “fresh cream” on the top of the bottle!

Another feature of Nakahora Farm’s milk is that it is non-homogenized milk. Homogenization” refers to the process of crushing the fat globules contained in milk into small pieces. The fat globules must be crushed before pasteurization in order to avoid scorching during the high-temperature pasteurization process (120°C for 2 seconds, etc.) for mass-distributed products from major dairy companies. On the other hand, the crushing of fat globules has the disadvantage of losing the original flavor of raw milk, so Nakahora Ranch chooses to use “non-homo” milk, saying, “We want our milk to taste close to raw milk. That is one of the reasons why our milk is said to have a rich taste. Also, as the days go by, the fat content floats to the top of the bottle, but this is fresh cream, so it is delicious eaten as is, and some customers even put it on bread,” says Makihara, proudly.

Aiming for “stable management” that can be passed on to the next generation

In addition to milk, Nakahora Farm’s milk plant also produces processed products such as ice cream, yogurt, butter, and pudding. Sales have expanded beyond Iwate Prefecture to Kanto, Kansai, Shikoku, and Kyushu, but business is still tight.

It is important for people to understand the value of our products.

Mr. Makihara’s family used to be a dairy farmer raising 600 cows in a barn in the neighboring village of Tanohata, but the family later went out of business. He came to Nakahora Farm 13 years ago, and felt that he wanted to raise cows in this way. However, it is not possible to run the farm at a loss of more than 100 million yen a year, as is the case now. We need a management structure that can feed the family and be passed on to the next generation of young people,” he stated clearly.

To stabilize the business, Makihara believes it is necessary to increase sales by having consumers understand the value of the products. For example, some customers do not know that the fat content is what floats to the top of our milk bottles. The price of our milk is more than five times the price of regular milk, so unless they understand why, that is, that we are a pasture-based dairy farm that feeds mainly grass, pasteurized, and non-homo, they will not buy our milk. On the other hand, if they understand, they will buy it,” says Makihara. Together with his young staff and trainees, he shares his wisdom and aims to develop the dairy farm under the motto, “For the cows, for the mountains, and for the health of the consumers who keep our dairy products.

The post Pasturing Jersey cows and delivering “pasteurized, non-homo” milk throughout Japan. Nakahora Farm / Iwaizumi Town, Iwate Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.