Yoshimi Yamakawa grows sweet and juicy pineapples with the blessings of Okinawa’s abundant nature. We visited Ms. Yamakawa’s pineapple fields, which are filled with her love for growing high-sugar snack pineapples that can be eaten down to the core.
Yanbaru’s red soil nurtures pineapples
The northern part of Okinawa’s main island is called Yanbaru. Yoshimi Yamakawa’s pineapple farm is located in the mountains of Ginoza Village, along the east coast of the island. The soil in Yanbaru is acidic red soil called “Kunigami Margin,” and because there is a lot of elevated land with good sunlight and drainage, pineapples, which prefer acid soil, are actively cultivated.
The sweetness is surprising even to the creator
Currently, there are about 10 varieties of pineapples distributed in Okinawa, including those produced overseas. The main pineapple varieties distributed are the “Smooth Cayenne,” which has been grown for a long time as an alley pineapple, and the milky white “Peach Pineapple,” which is distributed in early spring. The Bogor Pineapple, commonly called the “snack pineapple,” is a variety of pineapple whose flesh can be torn off and eaten by hand.
The size of the pineapple is small (700-850 grams), but the flesh is juicy and filling. I am surprised at the high sugar content and low acidity when I grow them myself,” says Yamakawa. The sweetness of Bogor pineapples is so pronounced that the sugar content exceeds 20 degrees during the peak harvest season, and there is no tingling sensation in the throat caused by proteolytic enzymes.
The Secret of Sweetness
Pineapple cultivation is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process that takes about two years from planting the seedlings to mowing, shading, and fertilizer management throughout the year. The most time-consuming part of the process is the timing of harvest. Pineapples do not ripen, so the sugar content varies greatly depending on the timing of the harvest.
Only I can determine when to harvest the pineapples,” he says, ”because I have to push the ripeness to the very limit to maximize the sweetness. I decide by looking at how the buds open before they turn too red. If they are too sweet, the flavor will be unbalanced,” says Yamakawa. He watches over his pineapples, which are nurtured by the soil and the sun, and harvests them at the optimum time. The secret to the sweetness of the pineapples is quite simple: he wants them to taste as good as possible, and he has a rule of thumb to back this up.
It is amazing that such a high sugar content can be obtained only from the red soil that originally existed in this area. I get tired of man-made sweetness, but I never get tired of natural sweetness,” Yamakawa laughed.
Team solves challenges for pineapple farmers
This year, Mr. Yamakawa harvested approximately 6,000 pineapples in his fields. From planting to harvesting, Mr. Yamakawa is the only one engaged in farm work. I used to grow baby leaves in a greenhouse, but my age has become too much of a burden, so from now on I want to focus only on pineapples,” he said. Pineapples are not susceptible to continuous cropping, so I can harvest pineapples every year with stable quality, and since I grow my own seedlings, I can keep my expenses low. The more pineapples I grow, the more I can sell, so it’s worthwhile. Yamakawa’s dream of growing pineapples came about through an encounter.
Partnership with online sales
In the old days, the agricultural cooperative took half of the sales price even if you worked hard. It was fine for those who could sell their products on their own, but for someone my age, it was impossible to do everything from cultivation to sales. I was able to spread the word thanks to my encounter with Gushiken,” says Yamakawa with a friendly smile.
The online sales of snack pineapples, which Yamakawa and Gushiken began 15 years ago, have continued to increase more than fourfold since the first year of sales, and have succeeded in diffusing and stabilizing sales routes. Internet sales, which can deliver directly to consumers, had the great advantage of allowing farmers to sell at the “right time” when pineapples are at their sweetest and at the “right price.
Mr. Gushiken said, “Almost all pineapples distributed in Japan are from overseas, and domestic pineapples account for less than 5%. We want to increase the added value of Okinawan pineapples,” he says, ”because overseas pineapples are cheap and in quantity, so we cannot compete with them. As a trial-and-error method to achieve this goal, he has developed new products as sweets, not wasting even B-grade pineapples that are out of standard. They are also considering offering a hands-on experience at a pineapple farm in the future.
Even in Okinawa, many people do not know how pineapples are grown in the fields. I have been in this business for 20 years, but at first I just stocked pineapples. But after I started helping with planting and harvesting, I learned about the hardships farmers face, such as the fact that things can go wrong depending on the weather. If we sell our products while communicating this information, the value of the products will increase,” says Gushiken.
The partnership with Mr. Gushiken has contributed greatly to the expansion of sales of Mr. Yamakawa’s snack pineapples as well as to the enhancement of the brand.
Pineapple Cheesecake and Pineapple Pie
Gushiken’s store, Nagahama Shoten, produces and sells sweets that take advantage of the rich sweetness unique to ripe pineapples. The pineapple cheese cake is a gem that uses luxurious Danish cream cheese to create an exquisite harmony between the fruity, refreshing sweetness unique to pineapple and the richness of the cheese.
The pineapple pie is made with 1.5 snack pineapples for a natural sweetness and the pie’s savory flavor. In both cases, the recipes were developed through trial and error to maximize the flavor of the ingredients.
Keep up the good pineapple from Okinawa!
Mr. Yamakawa, who has been growing pineapples in Okinawa for many years, says he is surprised by the recent climate changes. Bogor pineapples usually reach their sweetness from June to the first half of July. This year, we had a long spell of rain from May, but as soon as the rainy season ended, we suddenly had a series of high temperatures, and the harvest came in about half a month early,” Yamakawa said.
Typhoons are the natural enemy of Okinawan pineapple farmers, and they often cause damage such as broken buds and damaged fruit before harvest. Yamakawa says that he is able to balance supply and demand through “pre-order sales” while gaining the understanding of consumers by communicating such unpredictable natural disasters via the Internet.
From now on, Yamakawa says, “Rather than harvest volume, we would like to aim for a stable supply of higher quality pineapples and new processed products. Next year, he plans to start harvesting “White Coco,” a new variety of white pulp with a coconut-like aroma. Yamakawa’s farm will continue to produce sweet and juicy pineapples, as he continues to face and live with nature in Okinawa.
