Murakami Farm, located in Kamishihoro Town, Hokkaido, grows vegetables that are kind to the body and delicious.
In addition to careful field preparation and their particular low-chemical-fertilizer cultivation methods, they also add a little extra care to their potatoes by letting them “mature”.
The result is a wide variety of potatoes that are rarely seen on the market, and
in particular, the “snow-matured” potatoes that are only available in winter are well worth a look.
The “aged potatoes” are potatoes grown in the magnificent nature of Hokkaido and then carefully aged at Murakami Farm. They are stored and aged so as not to miss the most delicious moment, and they are a superb product. We will unravel the reasons for their “deliciousness” that attract famous chefs from all over the country.
“Matured potatoes” with a taste like no other
Kamishihoro Town is located in the northern part of the Tokachi Plain, almost in the center of Hokkaido. It is a land of abundant nature, with more than 70% of the area covered in forest, and is situated at the foot of Daisetsuzan National Park, the largest national park in Japan.
In contrast to the northern part of the park, where mountains of around 2000m in height are lined up, the southern part, where Murakami Farm is located, is a gentle hilly area. The inland climate has a large temperature difference between summer and winter, day and night, and the relatively low amount of rainfall makes the topography and climate suitable for the growth of agricultural products. The area has long hours of sunshine throughout the year, and in winter it is blessed with clear skies known as “Tokachi clear skies”, making it ideal for growing a wide variety of crops, including potatoes, beans, yams, burdock and cabbage.
Murakami Farm’s “aged potatoes” are made with the aim of making the potatoes grown in this rich natural environment and cool climate even tastier. The sweetness and texture of the potatoes is so good that they are almost unrecognizable as potatoes, and they have a growing number of repeat customers and inquiries from all over the country. Popular restaurants all over the country, including the popular Italian restaurant TACUBO in Daikanyama, PELLEGRINO in Ebisu, the wild game restaurant TSURUKIKYO in Shiga, and the French restaurant LE POTIRON in Miyazaki, all seek out these exquisite potatoes.
The “season” of each variety is adjusted through aging and storage.
The reason why so many people are attracted to the taste of Murakami Farm’s potatoes is because the farm creates the taste itself. This is what the farm manager, Tomoyuki Murakami, tells us. But what exactly does it mean to “create the taste”?
Murakami Farm grows around 30 different varieties of potato. When we think of potatoes, we tend to think of new potatoes as being the tastiest, but Mr. Murakami tells us that there are varieties that reach their peak in terms of taste at times when new potatoes are not in season
“So at our farm, we decided to store and mature each variety so that we can ship them when they are at their tastiest. We store the harvested potatoes in a warehouse and let them mature over the winter. There are varieties that can only be shipped after they have matured over the winter.”
When you think about the cost and the effort involved, it would be better to ship the potatoes straight after harvesting in autumn. However, because the best time for each potato variety to reach its peak flavor is different, they are committed to shipping at the best possible time. Murakami Farm describes the peak potatoes as “blooming with flavor”.
“The decision of whether to ship early or let them mature depends on how the flavor ‘rises’. The easiest way to tell is by checking the sugar content, as you can tell whether they’ve become sweet or not. Basically, it all depends on the flavor. We actually taste the potatoes about a week after harvesting to decide whether they’re good or not. The earlier varieties are shipped after a week, while the later varieties are left to mature for about six months before shipping.”
It was about 15 years ago that Murakami Farm began to shift the timing of its shipments and to focus on storage and ripening that matched the variety. In order to determine the timing of shipment based on taste as they do now, they have continued to research the optimal timing by comparing and eating over 50 different varieties. They have continued to analyze based on a comprehensive set of indicators, including sweetness, stickiness, flour quality, moisture content, and amino acids, and not just focusing on sweetness. In addition, they take into account various factors such as the climate during cultivation and the condition of the potatoes after harvesting when deciding when to ship the potatoes. They have made every effort to bring out the unique characteristics of the potatoes, and this is also true of the soil they cultivate them in.
“The soil in Kamishihoro Town is made up of volcanic ash, and it is well-drained and light, making it ideal for growing potatoes. In addition to potatoes, it is also suitable for growing beans, pumpkins, corn, carrots, garlic, etc. However, speaking specifically of potatoes, if the soil is alkaline, a condition called “sour rot” is more likely to occur, so we take care not to spread lime, which contains a lot of alkali, on potato fields.”
Basically, they use cow dung, chicken dung and pig dung to improve the soil, and they have achieved a 70% reduction in the use of agricultural chemicals and an 80% reduction in the use of chemical fertilizers, which is even lower than the standards for special cultivation, which require the use of agricultural chemicals and chemical fertilizers to be reduced by more than half.
Direct sales with a visible face to expand sales channels nationwide from Hokkaido
The sales stance of Murakami Farm has also contributed to the nationwide appeal of their potatoes. The method of cultivating sales channels by the producers themselves and communicating directly with consumers without going through shipping cooperatives or wholesalers has now spread throughout Japan, but Murakami Farm has been following this style for 20 years.
“The reason we started was that we were growing a potato variety called Kita Akari, which wasn’t being grown much in the area at the time. The first year’s crop was really good, so we tried selling Kita Akari to restaurants, and it was well received. That made us think that maybe we could convey the appeal of our produce more effectively by selling it directly to consumers. And so, gradually, the scale of our direct sales grew.”
However, it was not easy for a single producer to expand their sales channels on their own. So Mr. Murakami actively participated in study groups related to food. He learned about a wide range of things, including vegetables, seasonings and alcohol.
Many chefs and other cooks also participated in the study groups, and this was the starting point for spreading the appeal of Murakami Farm’s produce, leading to the expansion of sales channels nationwide.
A sense of mission in manufacturing is the pride of being a farmer
It has been 35 years since Murakami Farm was first established. Through their efforts to produce safe and delicious produce that people can eat with peace of mind, they have grown to become a farm that grows a large variety of vegetables on a huge farm of 45 hectares, which is about 9.6 times the size of the Tokyo Dome. The catalyst for their growth was when they noticed a change in the soil quality.
“Even when I step on the soil in the fields, I can feel that it is becoming much softer. Even when I’m working with the tractor, I can tell that the soil quality has clearly changed. It feels like good quality soil that is crumbly and doesn’t clump together. What I’m growing is something that people will eat. I want to grow something that is as safe and high quality as possible. To do that, I’ve started to think about how I can maintain the fields for a long time and make them sustainable.”
Farming, which involves a lot of physical labor, becomes more demanding as you get older. As people get older, farming becomes harder, and if there are no successors, many people quit farming. In this way, the surrounding farmers gradually quit. The reason there are so many large fields in this area now is simply that the remaining farmers bought up the land.
Mr. Murakami himself, to be honest, feels that there are still some difficulties with farming as a business. It’s expensive, and there are a lot of issues to deal with. However, because he is passionate about pursuing the taste of his produce, he puts a lot of effort into developing cultivation and ripening methods.
Of course, making a profit is important, but if you only focus on that, you will end up staying within the existing framework. That is why Mr. Murakami says that the things he needs to do and a sense of mission can be the driving force that moves him.
“In the end, I enjoy making things. The most motivating thing for me now is delivering the things I’ve made and receiving feedback on how they taste.”
Murakami Farm’s potatoes were able to discover the method of aging because they wanted people to eat them at the most delicious time. This desire will continue to drive Murakami to pursue the ultimate taste.
We grow our vegetables with great care, using soil from fields that have been carefully tended and cultivated with about 70% less pesticides and 80% less chemical fertilizers. We grow our vegetables with the idea of “helping the crops to grow healthily”. After harvesting, we mature the vegetables in a harsh environment to further develop their flavor, and then deliver them to you. Please try Murakami Farm’s famous mature potatoes.
