Author Archives: The Japan Agricultural News

Edamame takeaway shop opens in Kyoto

KYOTO, Oct. 13 ― A unique takeaway shop specializing in edamame opened in Kyoto on Oct. 13, offering a new way of eating the beans while walking, with an aim to expand their consumption. SPICE UP EDAMA Meee, located in the Sanjo Meitengai shopping arcade, a popular tourist destination in the city, serves steamed edamame beans with flavors such as butter, soy sauce or wasabi in a special container with a pocket to keep the removed pods, making it convenient for people to eat them while they walk down the street. The beans, priced at 700 yen per container, come in eight different flavors including peperoncino and Japanese apricot. Both … Continue reading

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“What goes best with milk?” Hokuren asking consumers to vote by Nov. 30

TOKYO, Oct. 5 – “What’s the best food to pair with milk?” Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Hokkaido, Japan, has started a nationwide poll to choose the best milk companion as part of its ongoing effort to boost milk consumption. Hokuren’s website has a list of candidates, and you can cast an online vote on the website or the X (ex-Twitter) by November 30. The campaign is part of the “Milk Land Hokkaido” initiative for encouraging the consumption of milk and dairy products. The Milk Land Hokkaido has prepared a special website with the posters of ten “election” candidates: bean jam buns, toast, cakes, curry and rice, doughnuts, chocolates, … Continue reading

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Glowing sea of clouds seen over rice terraces at the height of harvest

NIIGATA, Oct. 3 — Autumn is in full swing in the city of Tokamachi in Niigata Prefecture in northwestern Japan, the season when a sea of clouds is most likely to appear as the temperature difference between daytime and night is large. The rice terraces of Hoshitoge in the city which face east offer a fantastical scenery of the rising sun over the sea of clouds, attracting tourists from home and abroad. The Hoshitoge paddies represent the tiered rice fields in the prefecture’s Echigotsumari region made up of Tokamachi and the town of Tsunan. They are called tensuiden, meaning rainfed paddy fields. Roughly 200 rice paddies stretch out on mountain … Continue reading

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Thriving traditional fishing and culture revolving around the Nagara River in Gifu Prefecture

GIFU, Oct. 2 ― The Nagara River, considered one of Japan’s three clearest rivers and known for the ayu sweetfish fishing, supports a population of 860,000 people living in the basin from upstream through downstream. Ayu of the Nagara River was designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2015 as satokawa, a river that enriches the lives of people in various forms including culture, industry and traditional craftwork. Seiryu Nagara River Ayu Park in the city of Gujo located in the upstream of the river allows visitors to experience live decoy fishing called tomozuri and ayu hand grabbing, as well … Continue reading

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Japan Dairy Association starts offering online weekly comic book about only milk

TOKYO, Oct. 3 – Japan’s first and new online comic book with stories about only milk is gathering the attention of social media users. It’s the online magazine called “Weekly Saturday & Sunday Milk ,” for which ten cartoonists already famous on several social media take turns to provide new stories to share the attractiveness of milk. It’s one of the unique initiatives by the Japan Dairy Association (J-milk) to raise milk consumption over the weekends when no school lunch with a pack of milk is provided to children. The first strip was released on September 30 by Kei Kurata, who is popular for her comic essays about ordinary happenings. … Continue reading

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