Author Archives: The Japan Agricultural News

Can “real straws” help reduce plastic waste?

FUKUI, May 31 – Straws made of barley stalks are attracting attention as a new option for eco-friendly consumers. Fukui Oomugi Club, a Fukui-based barley tea and food producer started selling them last year. It uses stalks provided by local barley growers to make the very natural straw, which is unique to Fukui Prefecture, which is Japan’s largest producer of six-row barley, or Rokujo oomugi in Japanese. Making straws out of agricultural byproducts can also help reduce plastic waste. The stalks of “Fiber-snow” six-row barley are provided by the members of a local agricultural cooperative corporation named Ten. They are dried in the sun, cut in 18 to 20 centimeters … Continue reading

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Agricultural experience helps reduce stress hormones, study shows

TOKYO, Jul. 11 – The Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-ZENCHU), an apex organization of agricultural cooperatives (JAs) in Japan, and Juntendo University announced on July 10 a result of their joint study which showed that getting hands-on experience at a farm has an effect of reducing stress and increasing sense of happiness. Using the data, JA-ZENCHU hopes to further promote farms that provide agricultural experiences to attract more users. JA-ZENCHU and the university conducted the research in November 2018 with cooperation from National Farming Experience Farms, a nonprofit organization promoting farms that offer agricultural experiences, to see the effects of farming experience on people’s stress levels. They asked 40 … Continue reading

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Japanese restaurant chains starring domestic melon desserts to spur consumption

TOKYO, Jul. 14 – Several restaurant chains are introducing desserts featuring fresh melons grown in Japan. Cakes and parfaits with a lot of the fruit in season will hopefully pull in more customers and loosen up their wallets to help the foodservice industry hit hard by the new coronavirus outbreak. Sweets Paradise is a chain restaurant with an all-you-can-eat dessert buffet with stores in and the west of the Kanto east Japan area. On July 10, it started offering a limited-time dessert buffet featuring melon. The plan includes cut melon, special melon cakes, drinks, and, most importantly, one whole melon per group, which was the most popular attraction last year. … Continue reading

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Tottori Prefecture starts online auction of Tottori beef in Taiwan in a bid to boost exports

TOTTORI, Jul. 4 – Tottori Prefecture has begun an online beef auction in Taiwan using social media in an effort to promote the local specialty Tottori wagyu beef. The prefecture hopes to maintain and expand beef exports which have recently been declining amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Blocks of sirloin steaks and fillets are put on sale on a Facebook page of a meat wholesaler in Taiwan and buyers write down their bid prices in the comment section. The first auction, held on May 29 on the page specially created for Tottori beef, attracted 76,000 views, as a meat wholesaler live streamed the event, showing different beef cuts and explaining their … Continue reading

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Aomori debuts “Junoheart” super cute cherry nationwide

AOMORI, TOKYO, Jul. 1 – Junoheart, a new cherry variety developed in Aomori Prefecture, celebrated its nationwide debut on July 1, 2020. It’s a super cute heart-shaped cherry of more than 2.8 centimeters in size, one of Japan’s largest varieties. It tastes less sour and has a high sugar content of around 20%. Currently, it’s grown in some part of Aomori, 10 hectares in total, but the prefecture is planning to triple the area in five years. Takano Fruits Parlor in Shinjuku, Tokyo, now has a limited offer of Junoheart Cake (1,188 yen) and Junoheart Parfait (2,200 yen) to celebrate the debut of the new charming cherry variety in Japan. Governor … Continue reading

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