Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

HIROSHIMA, Jan 21 – “We serve in-flight meals on the ground.” Sera Town, Hiroshima Prefecture, and Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (JAL) have created a new lunch menu featuring local ingredients and begun serving it at Sera Winery in Sera Town since mid-January. The town, known for fruit and flower tourist farms, has fewer tourist attractions in winter, so it developed two dishes under the supervision of a chef in charge of in-flight meals for JAL’s international first-class flights. The dishes meet high safety standards for in-flight meals, such as requirements for temperature controls. “A bowl of rice topped with Sera Minori Roast Beef” (3,500 yen) comes with slowly-cooked roast beef, … Continue reading →

OKAYAMA, Jan. 12 — As shipments of yellow garlic chives, the specialty of the Makiishi district in the city of Okayama, are reaching peak levels, they are seen dried under sunlight at farms as a final touch after harvesting. Yellow chives are grown from regular green chive plants under what is known as “light shielding cultivation.” After the plants’ green leaves are trimmed, leaving a small base of stubby leaves, they are kept in darkness to regrow with chlorophyll synthesis being inhibited, thus turning yellow. At this time of the year, yellow chives are sundried for about an hour immediately before being shipped to make the yellow leaves brighter. Unlike … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Jan. 6 — As major wholesale markets across Japan held their first auctions of fruits and vegetables on Jan. 5, seven Takarabune treasure boats carrying colorful vegetables were auctioned at Tokyo’s Ota wholesale market. Two giant boats and five large boats were put on auction and the giant boats were sold for 500,000 yen each and the large boats for 150,000 yen each, the same prices as last year. In an address to buyers, Kota Kawada, president of major wholesaler Tokyo Seika Co., said, “The business environment is expected to remain challenging in 2025, but the Ota market will take on a central role in leading Japan’s food scene.” … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Dec. 11 — The National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (JA ZEN-NOH) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Dec. 10 held a dinner in Tokyo showcasing washoku Japanese cuisine, aimed at boosting exports of farm produce. Some 100 guests, mainly foreign ambassadors to Japan and their spouses, were invited to the dinner at the State Guest House, Akasaka Palace in Tokyo’s Minato Ward and were served with a full-course dinner of Kyo Kaiseki — Kyoto’s traditional local cuisine — using Japan-made agricultural products including Kyoto’s heirloom vegetables. The dinner was organized to promote washoku and locally sourced ingredients. The government has set a goal of increasing … Continue reading →

KYOTO, Dec. 5 – In the Shino district of Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture, a traditional Japanese vegetable, Shogoin turnip, is now at its peak shipping season. It is the largest turnip in Japan that can weigh up to 5 kilograms. At this time of year, the Kameoka Basin, a producer of this sweet, crispy turnip, is covered with a thick fog and frost in the early morning. It is said that the significant variance in temperature between day and night is key to the sweetness of this turnip. Yoshinori Kimura, a 55-year-old turnip grower, was busy washing, sorting, and packing freshly harvested turnips in the workspace of his 2-hectare farm. … Continue reading →