Category Archives: Photos

Daikon radishes hung up to dry in the cold in a snowy mountainous district in central Japan

GIFU, Jan. 13 — Farmers in the Yamanomura district of Kamioka in Hida, Gifu Prefecture, are busy working on producing Okuhida Yamanomura Kanboshi Daikon, a local specialty made by drying daikon radishes. It is a traditional preserved food handed down in the district, an area with heavy snowfall located at an altitude of around 1,000 meters. Thick, boiled slices of radish are hung up outside where temperatures go down below minus 10 degrees Celsius and are dehydrated by going through the repeated cycles of being frozen at nights and thawed during daytime, developing their unique chewiness and sweetness. “It is a local winter task that has continued for over 100 … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Photos | Comments Off on Daikon radishes hung up to dry in the cold in a snowy mountainous district in central Japan

Is it really a toy or genuine?

TOKYO, Dec. 23 – A series of capsule toys featuring Japanese local milk brands is making a big hit in Japan. The gacha toys created under the supervision of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (ZEN-NOH) are as small as a little finger but look precisely like a 1-liter milk carton or a 200-ml milk bottle, which you see every day everywhere in Japan. Having a retro feel that attracts mostly young people and a lineup that allures collectors, they are helping to create milk fans. You turn a lever of the gacha vending machine to get one of the six miniature milk cartons and bin, like that famous … Continue reading

Posted in Others, Photos | Comments Off on Is it really a toy or genuine?

A wide variety of daikon radishes displayed at washoku exhibition in Tokyo

TOKYO, Dec. 17 — Slim, long, round, red, big — the replicas of 25 local daikon radish varieties from across Japan is attracting attention of visitors at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo’s Taito Ward. The display is the main feature of a special exhibition on washoku Japanese cuisine that illustrates how the unique culture of Japanese food was formed, from various perspectives including science and history. The exhibit was organized to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of washoku’s inclusion in the list of intangible cultural heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2013. It is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Photos | Comments Off on A wide variety of daikon radishes displayed at washoku exhibition in Tokyo

To welcome new year happily

MIYAGI, Dec. 14 – In Kami Town, Miyagi Prefecture, makers of shimekazari, a traditional Japanese New Year’s decoration, have entered the busiest time of the year. To  prepare approximately 6,000 shimekazari Kazuko Ito, 73, and nine female farmers and neighbors gather at her house, adding the finishing touches to the shimenawa straw rope ornaments by decorating them with mizuhiki paper cords, hiba tree leaves, rice straws, etc.They use Hitomebore rice straws cultivated at Ito’s rice field and hiba leaves from local “Igune (homestead woodlands).” Shimezakari-making by female farmers began approximately 40 years ago to make their pocket money. “We do this to welcome the new year happily, like we buy … Continue reading

Posted in Photos | Comments Off on To welcome new year happily

A new take on Japanese traditional New Year’s food — stacked boxes of fruits

TOKYO, Dec. 12 — As Japan awaits the first New Year holidays after the legal status of the novel coronavirus was downgraded to a common infectious disease, a new type of osechi traditional New Year’s assortment of food is attracting attention — one filled with various kinds of fruits. Funasho, a major intermediate wholesaler operating at Tokyo’s Ota Market, sells at its online store fruits osechi, a set of three stacked boxes containing domestically-grown fruits in season. It is their first attempt to sell fruits in triple-stacked osechi boxes. In the first box, large-size white strawberries from Saga Prefecture and red strawberries from Tochigi Prefecture are placed next to each … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Photos | Comments Off on A new take on Japanese traditional New Year’s food — stacked boxes of fruits