Category Archives: Photos

Hokkaido Bunka Fashion College in Sapporo, Hokkaido, presented its new line of clothes made of nothing else but Yezo deer leather at a fashion show it held on February 21, 2015, in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the first time for the college to make clothes only out of Yezo deer leather. The collection was composed of five different clothes created by five third-year students who spent five months to complete the mission. The idea of using the deer leather for clothing came out as the wild deer actually are causing over JPY6 billion of damages to agriculture and forestry annually in Hokkaido. In September 2014, the school launched “Hokkaido Project” … Continue reading →

  Tetsuya Onda – Akita Nairiku Jukan Railway (Akita Prefecture)  – A very special train trip on Gottsuo Treasure Box Train is now one of the must-do things in Akita Prefecture in winter. It’s a limited service provided by the Akita Nairiku Jukan Railway (Akita Inland Longitudinal Railway) that offers a very unique experience of enjoying seasonal Akita cuisine, cooked by mothers from local towns, on the train. The feast are prepared by members of a local farmers group called Green Tourism Nishiki Association, each one serving a personal specialty to eventually offer a multi-course meal on the train. Gottsuo (pronounced as “Gozzo”) is a local dialect for a word … Continue reading →

  Kotaro Yamada Members of Tecchiriko, a non-profitable organization based in Kagamino-cho, Okayama Prefecture, know how to make red hot chili peppers taste milder and smoother making use of nature: Leave them on the snow ground. The practice is called Yuki Sarashi. They use red peppers that are harvested the year before and pickled in salt. The peppers are spread over the snow of about 20 cm, and the snow will absorb the bitterness and excess saltines from the salt-pickled peppers and make them taste milder. A few days later, they collect the snow-rested red peppers and mix them with malted rice to start three-year fermentation process. Then the product … Continue reading →

Yamizo Soba Street Association (Tochigi Prefecture) In Yamizo area in Tochigi Prefecture, Yamizo Soba Street Association and buckwheat farmers are bringing back an old secret to make soba milder, sweeter and more flavorful. That is leaving unhulled buckwheat chilled in cold water in the basin of a waterfall in Nikko, also in Tochigi Prefecture. This winter, a total of 3.2 tons of unhulled buckwheat was put in the cold water to match the volume last year. The buchwheat will be left in the water for as long as one week. Soba made with the cold-washed buckwheat is called kanzarashi soba and served at local soba restaurants that are members of … Continue reading →