HACHIMANTAI, Jan. 10 ― Gentian, a brilliant blue flower, grows best in sunny conditions. But Ayumi Miyano, a 36-year-old gentian grower, has tried her luck and experimented with the herb, finding a way to keep her business going even in the freezing temperature in winter. Miyano and her 10 part-time female workers make products, such as candle and herbarium, out of the herb in Hachimantai, Iwate prefecture, known for its gentian-growing region in Japan. They cut the plant when the flowers are just beginning to open and then hang them up for some time. “I’m hoping this can be a place for us to survive in winter,” Miyano smiles.

TOKYO, Jan. 28 ― Surprise your partner with a heart-shaped wagyu steak gift for Valentine’s Day. That was the idea the high-end Japanese department store, Takashimaya, in Tokyo came up with to make Valentine’s Day a special event for customers. The department’s meat sales section is offering online delivery services of these special steaks through Valentine’s Day. It cuts wagyu beef in a heart shape and sells a pair of 120-gram set for loin slice at 6,912 yen and round slice at 4,752 yen.

KAKEGAWA, Jan. 5 ― Japanese tea growers have welcomed the year of the pig in the Chinese zodiac calendar with a giant pig made of “susuki” pampas grass. A group of about 20 tea growers installed the 5-meter-long and 3.5-meter-high pig shaped object at the top of Mt. Awagatake in Kakegawa, Shizuoka prefecture. They used 500 kilograms of silver-colored susuki pampas grass, which is also known as “chagusa,” used for tea cultivation providing natural fertilizer in Shizuoka, a main producer of Japanese green tea.