TOKYO, Jan. 16 — Carcasses of Noto beef cattle, a wagyu beef brand from Ishikawa Prefecture, were auctioned on Jan. 15 at the Tokyo central meat wholesale market for the first time after a New Year’s Day earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula. Sales were brisk, with one bullock carcass sold at a record high price for the day, as many buyers said they want to somehow support cattle producers by purchasing their products. There are also moves by restaurants and retailers to organize sales campaigns to help the producers. A total of 12 carcasses from Noto Ranch & Co. and a Noto beef cattle fattening farm of JA Zennoh Ishikawa, … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Jan. 11 –Japan’s top producer of hoshi imo (a specialty snack made of steamed, dried sweet potatoes)-Ibaraki Prefecture-named January 10th “the day of dried sweet potatoes,” or “Hoshi Imo no Hi” in Japanese. On January 10 this year, the prefecture held a press conference in Tokyo to celebrate the newly-established anniversary. Ibaraki Prefectural Governor Kazuhiko Oigawa explained to the press how the prefecture created the anniversary. The conference was attended by Maria Tani, a Japanese model and actress who became an ambassador for dried sweet potatoes from Ibaraki Prefecture in December last year, and she described the allure of hoshi imo. There are three reasons to call January 10th, … Continue reading →

TOKYO — The first auction of the year was held on Jan. 5 at Tokyo’s Ota wholesale market, with a number of Takarabune treasure boats decorated with colorful vegetables put on sale. The largest 3-meter-long boat was sold for 500,000 yen, the same price as last year. Dealers at the auction hoped for the earliest possible recovery of the areas in the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture hit by a powerful earthquake on New Year’s Day. In addition to two largest boats, four large boats were sold at 150,000 yen each. An official of Maruni Co., an intermediate wholesaler which bought the boat, said, “We are worried as there are … Continue reading →