CHIBA, Oct. 17 – This year’s harvesting and drying of peanuts started in Chiba Prefecture, Japan’s top producer of peanuts. In the city of Yachimata, a major peanut producing area in Chiba, so-called “bocchi,” heaps of upturned peanut plants, sit on the fields for drying. Having well-draining volcanic ash soil, Yachimata is suited for cultivation of peanuts which are resistant to dryness. The cold and dry wind that blows in the region in October helps add sweetness to peanuts. Production of peanuts is believed to have begun in Yachimata in 1896, as farmers in the area with scarce water resources were looking for items to replace paddy-field rice. Cultivation area … Continue reading →

IWATE, Oct. 4 – “Chagu Chagu Umakko” is a traditional event to appreciate farm horses in Iwate Prefecture. For the past two years, it was canceled due to Covid-19, leaving a heavy burden on the horse owners. However, the event returned this year backed by a crowdfunding (CF) platform. “With or without the festivals, we must feed the animals. It costs 200,000 yen per month to feed one, and some colleagues had no choice but to sell the horses,” said Noboru Otsubo, an 84-year-old owner of 14 horses in Takizawa City. For every horse owner, it’s an honor to have his/her horses participate in the event, but the number of … Continue reading →

OKAYAMA, Oct. 3 – The city of Maniwa in Okayama Prefecture is known as Japan’s largest breeding area for Jersey milk cows, raising 2,000 such cows, about 20% of those reared nationwide. Brown cows can be seen grazing peacefully in the 40-hectare pastures in the Hiruzen Highlands, located in the northern part of the city at an altitude of 550 to 650 meters. The Jersey is a breed of dairy cattle from Jersey, the largest island of the British Channel Islands. They have brown hair and are characteristically friendly. Because Jerseys are smaller in size than Holstein cows and produce less milk, they are rare in Japan, occupying less than … Continue reading →