FOOD & PRODUCT
In the area- stretching from the Kuresaki district to Nishi-Matama district in Bungotakada City, you will see deep-rooted Welsh onions growing as far as the eye can see. In the 19th and 20th centuries, this land, with its sandy soil, was reclaimed from the sea. Combined with the warm local climate, it soon supported intensive cultivation. Although many crops are grown here, Welsh onions are foremost....
For centuries, the horse mackerel and chub mackerel caught by the intrepid fishermen of Saganoseki in Oita City have been prized around Japan. They are known, respectively, as “sakiaji” and “sekisaba.” Fishermen with long years of experience and expertise catch the fish using the traditional pole-and-line method to ensure sustainability. Sekiaji and sekisaba draw attention to the skill and commitment of the people who catch them, battling the waves day after day to bring home fresh seafood....
A famous delicacy of Oita Prefecture is farmed Japanese yellowtail that have had Oita kabosu citrus fruit mixed in with their feed. This imparts a clean, pleasantly fragrant and vibrantly red character to the fresh of fish. The superior, smooth flavor always leaves you waiting another bite!...
Saffron is produced from the pistils of a plant in the crocus family that originates from the Mediterranean. It is used medicine, flavorant and dye. The only saffron production in Japan happens in Taketa city, one of the few places in the world where saffron is grown indoors. The unique cultivation method requires intensive hands-on attention. Taketa saffron is famed both in Japan and abroad....
From late autumn through winter, the Okusankichi, a variety of the common pear, produces large fruits up to 700g or more. These delicacies are famed for their subtle tartness and refined sweetness. They also keep very well....
Jelly oranges, as the name suggests, are soft and gelatinous sweets. They’re made with lots of fruit juice, and they have a delectable fragrance – a tasty citrus treat straight from Oita Prefecture!...
The strong currents of the Bungo Channel nurture Japanese pufferfish with a uniquely dense, firm texture. In Usuki City, these so-called “kings of pufferfish” are served by the finest local restaurants....
Oita prefecture leads Japan in the growing of Hinohikari, the locally preferred rice variety. The paddies are flooded with pure spring water from mountain streams, and varying terrain and elevation changes found in Oita are exploited in the cultivation process. In the inland valleys of Oita, famous for their morning mists, you will see rice being dried in the fields the old-fashioned way....
Oita’s coastline along the Bungo Channel is heavily indented with jagged peninsulas, and the fast-flowing tides there make it prime place to fish for spiny lobster, turbo, abalone and sea urchin....
Largehead hairtail line-caught off the coast of Oita have a delicious, refined flavor. Those landed in Kunisaki City and Usuki City are branded with their place of origin and prized in the marketplace. They are typically served as sashimi or salt-grilled....
This species of crab is caught in large quantities in the Buzen Sea between Nakatsu and Kakaji. The fishing season runs from summer through winter, but the crabs are at their most delicious in the colder months....
When the early 20th century food critic Kenjiro Kinoshita wrote that Oita soft-shell turtles were exceptional in flavor, he brought this food to national attention in Japan. His nephew, Oita governor Kaoru Kinoshita, directed that the Inland Fisheries Research Center be built in Ajimu-machi (now part of Usa City). As a result of aquaculture research there, a method of heating fishponds in winter using natural hot spring water was developed. Oita is one of Japan’s leading soft-shell turtle producing regions, both in quantity and quality. It has long been known that eating soft-shell turtle helps alleviate fatigue and stress; recently, it has been embraced by women as a “beauty food” because it contains so much collagen....
In most of Japan, raising loach is primarily done in paddies, but Oita is famous for its “mud-free loach.” With Oita loach, Japan’s finest, there are no worries about agrochemicals or muddy flavor. The flesh of the fish, and even bones, are plump and soft. Loach is rich in calcium and vitamin D, and the scales and skin contain collagen, noted for its beautifying properties. Loach is prepared in a number of ways, including grilled, deep fried, and simmered with their thinly sliced burdock and cooked with egg. Loach producers periodically hold “loach workshops” with chefs and people involved in agrotourism. One midwinter day each year there is a loach-eating festival, with events publicizing the fish....
Marbles sole, fished mainly in the Seto Inland Sea, has beautiful white translucent flesh that tastes delicious. Shiroshita sole, famous nationwide, is found where abundant freshwater enters the sea at Yokoku. The flesh of Shiroshita sole is free of any muddy taste, and was a favorite of the shoguns....
Tea cultivation has a long history in Oita. In the Saiki and Hita regions, collective production of pan fired teas became established in the Edo era. Geographical appellations like Inbi and Tsue tea became well known. Until 1965, Kitsuki was a black tea producing area, but liberalization of black tea imports promoted a switch to green tea, of which Kitsuki is now the leading producer in Oita. The northern part of Oita has seen large-scale farmland reclamation and production of Yabakei tea. This activity is centered on Nakatsu City, but since the 1990s, new plantations have also been established in former Ono Country. And in Usuki City, organic tea cultivation is thriving....
You can really trust the quality of Oita-grown strawberries, where the warm, sunny climate has fostered a long tradition of strawberry farming. Typically, bees are released into greenhouses to pollinate Oita strawberries, which are tangy-sweet and packed with vitamin C. People of all ages love them!...
Perilla is a Japanese herb with a zesty aroma that stimulates the appetite. It has more vitamin A and calcium than almost any other vegetable, and it is grown year-round at farms in and around the cities of Oita and Yufu....
This aromatic vegetable of the parsley family is essential in Japanese cuisine. Full of vitamin A and fiber, it can help prevent diabetes. In Oita city, it is grown hydroponically year-round with minimal agrochemical inputs....
The so-called”seven herbs of spring”(ingredients in an early January”detox”dish in Japan)are Japanese parsley,shepherd’s purse, Jersey cudweed, chickweed, henbit, turnip and rockcrees. They are gown on large-scale plantations at roughly the turn of the year. Seeds are collected and repidly picked and packed around New Year’s for shipment. They are also freeze-dried, to be packaged and sold with retort-packeged rice porridge products....
It is thought that the first seedlings of this citrus plant were cultivated in Usuki city. Currently, the cities of Usuki and Taketa are the main growing region, supplying about 95% of Japan’s crop. Kabosu’s high citric acid and vitamin C content have drawn interest to the first as a natural nutritional supplement. Oita kabosu is lovingly grown by farmers in the warm Oita sunshine....
