A food buyer from Isetan Mitsukoshi and Ishikawa Agricultural Support Organization (INATO) team up with food professionals and guides who are experts on Noto to create a "Satoyama Satoumi Food Tour" where gourmets can explore the area together.

This is the second installment of the Noto ETravel travelogue, where we accompanied the tour to experience the generous satoyama and satoumi, and the lifestyles and food culture that arise from them.

■ The Agehama Salt Production Method: A Coexistence of Nature and People Remains in Oku-Noto and Suzu

Suzu City, located at the tip of the peninsula, is aptly named Oku-Noto. Suzu City's Nie Coast is the only place in Japan where salt production using the Agehama salt production method has been carried on. The Agehama salt production method is a traditional salt production method that has been practiced for over 400 years, dating back to the Edo period. Seawater is brought to the beach and spread on the salt fields, and the dried sand is collected and placed in wooden boxes. This is a salt-making technique in which seawater is run through the pot to extract concentrated salt, which is then boiled down in a flat kiln to produce salt. Salt production has always been hard work, with early morning seawatering, salt field work during the day, and boiling in a cauldron day and night. At Suzuenden Village, which we visited, only firewood from the satoyama (satoyama) is used to boil the salt in the cauldron, which takes approximately 18 hours. Using firewood also creates a cycle in the satoyama ecosystem. Salt production is also linked to the satoyama and satoyama. Oku-Noto salt is produced only on sunny days between April and the end of October, so production is limited. The mellow salt that spreads softly on the tongue is literally the result of careful hand-crafting.

■ The passion behind "Takeha," a sake beloved by locals and recognized worldwide

The Noto Peninsula, jutting out into the Sea of Japan, is divided into two areas: the outer bay, where the rough waves crash in during the winter, and the inner bay, where the waters remain calm year-round. Heading down from Suzu City toward the Uchiura Sea, you'll come to Noto Town. Overlooking the calm waters of Ushitsu Bay, you'll find Kazuma Sake Brewery, founded in 1869. Kazuma Kaichiro, the fifth-generation president, took over as president at age 24 and is dedicated to brewing sake with his youthful energy. While the brewery is small, with an annual production of 850 koku, it's also garnering attention from around the world. Kazuma's "Chikuyo" sake was selected alongside Dassai, Masumi, and Dainana at Madrid Fusion 2014, the world's most prestigious culinary festival. The rice used in the brewery's sake is cultivated without pesticides or chemical fertilizers by Ura Takahiro, a rice farmer and a friend from high school. Furthermore, 100% of the rice used in the brewery's sake is polished in-house. "One of our priorities is to use safe and reliable sake rice grown in Noto. Furthermore, by re-sorting the rice we purchase and polishing it to within 1% in-house, we are able to maintain high quality control," says Kazuma. Furthermore, for brewing, we transport ultra-soft water daily by tanker truck from the mountains of Yanagida Village, the only village on the Noto Peninsula that does not face the sea.

While working hard to brew delicious sake, we also work with Ura-san and university students in the prefecture to protect the Satoyama and Satoumi. Brewed with the passion that "caring for the land is restoring the land," this sixth-generation sake is spreading from Oku-Noto to the world.

■ Vegetables Grown at Taka Farm on the Red Soil of Noto Island, Combining Tradition and Modernity

Noto Island, floating on the calm waters of Nanao Bay, is close to Wakura Onsen and, with two bridges connecting it, is a popular resort destination attracting many tourists. Attracted by the beautiful nature of Noto Island, the Taka couple of Taka Farm moved to the area and began farming. "We started with two hectares and now have a 20-hectare field. We grow over 300 varieties of vegetables a year," says Taka Toshimitsu.
Taka Farm's vegetables are mostly purchased directly from restaurants in Tokyo, Osaka, Kanazawa, and elsewhere. They are also sold at some department stores, including Mitsukoshi and Isetan, where they are so popular they sell out immediately. The Taka Farmers do not use any pesticides, striving to "grow delicious, safe vegetables that I would want to eat myself." They are also certified JAS organic by Ishikawa Prefecture and certified as Ishikawa Prefecture eco-farmers.
"We prepare the soil by combing rice husks and green manure into Noto Island's mineral-rich red soil. Vegetables grow slowly in the clayey red soil. Vegetables that grow well-fed have firm flesh and a rich flavor. Root vegetables, especially potatoes, are incredibly delicious," says his wife, Hiroko.

Taka Farm, which operates under the concept of "tradition and modernity," actively cultivates traditional vegetables that have taken root in the land, such as traditional Kaga vegetables from Ishikawa Prefecture, such as kinjiso, Kaga thick cucumber, Gensuke radish, Nakajimana, and golden thread melon.

"Noto is kind, even to the soil," these words came to mind as I watched the Taka couple, who continued to wave goodbye.


Interview cooperation:
Suzu Shiota Village http://www.suzu.co.jp/enden
Kazuma Sake Brewery https://chikuha.co.jp
Taka Farm (TEL/FAX 0767-85-2678)


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