Minabe, Wakayama

On this edition of journeys in japan, JJ visits Minabe, Wakayama Pref., whose products are an essential part of Japanese food culture. Minabe produces more ume fruit than anywhere else in Japan - 30,000 tons every year. The type of ume grown in the area is called Nanko-ume. They are particularly large and flavorful, and are considered the highest quality in Japan. Most of the fruit harvested is pickled to make umeboshi, one of Japan's most distinctive foods. These pickled fruit are really sour and salty but they go perfectly with rice. JJ visits a Zen temple that has a special connection with this ume-growing region. Soten Akamatsu, the priest at this temple, has kept a jar of umeboshi made over 150 years ago by a doctor of traditional oriental medicine. In the old days, this was considered a very effective medicine. Thanks to the thick, lush forests covering the local hills, Minabe is also famous for its premium bincho-tan charcoal. Compared to regular charcoal, binchotan burns for longer and maintains a constant heat during the cooking process. It also cooks foods faster, and draws out their flavors to the maximum. When JJ is introduced to veteran charcoal-burners, Yukio Hara and his son Masaaki, they cook fish over charcoal for him. The forestry tradition that's been passed down since ancient times remains very much alive here to this day. At the end of his trip, JJ meets another ume farmer, Masahiko Gekko, who produces sweet and fruity umeshu, liquor made with ume fruit. He wants more people to discover the rich flavor of this drink, which he prepares from the Nanko-ume fruit that he harvests with such care from his orchards.