In 2016, Matsukawa Town earned its official designation as the “Minami Shinshu Matsukawa Apple Wine and Cider Special Zone.” The town is home to 3 breweries where farmers handle every step from cultivation to brewing. In addition, around 20 orchards create their own unique labels through contract brewing at these local facilities. Welcome to experience the rich diversity of tastes born from Matsukawa’s deep-rooted fruit-growing heritage.
At Baishoen Matsutake Cottage and Buckwheat Noodles, an Outdoor Plaza, you can enjoy the blessings of the mountains throughout the seasons; their popular lunch menu features handmade soba noodles made with 100 percent locally grown buckwheat flour. Enjoy mountain vegetables in the spring, BBQ and catching fish with your hands in the summer, matsutake mushroom dishes prepared exclusively with fresh matsutake harvested from local mountains in the fall, game meat in the winter, and a full range of authentic outdoor gourmet cuisine unique to the countryside. Lunch is served from 11:00 to 13:30 (from 10:30 on Sundays). Reservations are recommended. The cuisine, which brings out the best of its ingredients, and the dining experience in nature are a delight that will satisfy everyone from children to adults.
An experiential restaurant where you can savor French cuisine surrounded by fruit trees—from the blooming blossoms of spring to the harvest of cherries, peaches, pears, and apples. Enjoy a guided walk through the orchard with the farm owner while gazing at the Southern and Central Alps, then raise a toast with local cider. Afterward, move to your table and enjoy a gourmet meal prepared with fresh, locally sourced ingredients.
The temple offers a Buddhist multi-course vegetarian meal that generously uses bean curd skin dishes from Kakurinbo, the sacred site of Nichicho Shonin (the founder of the Mt. Minobu revival), Minobu bean curd skin, and GI (Geographical Indication) certified Akebono soybeans as well as temple lunches that utilize local resources.
ZENCHO Farm Cafe This cafe in a traditional old house on the site of the area’s only sake brewery was certified by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as serving food that has been enjoyed for over one hundred years. The specialties include hoto flat noodles, sweets, and drinks made with local ingredients.
Bean curd skin, a specialty of Minobu Town, is made by hand from early in the morning. At this facility, guests can also make their own bean curd skin, with a recipe that has been passed down for many years as a valuable source of protein in Buddhist vegetarian cuisine.
The water wasabi cultivation areas in the Izu region spread along the streams of the Amagi mountain range, with its highest peak at Mount Amagi standing at 1,406 meters. The water in this region is derived from rainwater that has percolated through layers of pumice and quartz andesite, volcanic deposits that provide an optimal balance of water volume, temperature, and nutrients for wasabi cultivation. The traditional farming method known as “tatami-ishi style wasabi fields,” which started in the Meiji era, has been recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System. As the largest producer in Shizuoka Prefecture, the region consistently wins awards such as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Prize and the Director-General of the Forestry Agency Prize, ensuring its status as one of the top-quality producers in Japan. The wasabi from this region is distributed almost nationwide, including the Kanto, Chubu, and Kansai regions, and is renowned for its high profile and esteemed by chefs for its exceptional quality.
The Nishiura mikan, representing the eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture, is cultivated in the Nishiura, Uchiura, and Shizuura areas of Numazu City. Among them, “Jutaro Unshu” was discovered by Mr. Jutaro Yamada in Nishiura, Numazu City, in 1975 as a bud mutation of “Aoshima Unshu.” Jutaro mikan are harvested in December and then stored for about two months, which increases their sugar content and flavor, and they are shipped to markets from February to March. Jutaro mikan have gained additional fame for appearing in the popular anime “Love Live! Sunshine!!” and are also shipped in limited quantities in original design cardboard boxes featuring the main character Chika Takami.
“Obuchi Sasaba” is a tea plantation located in the Obuchi district of Fuji City, at the southern foot of Mount Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture. Surrounded by forests and maintaining its traditional landscape, this scenic location has been featured in photographs used by the Shizuoka Prefectural Governor’s Office, Fuji Shizuoka Airport, JR Central’s promotional materials for Shizuoka Prefecture, and commercials for major beverage manufacturers, making it a scenic spot that represents Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji and tea fields. The tea from Fuji benefits from a warm climate, terrain, and soil suitable for tea cultivation. The tea grown in this favorable environment is of high quality in both taste and aroma, earning high acclaim from consumers.
In Izu City, high-quality shiitake mushrooms have traditionally been produced through log cultivation. Log-grown shiitake mushrooms are thick and rich in flavor and aroma, with dried shiitake mushrooms consistently winning awards at national evaluation contests. There is also a record stating that the artificial cultivation of log-grown shiitake mushrooms was first conducted in Japan by Seisuke Ishiwata in the Monnohara area (now the Yugashima district of Izu City) in the first year of the Kanpo era. To ensure safety and trust, these mushrooms are named “Seisuke Shiitake” after Seisuke Ishiwata, and the highest quality mushrooms are branded as “Seisuke Donko.”
