Mikkabi Mikan

During a sightseeing tour of the Lake Okuhamanako region held in December 2012 for Japan-based foreign diplomats, 33 diplomats and their family members from 12 countries visited the town of Mikkabi-cho in Shizuoka Prefecture, which is famous for its mikan (tangerine or mandarin orange) production, and enjoyed mikan picking there. Mikkabi mikan are well known throughout Japan as high-class oranges, and the tour participants gave them the thumbs-up as well, remarking with approval that they were “very tasty indeed.” IHCSA Cafe asked Mr. Hiroyuki Toyama, who manages the Marukei mikan farm, about the characteristics of Mikkabi mikan and other issues.

The ambassador of Uruguay, his wife, and Mr. Toyama

What are the characteristics of Mikkabi mikan?

It’s probably the fact that compared with oranges from such production areas as Ehime, Kumamoto, and Wakayama, they have a somewhat sour taste. Added to the sweetness, this moderate sourness gives them a fresh, juicy, and fruit-like flavor.

     Another major characteristic is their full-bodied flavor, which is thanks to the well-drained soil we are blessed with here. These two qualities, the moderate sourness and the richness, linger for a long time in your mouth and make you want to eat another.

Diplomats enjoy picking mikan.

What is the method for growing tasty mikan? What do you take special care about on your farm?

At our farm, however much it might produce tastier fruit, we take care not to place excessive stress on the trees by reducing the amount of water and fertilizer too much. Also, more than the part above ground, we look after the underground part, the roots. And we make sure not to rush harvesting. We are careful to let the mikan ripen on the trees and only harvest them when they are the right color, in other words, when they are most tasty.

What kind of orange is the Aoshima variety of Mikkabi mikan?

Aoshima mikan

In many people’s minds, the Aoshima variety has become synonymous with Mikkabi mikan. Aoshima oranges mainly become available nationwide after the start of the New Year. As the name suggests, the variety was discovered by a person called Aoshima. They are a little larger and flatter than other varieties. The thickness of the skin maybe puts some people off, but they have a much stronger sweet taste than other citrus fruits eaten before the end of the year.

How are Mikkabi mikan usually distributed?

One of our weak points is that because our production area is just a small town, the lots shipped from Mikkabi-cho are smaller than those shipped from other production areas. The distribution cooperative takes charge of shipments to markets mainly in the metropolitan Tokyo region. Mikkabi mikan can also be purchased online via the Agri Mikkabi Mika-chan Shop of JA Mikkabi, the local agricultural cooperative [http://www.rakuten.ne.jp/gold/mikkabi/].

Mikkabi-cho has been successful with the branding of its mikan and does not seem to face such problems as finding successors to carry on the farm work in the future. What are the important factors for the brand, and what are the reasons for the branding success?

Well, the successor problem is a major issue in Mikkabi-cho as well, but efforts are being made to create an easier working environment for young people. For example, fields are not all steep slopes. Improvements and adjustments have been made so that machinery can be easily brought in.

JA Mikkabi’s high-tech sorting factory

     Also, whereas oranges from such production areas as Ehime, Kumamoto, and Wakayama mainly cease circulating by the end of the year, Mikkabi and other Shizuoka mikan continue to circulate from the beginning of the New Year until March or April. I think the main reason for the establishment of the Mikkabi brand lay in the improvement of cultivated varieties in response to this competition among production areas.

     There is no doubt that the distribution cooperative played an important role in establishing the brand as well. Of course, there are shipments of individual brands, including our farm, but nevertheless the main actor is the distribution cooperative. By making it obligatory for cooperative members to ship certain quantities, the distribution cooperative has been able to maintain the shipment quantities of the production area as a whole and make efforts to ensure the shipment of high-quality oranges. In addition, advanced quality management is carried out at the high-tech sorting factory of JA Mikkabi, with sensors instantly sorting mikan by size, detecting blemishes, and measuring sugar content. Such infrastructure is an important factor in maintaining the brand.

In recent years there has been a lot of talk about recycle-oriented farming and promotion of the so-called sextiary sector* in agriculture [processed products]. Are mikan farms in Mikkabi-cho making any efforts in this respect?

Mikkabi beef

Well, first of all, the dregs of mikan juice are being mixed into the livestock feed of Mikkabi-cho cows, and then the cow manure is being returned to the mikan fields as fertilizer. Also, we prune the tree branches in winter, and now there are many farmers who use machines to return them to the fields as chips.

     Regarding the so-called sextiary sector, JA Mikkabi has begun selling frozen oranges called Kori Mikan. These frozen mikan have already been peeled, so they can be eaten immediately without the bother of removing the skin. I hope that this item becomes a summertime staple in the future. In addition, with younger consumers in mind, Suntory and JA Mikkabi recently developed a product called the Mikkabi Mikan Highball, which went on sale nationwide in a limited winter edition.

     There are many people who individually or in groups are developing new products using mikan, such as juices, jams, or canned oranges. At our farm, we are trying to develop a variety of new products, such as leaf tea using the young leaves of mikan trees, washi paper using mikan fiber, and jarred mikan of easy-to-eat portions.

*Agricultural production itself is a primary industry. The so-called sextiary sector refers to agricultural management that diversifies into the secondary and tertiary industries, becoming involved, for example, in the manufacture and sale of processed food products and services utilizing local resources, such as tourist farms, thereby endeavoring to promote regional revitalization.

As a mikan farm owner, and also a cooperative member, what are your hopes regarding the relationship between mikan, a specialty of Shizuoka Prefecture, and tourism in the future?

Mikan flowers

The business of mikan-picking farms has fallen off a bit lately, and I think there is a limit to the extent to which we can make a nationwide appeal for Mikkabi-cho only through mikan themselves. As well as simply promoting mikan for eating in the winter, I think that we need to be advertising throughout the year and highlighting such things as mikan tree flowers, which come into full blossom after the beginning of May, and aomikan [green tangerines], which are plucked in large quantities during the summer work. It is important for not only farmers but local residents as well to pool their ideas and work together to advertise Mikkabi-cho as a whole and ultimately the Okuhamanako area as a whole.

What do you think are the prospects for Mikkabi mikan in the global economy?

Acquaintances have told me that they want to take mikan to Britain and popularize them there or make them more popular in Canada. I am told that there is nothing overseas like mikan, which you can peel with your own hands. I suppose business development will focus on processed goods. But I am confident of the good taste, so I see that as a springboard for spreading the word about Japanese mikan, Mikkabi mikan, and Aoshima mikan.

The ambassador of Bangladesh and his wife happily display their mikan pickings.

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Ms. Misako Nitta, President, Courtyard Co., Ltd.
---Cultural exchange and local revitalization through food---

Ms. Misako Nitta is the president of Courtyard Co., Ltd., which, among other things, develops recipes and products so that people can eat the diverse range of seasonal ingredients harvested in Japan healthily and heartily. IHCSA Cafe asked Ms. Nitta, who travels around Japan in her capacity as speaker and consultant, about local revitalization utilizing agricultural products lying dormant in the regions and about Japanese food culture, which is edging toward being registered as a world intangible cultural heritage.

Ms.Nitta speaks at the Japan Sommelier Association.

What made you become a food and agriculture

coordinator?

As I pursued my research into vegetable cooking, I realized that agricultural crops are extremely individualistic and attractive food products. However, because a gap emerged between consumers and producers over the long history of Japanese agriculture, unfortunately there came to be a mismatch between the needs of the former, who want to eat tasty agricultural products, and the needs of the latter, who want people to eat their own products. That was the reason why I began my activities as a coordinator.

     I realized that as a coordinator it was necessary to have an understanding of the flow of agricultural products from production to distribution, sale, and consumption and present conditions, so I visited production areas around the country, engaged in front-line agriculture, and experienced face-to-face sales at stores and elsewhere.

Because of such factors as the prolonged recession, low birthrate, and aging of society in Japan, nonmetropolitan regions are losing their vitality. What are the current issues facing the regions that have become evident from your project to link agriculture and eating?

When I visit local areas, I often hear people say that “our region doesn’t have any resources to speak of.” But as an outsider visiting the area, it seems to me that actually it is a very attractive region possessing various resources. I think one of the reasons why local people do not see the good points of their region is that they have few opportunities to look objectively at their locality. In order to take an objective look at an area, it is necessary to have exchange with people outside the region and forward-looking information. Without these things, people end up with a sense of blockage.

	Ms. Nitta’s cooking classes are always very popular.

There are moves to promote diversification through the so-called sextiary sector, such as the manufacture and sale of processed food products using local materials and the management of tourist farms.* In promoting projects like these, what points do you think should be taken into consideration and what are the secrets of success, as it were?

“Amela chocolate” developed using high-sugar concentration “amela” tomatoes

I think the direction of this so-called sextiary sector will differ depending on such things as agricultural product and farming styles and regional characteristics. So in promoting new product development and other projects, it is important to search for the most suitable ways and always to be thinking about when, where, and who you want to sell your product to, as well as good quality and originality.

“Shiokoji” (salted rice malt), an all-purpose condiment produced by Ms. Nitta

     In addition, through growth of the sextiary sector, direct links are established among various people, not only local residents but also people involved in agriculture, commerce, engineering, in developing this sector and revitalizing a region lies in pursuing not only your own happiness but the happiness of all of these people concerned.

*Agricultural production itself is a primary industry. The so-called sextiary sector refers to agricultural management that diversifies into the secondary and tertiary industries, becoming involved, for example, in the manufacture and sale of processed food products and services utilizing local resources, such as tourist farms, thereby endeavoring to promote regional revitalization.

The Japanese government is taking the initiative in trying to get Japanese food culture, which is highly appraised worldwide, registered as a world intangible cultural heritage. What do you think would be an effective focal point for conveying this message overseas?
Japanese food culture has been nurtured over a long time. The Japanese are a farming people. They tilled paddies and fields rooted in the local area and fostered a culture there. So each area has traditional food, eating styles, and related performing arts and so on. I think Japanese food culture could be conveyed overseas in a more easily understandable manner if the focus were placed not only on cooking but more widely on the connection between food and culture and both sides spoke out from their respective standpoints. It is “food culture,” after all.

Finally, what are your ambitions for the future?

Food has the power not only to fill the stomach but to enrich the spirit as well. The kanji for food [食] is composed of the characters for “person” and “good.” In other words, it means “making a person feel better.” So, through the power of food, I want to help both people and local areas to feel better and more cheerful and sometimes to soothe them in both body and mind. Also, as a part of food culture, I would like to convey the depths and attractions of Japanese agricultural products not only domestically but overseas as well.

Profile of Ms. Misako Nitta
President, Courtyard Co., Ltd.
Food and agriculture coordinator, vegetable cooking researcher

Lecturer, Japan Vegetable Sommelier Association
Director, NPO Vegetable and Culture Forum
Food and agriculture coordinator, Food Marketing Research and Information Center
Instructor of “Green Table” classes (“spaces for delicious vegetables and cooking”)

Based on the theme of “bringing delicious vegetables from the fields to the dining table,” Ms. Nitta tours and inspects production areas around Japan from her perspective as a housewife and vegetable cooking class instructor. Utilizing her experience in launching the “Marche” agricultural product direct-sales market in Tokyo and her involvement in front-line agricultural production, she engages in recipe development, product development, and many kinds of events linking producers and consumers with the motto of “food proposals to bring out the needs of consumers and the qualities of agricultural products.” She acts as an advisor to not only ordinary consumers but producer organizations, nursery companies, actual-demand parties, and others as well and also provides coordination and advice relating to regional revitalization using local agricultural crops and special product development.

Tochigi Prefecture: Advisor, Tochigi Marche
Chiba Prefecture: Product development consultant, Chiba Strategic Design Utilization Juku
Fukushima Prefecture: Product design coordinator, Rokujika (Diversification) Network
Shizuoka Prefecture: Outside brain for Sun Farmers Inc. (which produces “amela” tomatoes)

And more . . .

Courtyard Co., Ltd.:http://courtyard.co.jp/

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