Latest news with #Kitami
NHK
4 days ago
- Climate
- NHK
Onion harvesting underway in Japan's Kitami region, Hokkaido
This year's onion harvest is underway in the Kitami region of Hokkaido. Japan's northernmost prefecture is the home of the country's largest onion production. Onions produced in parts of Kitami City and the adjacent towns of Kunneppu and Oketo alone account for about 20 percent of Japan's domestic production. At a farm run by Saito Shohel in Kitami City, the harvesting started about a week ago of a white early-maturing variety with the brand name mashiro, meaning "white" in Japanese. Saito on Thursday boarded a special vehicle to pick up mashiro onions that had already been separated from their roots and placed on the field. Workers, who were also on the vehicle, removed unwanted objects by hand, including damaged onions and stones. Local agricultural cooperatives say onions grew well this year despite the low rainfall. They say they expect the production volume this year will be the same as an average year. Saito said the work was hard because of the low rainfall. He said his onions are sweet and have a crunchy texture, and recommends slicing them when you eat. The harvesting will continue until early October. The onions will be shipped to many parts of Japan from late July.
The Mainichi
06-07-2025
- Business
- The Mainichi
Onion soup flows from tap at Hokkaido's Memanbetsu Airport
OZORA, Hokkaido -- A tap dispensing onion soup recently debuted at Memanbetsu Airport in this Hokkaido town. When turned on, the faucet releases warm soup made with locally grown onions. According to operator Hokkaido Airports Co., this is the first airport in Japan to install an onion soup tap. Visitors to the airport can now enjoy "Hokkaido Onion Soup," a signature product of food company Greens Kitami, from the tap. The company processes the "Kitami onions" grown in the area -- known as the largest onion producer in Japan. These onions accounted for 46% of national onion production in 2023. Hokkaido Airports came up with the project to promote local specialties in a unique way and prepared for the tap's launch in collaboration with Greens Kitami. Yuta Maruyama from Greens Kitami stated, "We want people to enjoy the excitement, and hope it promotes Japan's leading onion-producing region." In a corner set up in the airport's departure lobby on July 1, tourists and local residents who came to see off travelers turned on the tap to enjoy the soup. A woman in her 20s from the nearby city of Kitami, the first to try it, said, "It's fun and very delicious." Wataru Yoshimura, 32, a company executive visiting with his family from Osaka, commented, "I'm not fond of onions, but this soup is tasty. It makes me want to come back." The soup is available on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and two times each day on weekends and holidays, at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., until supplies last. Hokkaido Airports' Kumi Inui, who was involved in the project, commented, "I hope the onion soup tap becomes a fun memory of people's trips."
