We Are Tomodachi Spring 2018

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10With 159,000 tons produced annually and 148 varieties registered, strawberries are one of Japan’s leading fruits. And although they may be expensive, strawberry-lovers abroad hold Japanese strawberries in high regard for their outstanding flavor. Exports of Japanese strawberries, primarily to markets in Asia such as Hong Kong, have reached 526 tons (valued at JPY 1.15 billion (USD 10.65 million)) annually, and the volume is increasing. Greenhouse cultivation, one factor in this growth, allows producers to set the delivery time so that delicious berries can be enjoyed even in December, and not only in the April–May strawberry season.Strawberries gained popularity among Japanese households after greenhouse cultivation became possible in the 1960s. However, until the late 1990s, few varieties existed and two main ones, “Nyoho” and “Toyonoka” strawberries, dominated the market. Due to their rather sour taste, people usually ate these berries with milk and sugar or condensed milk. This changed after the Tochigi Feature: Japan’s Passion for Food ExcellenceStrawberry Paradise JapanFrom January 2018, strawberries harvested the same morning for sale at a shop operated by a Japan Airlines Group company in Terminal 2 of Narita International Airport have become very popular. Strawberries are available until early May, and other fruits in season are sold throughout the year.Greenhouse at the Kumamoto Prefectural Agricultural Research Center, where work on the cultivation method of “Yubeni” strawberries continues. Conditions are changed little by little in the effort to produce a harvest of flavorful berries.prefectural government initiated the breeding of its namesake “Tochiotome” strawberry. Other prefectures soon began competing to come up with their own local