Special contribution Let's promote gastronomy tourism in Fujinokuni

Yoichiro Sato, Director of Fujinokuni Museum of Global Environmental History

Ever since the TV show ``Iron Chef,'' interest in cooking and food has spread. There are lots of programs and newspaper articles about cooking, and there are also many special articles in travel magazines about food tours and gourmet trips. I think that's fine, but I feel like there's something missing. In many articles and programs, the face of the prefecture or region cannot be seen at all. In other words, many of the ``things'' and ``things'' that appear in articles and programs do not have the body odor or ``climate'' of the area. Some of them seem to be advertising a certain store or company.

An event called "Ekiben Fair" is being held frequently. It's convenient because you can eat ekiben from all over Japan without leaving the house, and events are held in various locations. However, even when I eat the bento I bought, it feels bland. The joy of ekiben lies in eating it while visiting or passing through a particular town. I think the ekiben has a ``scenery from the train window'' arrangement that makes it a real pleasure. If you bought an ekiben at an ekiben fair, you wouldn't know where it came from if you didn't have the information on the wrapper. First, by selling ekiben from various regions at Tokyo Station, it feels like you are only helping the concentration of ekiben in Tokyo, and the profit of the fair is limited to event organizers and ekiben manufacturers. It doesn't fall. No money is lost to the local areas that must have supported the ekiben. If tourists buy and eat food locally, they will be spending some money on that city.

Gastronomy tourism (this word is long, so we'll abbreviate it to Gas-Tour) is travel centered around food, but the key to the success of Shizuoka's Gas-Tour, "Fujinokuni Gas-Tour," is making use of the "strengths" that only Shizuoka can offer. Simply transporting goods to Tokyo won't add value to Shizuoka. A mechanism is needed to get people from Tokyo to come and eat. And to achieve this, a mechanism is needed that will allow them to make use of Shizuoka as a place. We need to start by getting to know Shizuoka as a place and its food culture. Here, we would like to summarize Shizuoka and its characteristics from a food perspective.
Here, I would like to talk about the climate of 10 areas or cultural characteristics of the prefecture. I would like to add that these are just a few examples, and there are many other wonderful places and food cultures.

1) Water and vegetables from Fuji Hakone.

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture with abundant water, and its water resources come from precipitation on the Southern Alps, which have a vast southern slope, and Mt. Fuji. There are many spring waters around Mt. Fuji, and a variety of foods are famous for using them, such as rainbow trout (Fujinomiya City), Mizukakena (Gotenba City), and eel (Mishima City/Shimizu Town). Beverages such as sake and beer are also produced using the abundant water. On the other hand, the western foothills of Hakone on the east side of the Kise River are areas that suffered from ``too little water,'' such as the Kannami Primeval Forest and the Fukura Irrigation, which were used to secure water, and gave rise to Hakone Seiroku Vegetables and dairy farming in the Tanna Basin. There are many Italian and French restaurants that use these ingredients. ``Mishima croquettes'' are also interesting.

2) A package of a wide variety of fish from the fishing ports on the Izu Peninsula and wasabi from the rice terraces.

The Izu Peninsula has a well-developed ria coastline, many small fishing ports, and is characterized by a wide variety of small-scale fishing (local fish). Various fish dishes including ``local sushi'' using these ingredients are interesting as once-in-a-lifetime menu items. This is supported by wasabi from the rice terraces at the foot of Mt. Amagi, along with grated wasabi and shark skin. Matsuzaki's Sakuraba accounts for 7% of the national market share, and together they form the unique Japanese food culture of Izu.

3) Shizumae's fishing ports and fish processing culture.

Shizumae's catch is mainly represented by large migratory fish such as tuna and bonito, which makes a good contrast to the fishing ports in Izu. It is also one of the nation's leading producers of sashimi, fermented bonito flakes, and canned goods with excellent shelf life using these ingredients. At the same time, cherry shrimp and raw whitebait are famous as coastal marine resources, and there is a culture of eating them raw and tempura, but these are supported by the rich water of rivers originating from the Southern Alps, such as the Oigawa, Abe, and Fuji rivers.

4) Dairy Corridor in Fujinomiya.

The western foot of Mt. Fuji was once crossed by the salt road that delivered salt to Koshu, and even older was the base for Fuji Shugen Shugen (Murayama Shugen), as well as being the setting for The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, making it a place where cultures that do not belong to paddy rice cultivation culture exist. It is also a region. The northern part is a plateau region with relatively low temperature and dryness, forming a production area for dairy products and livestock products.

5) Corridor of miso and related foods.

Miso is a fermented food rich in vegetable protein that was also valued on the battlefields of the Sengoku period. In the prefecture, there are fermented soybean foods such as Hama natto and Yubeshi, which developed mainly with samurai culture and tea culture. Miso continued to take root in the region, being used in miso buns, yam soup, and other products. Additionally, some miso buns are colored with brown sugar, which is thought to be a remnant of the sugar cane production that was once cultivated in the Ogasa area.

6) Culture of marine products of Lake Hamana and Enshu Sea.

Lake Hamana was connected to the sea by an earthquake at the end of the Middle Ages and expanded its brackish waters, which brought with it a variety of marine resources such as eels and crabs. Eel farming is supported by spring water from the Tenryu River and the Kosai Mountain Range, and seaweed farming is also popular in freshwater areas, and soft-shelled turtle farming is also popular in Koto. On the other hand, the fishing ports in the Enshu Sea are popular for catching pufferfish, cutlassfish, and other fish, which have supported the fish-eating culture in the western part of the prefecture. Experience freshwater, brackish, and saltwater fishing grounds and their culture.

7) Zen sect temple and tea/vegetarian cuisine corridor.

There are many Zen sect (Rinzai sect and Soto sect) temples in the prefecture with a long history, and the tea ceremony influenced by samurai culture and the tradition of vegetarian cuisine dating back to the Middle Ages have survived. The production volume of tea leaves is the highest in Japan, and due to the complex mountainous terrain, there are many unique production areas. Shojin ryori takes the typical form of local production for local consumption, with strong seasonal and regional characteristics in the ingredients used.

8) Oxyz including Igawa.

Oxyz means Oku-Shizuoka and is divided into four regions: Oku-Oi, Okuwarashina, Oku-Shimizu, and Abe Oku. Igawa belongs to Okuoi. It is confirmed that this area has been connected to the Suwa region since the end of ancient times, and in the Middle Ages it attracted the attention of feudal lords from the Sengoku period for its gold mining. Additionally, at the end of the early modern period, in the 4th century, slash-and-burn cultivation was practiced, and cereals, buckwheat, perilla, and tea were cultivated. Soba restaurants that focus on Imai River soba and menpa, a local craft, are also focusing on the revival of slash-and-burn cultivation.

9) Nihondaira Cultural Corridor.

Nihondaira is an excellent scenic spot with views of Shimizu Port below and Mt. Fuji in the distance, forming a cultural zone along with the surrounding cultural facilities and historical heritage sites. The area is also blessed with marine resources such as Okitsu sea bream and cherry shrimp from Suruga Bay, as well as citrus fruits. You can enjoy traveling around these areas and eating food made from local products.

10) Sweetness of Tokaido.

There were 22 post stations on the Tokaido route in the Edo period. Many of these dishes had regional specialties, but the sweets were especially rich, and it can be imagined that they were supported by the persistent demand from travelers. They are particularly common in front of difficult spots and at the Kawagoe base. In addition to Abekawa mochi, other products such as rabbit mochi and Oiwake yokan were also known in Sunpu. In addition to Ogasa's sugarcane that provided the sweetness, there is also evidence that candy was also used.