Visit to Ethie Agricultural Products

Cultivating deliciousness for the dinner table.

Just like the ugly ducklings that were off-spec vegetables, reimagined as a new delicacy from the fields—dried vegetables—we dream of them taking flight from the farmers and OYAOYA like swans.

Between the farmers and OYAOYA, there are as many stories as there are farmers we've met, stories of working hand-in-hand to cultivate deliciousness in agriculture and for the dinner table. Without telling these stories, we cannot convey the value of OYAOYA's dried vegetables or how appealing the world of agriculture is.

First, from Mr. Echizen, who we connected with through a company that helps farmers in Kyotango City develop sales channels, and to whom we asked to manufacture and procure dried vegetables.

Visit to Echizen Agricultural Products

Kumihama-cho, Kyotango City, where Echizen Agricultural Products is located, is on the border with Hyogo Prefecture, even within the northern Kyoto Prefecture area. For me, who often travels by train and bus, it was honestly a difficult location to access.

So, what I thought of was staying there for a long period. Around the summer of 2021, I regularly visited Tango, Kyoto's sea, as if moving there, blessed with abundant nature.

Commitment to organic materials and reduced pesticides

When I first visited Echizen, I remember being overwhelmed by how vast the fields were and how abundant the variety of vegetables was, making me think, "Agriculture is amazing." I learned that they have 23 hectares of rice paddies and 7 hectares of fields, which is equivalent to 6.5 Tokyo Domes.

The fields in the deepest part of the mountains were so far away that we had to travel by mini-truck, and as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but rice paddies, fields, and mountain greenery, with the sky so close it felt like I could touch the clouds if I stretched.

In such a spectacular agricultural landscape, Echizen cultivates rice and about 30 varieties of vegetables annually. What's surprising is their commitment to organic materials and reduced pesticides, with most of the work done by hand.

Organic JAS Rice and Various Vegetables

Currently, Echizen Agricultural Products is represented by Akikimi Echizen. His parents, Chairman Masao and Toshie, are still active, and Akikimi's wife, who is a grain master, is also involved in a business using rice flour as a grain specialist.

Not only the Echizen family, but also the female and male staff members are as close as a real family, and they warmly welcomed me like a relative. While staying there, I frequently exchanged messages with a male staff member who used to drive me to my accommodation, even after I left Tango.

Even when I had no particular errands, I would drop by Echizen's place and help with shipping, naturally blending into their group. Through this, I came to realize something.

To be continued in the next part