Taniyoshi Farm | Shinhoro Melon

The taste of beginnings.

The milky white melon, untainted by any color, has a sweet aroma and a melty texture.
These large, bright red tomatoes look sweet to the eye and have a traditional sweet and sour taste with just the right amount of acidity.

The melons and tomatoes from Taniyoshi Farm in Amino-cho, Kyotango City are full of deliciousness that goes back to the basics, not being swayed by the current trend of sweetness being the most important thing. The melons were created about 40 years ago, and the tomatoes over 35 years ago, and we were able to experience the original flavorful "taste of the beginning," with its rich aroma and sourness.

The legendary Shinyoro melon.

In summer, Amino Town is thriving with melon and watermelon cultivation, taking advantage of the well-drained sand dunes. While Kotobiki melons are a major local specialty, there are also farmers who cultivate a mythical melon that is known only to a select few. "Since my grandfather's generation, we have been growing a variety of melon called Shinhoro, which is said to be close to the original species of melon. It's difficult to cultivate and doesn't keep well, so there are only two large-scale producers, including us."

This was told to me by Ryusuke Taniguchi of Taniyoshi Farm, a farm that has been in business in Amino Town for about 40 years. He is a young farmer who is now 27 years old.

Noble and beautiful.

Considering the ripening period for regular melons, they are best eaten about a week after harvest, but Shinbōro ripens quickly and is rarely available in the market.

The timing of harvest can be determined by the color of the skin, which changes from green to yellow, so cultivating the mystical melon tests not only skill but also discernment. The melons that were shown to us in the field, close to harvest, were lying on cushions with rain shelters as parasols, and seemed to be enjoying a graceful sunbathing.

The weather was nice, and the dazzling, shiny melons were close to the original species, exuding a sense of dignity befitting the original melons. The length of the vines, called antennae, which are cut to fit the width of the melon, is also carefully considered, so the appearance after harvest is also beautiful.

The natural flow.

"During summer holidays, when I came back from doing radio exercises in the mornings, the melons would have already arrived from the fields before me, and I would help put stickers on them. In this way, farming was a part of my life from a young age, so I vaguely thought that I would probably take over the family business."

Takaaki says that it was a "natural progression" when he went on to study at an agricultural university in Aichi Prefecture after graduating from high school, and that there are many young farmers in their 20s in Amino Town who, like him, are taking over the family business.

If you just take the words "naturally," you might hear something like "I had no choice," but in reality, Takaaki was just answering in a natural way. As proof of this, while we were chatting about our hobbies, he casually said, "Agriculture is interesting."

Agriculture is interesting.

"When growing melons in the open, you rely on your instincts and the experience you've gained. In the same way, growing tomatoes in a greenhouse presents different challenges, and I finally realised last year that the spacing between plants is important to grow good plants. You can't find this kind of information on the internet or in books, so you have to research it yourself every time you fail."

Ryusuke, who has always had a strong sense of curiosity, is trying new varieties of things other than melons and tomatoes, and the new variety of tomato he will produce in 2024 is a hot topic in the produce world. He says that in the future, he would like to think about "agriculture to be passed down to the next generation" in a landscape where nature and people coexist.

Text: Fumika Sato Photo: Yuichiro Kishi