Tongari Cuisine Blog

【Tongari Cuisine Blog】
vol.3 Undiscovered Specialty Apoi Rice

 


What is Tongari Cuisine Blog

In 2019, we started the project “Team Tongari” in collaboration with Tongari Road Wide-area Cooperation Council and Hokkaido Camera Girls’ Association.
Team Tongari has been working on a project to promote the charms of Urakawa, Samani, Erimo, and Hiroo through photography and words to supplement.

“Team Tongari” was initiated from a group of camera loving local girls. 
21 women living in Tongari Road area have been taking photographs while rediscovering the beauty of their home towns.
“Tongari Cuisine Blog” is a report about the team’s recent discoveries of local gems of hidden deliciousness of Tongari Road. 


vol.3 Samani
Undiscovered Specialty Apoi Rice

The town of Samani is famous for its Hidaka kelp, but there are also seven farmers in the town who produce about 100 tons of rice a year.


The rice varieties include “Natsuboshi” and “Hoshinoyume”, which are specially cultivated rice with less than 50% of the amount of agricultural chemicals and chemical fertilizers used in conventional cultivation.
The rice is named “Apoi rice” after Mount Apoi, which is famous for its geology and alpine plants.
According to Mr. Seiichi Oda, who runs a light-weight horse farm and also a rice producer, the rice has been bred to suit the relatively mild climate of this region, making it as delicious as other brand-name rice.


A good rice ball is characterized by sweetness and chewy texture of rice, and when made with freshly cooked rice, they are so delicious that you don’t need a side dish.
I think the fact that the rice is produced at a small farm with great care and attention to detail contributes to its deliciousness.


Apoi rice is available as a return gift from the Samani Furusato tax, as well as in stores at Hidaka Higashi Agricultural Cooperative, or directly from individual farmers. Be sure to try the Apoi rice, which is grown with pure water flowing from the Hidaka Mountains, including Mount Apoi.

Photo・Written by


Makiko Tsuji (Samani/Team Tobgari)


The town of Samani is rich in nature and has many things to do in each of the four seasons.
Delicious food, charming people, beautiful scenery, and cute animals and plants.
I would like to deliver to you through my photographs the wonderful things that can only be found here.

Team Tongari will continue to publish this “Tongari Cuisine Blog” until the end of August. 
We’ll be updating this regularly from now on, so stay tuned!

 

▼Hokkaido Camera Girls’ Association Website https://hokkaido-camera.com/

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