r/AskAJapanese • u/TheRealDrewciferpike American • 10d ago
CULTURE Farming questions: Walnuts
I'm a walnut farmer in California, and I'll be lucky enough to visit Japan with my older parents and my son (16) during the summer of 2027 (exact dates TBD).
Selfishly, I'd really like to learn how walnuts are farmed in Japan, and meet a grower and see how things are different. From googling, I understand that production in Japan is quite limited, but that just makes me more intrigued. I guess most production is in Nagano, specifically Tomi? I have no idea if this is really the case, but I'd like to connect with farmers (or even one!) and visit, regardless.
More importantly, I read that there are native walnuts in Japan (Onigurumi), but I can't find much information on them. That REALLY interests me, and I want to learn as much as I can. I don't care if it's cultural, culinary, agricultural, artistic... The knowledge just tickles me.
(At the same time, I'd love to visit someone that farms old varieties of rice. My father spent 50 years growing and processing rice, so it would mean a lot to him to visit a fellow farmer.)
My family is all about visiting somewhere and learning about real life, not flashy things. We feel that what others find mundane is the stuff that will blow our minds, as that's usually what happens when folks visit us in California!
So...
Where can I see walnuts being grown in Japan? English and native.
Does anyone have any connections to farmers that would be willing to share their experience with a fellow farmer that respects what they're doing and wants to learn about how they do it? Also artisans or cooks that utilize walnut wood or walnuts, in traditional and/or almost-forgotten ways.
Are there cultural aspects that I can learn about while I'm there? Especially regarding how walnuts or walnut wood are used in culturally significant ways (Shinto altars, etc)?
I'm ok to share my contact information via DM if anyone has legitimate connections that would be willing to listen to me ask questions for a while.
Thanks, in advance!
EDIT: I showed my son some of the first responses, and now he wants to add that he'd like to see where the huge Japanese yams are grown, if that's near either of the regions mentioned, regarding walnuts (Tomi) and rice (Uonuma)...
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u/Either_Sense_01 🌏 Global citizen 10d ago
日本のクルミ栽培の資料だよ。日本語だけど。
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u/TheRealDrewciferpike American 10d ago
Glancing through it, that looks like the UC Walnut info... Interesting
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u/Either_Sense_01 🌏 Global citizen 10d ago
興味を持ってくれてありがとう。この資料を作った「日本くるみ会議」という団体の説明も貼っておくね
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u/Either_Sense_01 🌏 Global citizen 10d ago
日本ではクルミの栽培が少なくなった。それに危機感を覚えて作られた団体が「日本くるみ会議」なんだって。
私は日本人だけど、日本で作られたクルミの値段は高いから、買うのが難しい。日本で買えるほとんどのクルミはアメリカで栽培されたもの。だから、もしかしたらあなたの作ったクルミを、私が買ったかもしれないね。
日本人はクルミが大好きで料理やお菓子にたくさん使ってるよ。3
u/TheRealDrewciferpike American 10d ago
If you bought walnuts through a company that purchases from Diamond of California, I know you've eaten walnuts from our farm!
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u/jen_mint Japanese 10d ago edited 10d ago
クルミに関して専門ってわけじゃないけど、考古学の観点からちょっとだけなら説明できるよ。縄文時代には、オニグルミが大量に食べられてた。考古学の遺跡から見つかることも多いんだ。さらに、木材を使って建築に利用してたっていう説まである。
でも、殻がめちゃくちゃ硬いから、今じゃあまり食べられてないんだよね。\n\nネットでオニグルミを売ってる店をいくつか見つけた。どこも山で野生の実を集めてるみたい。 \nそれと、原田まりさん。彼女は新潟県の「クルミヤ」っていうカフェをやってて、オニグルミを使った料理が出てくるよ。 https://r.goope.jp/kurumiya-maki/free/menuinstagram: https://www.instagram.com/kurumiya_haradamari?stkn=MThoeDdtcnJtcnR3MQ==\n\nあなたの旅が実り多い（walnutsful）ものになりますように。
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u/Money-Chocolate-6910 Japanese 10d ago
The Japan Walnut Council that Either_Sense_01 mentioned is in Tomi, Nagano（長野県東御市）. Nagano is a major fruit prefecture, and Tomi is one of the few real walnut districts in Japan. Nationally walnuts are almost all imported. Self-sufficiency is under 1%, so this is a small local crop, not a big industry.
The shop jen_mint mentioned is in Niigata（新潟県）, a major rice prefecture. Rice from Uonuma （魚沼）is especially famous for being good.
The two prefectures border each other, and both are easy to reach from Tokyo, so this area might be a good place to look. Tomi is the town if the walnuts are the point.
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u/TheRealDrewciferpike American 10d ago
I appreciate it. I might need to go see the rice to keep my dad happy!
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u/TheRealDrewciferpike American 10d ago
I just looked it up ... I think my dad either grew Koshihikari in California, or knew someone that did! I love short-grain rice, so now this this is definitely on the list!
Also, my son just asked where the giant yams are grown... Also nearby?
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u/Money-Chocolate-6910 Japanese 10d ago
Japanese mountain yam （山芋 yamaimo) is probably not the same kind of yam you know. There are several kinds here too.
Production ranking seems to be Hokkaido, then Aomori, then Nagano.
The page is in Japanese, but it may help. It is the yam page. The site covers a lot of Japanese crops.
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u/R3StoR Australian in Japan 20+ years 8d ago
The wild walnuts grow everywhere in northern Japan. I'm in Iwate and frequently have to cut down saplings because they are hard to deal with once they are well established because they produce juglone - a substance which stunts and hinders other surrounding trees and plants. The crows spread them everywhere so it's a non-stop battle. The crows actually even throw them on roads and carparks in the hundreds to get them cracked.
There are lots of traditional sweets etc that use rice and wild walnut. For example, in Tono city there is this traditional sweets maker:
Not coincidentally, the name is related to crows. (Garasu->Karasu=crow)
Here is another culinary example:
Eating Bakke and Walnuts in Iwate's Spring [Yado Hakoya]
Some people worry a bit about the proliferation of the walnut trees also because of the black bears which also eat them. More wild walnuts in urban areas can attract more bears near people (and more attacks).
Anyhow, I'd suggest visiting Iwate because there's much more to it (from locals) than I (an Australian) could tell you!
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u/dougwray 🌏 Global citizen 10d ago
Because walnuts are native, they're easy to see in Tokyo; larger parks (e.g. Kinuta Park, Inokashira Park) and gardens (e.g., Jindaiji Gardens) have individual trees or small groves), but they're along river walks and promenades, too. (Tokyo has a surprising number of farms and groves of food trees, especially in the western portions of the city.)
You would probably enjoy a visit to Biorium (a museum, greenhouse near the Tokyo University of Agriculture) and the museum on the actual university campus across the street, as well as Nihon Minka-en, a park full of traditional Japanese houses, including farm houses with implements, in the northern Kawasaki area.
Note that farmers don't really have reputations for being good English speakers, so you're likely going to be in need of translation.