About the rice farm
Hase, Ina, Nagano:
In this mountain village with a population of approximately 1,700, a series of well-maintained terraced rice fields stretches out before your eyes, and if you climb to the top, you can take in a majestic view of the southern alps mountain range and the emerald green of Lake Miwa. There are no houses or farmlands above the terraced rice fields, and the pure water from the melting snow of the southern alps flows directly into them. Agricultural chemical pollution is completely unknown here, and the various creatures living in the terraced rice fields move about freely and energetically. The fields that miraculously fulfill all these conditions is called "The Rice Farm."
In 2017, Wakka Group Representative Deguchi created the rice farm here, in a place where the beauty of Japan's natural landscapes remains, as a means for expanding the group's rice exporting business with the motto "sharing delicious Japanese rice with the world."
The concept for the development was unique: "let's make rice that will satisfy not Japanese people but foreign people." At the rice farm, rare varieties such as Kami Akari, which is cultivated by just 5 producers in Japan, are grown with natural techniques using no fertilizer or agricultural chemicals whatsoever.
In other words, the place, rice varieties, and cultivation methods are also carefully selected with thorough attention to detail at the rice farm.
The rice produced here through a full year of diligence and hard work is exported to major cities in Asia such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, as well as large US markets such as Hawaii and New York, and has been especially well-reviewed in the health-conscious American market.
In recognition for achievements in global rice production and export, the rice farm was selected as the 1st Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Global Farmers Project in 2018.
Production and export volumes continue to grow year after year, and village farmland which was formerly abandoned is thriving once again.
By all means try some of the rice produced by the rice farm in this beautiful Japanese landscape.