Hidden Gem · 4
- 三味ざぼん店 (Sanmi Zabon) Yayoi Tengu-dori, Beppu
Founded in 1945 on the Yayoi Tengu-dori arcade near Beppu Station, Sanmi Zabon-ten specializes in zabon-zuke, candied pomelo peel that its first generation reinvented without the usual sugar coating so the pieces resemble translucent jewels. Each additive-free batch is handmade in three styles, kohaku, bekkou and shirayu, using pomelo peel sourced from Akune in Kagoshima. store page → · open in the atlas → - 別府竹細工cotake Yumigahama, Beppu
Mikiko Sato converted her Beppu home into a bamboo workshop and shop, weaving madake baskets, bags, accessories and everyday objects after training at the city's Traditional Bamboo Crafts Center. Her work won the President's Award at the 2016 Bamboo Crafts in Daily Life exhibition, and the space doubles as a café where visitors watch the weaving up close. store page → · open in the atlas → - 岡本屋 (Okamotoya) Myoban, Beppu
Okamotoya has operated in Beppu's Myoban hot-spring district since 1875. Its shop makes signature jigoku-mushi pudding, steamed with geothermal heat, and sells yunohana mineral bath crystals harvested in traditional hillside huts; the family also runs the adjoining Okamotoya ryokan. store page → · open in the atlas → - 森口竹工業 (Moriguchi Bamboo) Baba, Beppu
Moriguchi is a second-generation Beppu workshop on Baba street whose madake baskets, sieves, bags and flower vases are made in the tradition that earned Beppu bamboo craft its 1979 national Traditional Craft designation. The family splits and weaves Oita-grown bamboo by hand, producing both utilitarian ware and contemporary decorative pieces. store page → · open in the atlas →
The Register · 4
- かぼちゃん農園 (Kabochaan Farm) Fujimi, Nagano
At the foot of the Yatsugatake range, this family farm grows Fujimi's prized red rhubarb with organic fertilizer and reduced pesticides, then works the crimson stalks into jam, juice, puree, and frozen and dried preparations. Their own hybrid, Fujimirubee 53, was bred to deepen the fruit's ruby color and gentle tartness. store page → · open in the atlas → - 八ヶ岳カントリーキッチン (Yatsugatake Country Kitchen) Fujimi, Nagano
In the Yatsugatake foothills of Fujimi, this long-running country complex bakes bread in a wood-fired stone oven beside a café-restaurant, a shop, and a rental gallery. The loaves lean on slow-proved dough for the toasty, fragrant crust the ovens are known for. store page → · open in the atlas → - 富士見町ルバーブ生産組合 (Fujimi Red Rhubarb Production Cooperative) Fujimi, Nagano
Formed in 2006 to bring fallow highland fields back into use, this cooperative of Fujimi growers cultivates red rhubarb at around 1,000 meters and sells the stalks fresh alongside their own jams and processed goods. Autumn harvest reservations and hands-on picking sessions round out a project rooted in the town's cool Yatsugatake plateau. store page → · open in the atlas → - 菓子工房 ル・キャトル・セゾン (Les Quatre Saisons) Fujimi, Nagano
This small Fujimi patisserie bakes cakes and French confections each morning around seasonal fruit and Yatsugatake-grown ingredients, working between its shop counter and a separate LABO workshop. The counter opens Tuesday through Saturday, closing on Sundays and Mondays. store page → · open in the atlas →