On October 2, a small festival, "Shinmai no Jin" was held on Bokushi Dori (Stree) in the Shiozawa area of Minami-Uonuma city.
Shinmai = Newly harvested rice
no = 's
Jin = Camp, territory, etc.
10月２日、「新米の陣」という小さなお祭りが南魚沼市塩沢地域の牧之通りで行われました。
Mushroom soup was offer for 200 yen per bowl.
きのこ汁は一杯200円。
It used to be offered free of charge, though.
昔は無料だったのですが。
Newly harvested rice was offered free of charge.
新米は無料でした。
Koshihikari rice produced in Minami-Uonuma, naturally!
もちろん、南魚沼産のコシヒカリです！
Sounds interesting and fresh rice is so fragrant! As to the mushroom soup: I guess many things get more and more expensive.
ReplyDeleteI like Koshihikari rice! I have a 5kg bag Koshihikari from Toyama sitting in my pantry, waiting to be opened once I've finished the rice I'm using right now - Akitakomachi.
Of course, options are much more limited over here but at least you can get rice imported from Japan.
Regards, Philip
I've been recently to France and bought some Japanese rice from... Niigata! I immediately thought of you! (Half the price I'd pay for the same here in Switzerland, so I took 5 kilos). It's really fantastic and soooo white and perfectly shaped compared to Yumenishiki which in my opinion goes down in quality every year (it's produced in Italy and I used to like it a lot, but now the grains are less white and lots of them broken... I'm not a specialist but I feel it's no longer the same as several years ago).
ReplyDeleteAnyway the Niigata rice is fantastic... I eat rice imported from Japan so rarely... though I guess it might be just ordinary for you....
https://www.amazon.co.jp/【精米】新潟県産-あかふじ-こしひかり-10kg-平成27年産/dp/B004CII8ZA
There are some other posts about this festival in my blog such as:
ReplyDeletehttp://hiro-shio.blogspot.jp/2009/10/new-rice-festival-in-shiozawa.html
where you can see mushroom soup offered free of charge.
Philip:
Rice imported from Japan!? I wish I could get cheap rice imported from the United States and other countries!
Sissi:
Rice from Niigata! How lucky you are! Sorry to hear about the poor quality of Yumenishiki...
In Japan, Niigata < Uonuma < Minami-Uonuma < Shiozawa in terms of flavor and PRICE!
Example of Koshihikari rice produced in Shiozawa:
http://www.koshihikari-tachino.com/shiozawa/
That being said, any shinmai tastes very good, provided that it's cooked properly, in my opinion.
Dear Hiroyuki,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got to go to the festival again. I hope the mushroom soup was good, even if they are charging money for it now!
Do you have a favorite type of rice? I wish I could magically send rice to you from here. I have heard rice is expensive, even in Japan. I usually eat California rice, but it is a Japanese variety. I really like it, but I imagine the rice grown in Japan is even better. I love rice! I usually eat a little steamed rice three times a day.
Take care,
Erin from California
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteErinBear: First of all, I have just deleted one of your identical comments. I hope you don't mind.
ReplyDeleteBokushi Dori, where the festival is held every fall, is just a 10-minute walk from my house.
One reason why they now charge money for the mushroom soup is, I think, that Bokushi Dori has become much of a tourist attraction, attracting a lot of tourists from Tokyo and other areas, and they can no longer cover the high expense of the soup. Or, maybe they simply have decided to become less generous...
Favorite type? Koshihikari, naturally. Because of its high price, however, I usually buy Koshiibuki, which is as good as Koshihikari and is a lot cheaper (by Japanese standards). I can get Koshiibuki for around 3,500-4,000 yen per 10 kg (22 pounds), depending on the year. I also like jasmine rice!
Oh, Koshihikari rice is delicious. I've had it before. I have not had Koshiibuki rice yet. I like jasmine rice, too! There are so many delicious types of rice. It's really fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for accidentally posting my message twice. Thank you for deleting the extra one.
Take care,
Erin from California
In my country the best imported rice are from Thailand which is very fragrant and Japan as well.
ReplyDeleteTwilight Man: Long-grain rice from Thailand and short-grain rice from Japan, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteYes you are correct. Have you tried the fragrant rice from Thailand? They have mild pleasant natural fragrance.
ReplyDeleteTwilight Man: Yes, jasmine rice from Thailand, as I mentioned above.
ReplyDeleteI also come from Rice country here the South of India. We have white rice and brown rice which is rich in fiber. We even have Black rice which has medicinal properties. People in my state eat rice 3 times a day.
ReplyDeleteKoshihikari rice looks beautiful, white and must be really tasty.
seeandoh: In Japan, we also have black rice and red rice. The Koshihikari variety is still considered the best by many in Japan, although other new varieties have been developed.
ReplyDelete