Japan bowl agriculture

key sectors of japan’s agricultural economy

rice – the foundational crop; grown nationwide

vegetables – cabbage, onions, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms

fruit – citrus, apples, strawberries, grapes, peaches, melons

tea – green tea of several regional styles

livestock – dairy (esp hokkaido), premium wagyu beef

specialty crops – sweet potatoes, wasabi, buckwheat (soba), chestnuts

sugarcane & tropical crops – okinawa and southern kyushu

japan’s domestic agricultural production emphasizes…

quality, regional identity, & branding > mass volume

famous regions

hokkaido, tohoku (northern honshu), kanto region (tokyo area), hokuriku & chubu (central japan), kansai region, chugoku & shikoku, kyushu, okinawa

hokkaido signature products

dairy (japan’s major milk & butter supply), potatoes & onions (largest producer), wheat & corn, melons (esp yubari king melon)

tohoku region

aomori (japan’s best known apple region), akita, yamagata (japan’s cherry capital), pears, fukushima (famous before and after the 2011 disaster; still high-reputation domestically)

aomori (tohoku) specialties

apples, garlic

akita (tohoku) specialties

premium rice (akita komachi)

iwate (tohoku) specialties

dairy, beef

yamagata (tohoku) specialties

cherries, pears, fruits

fukushima (tohoku) specialties

peaches

kanto region (tokyo area)

chiba, ibaraki, tochigi (japan’s largest strawberry producer), gunma

chiba (kanto) specialties

peanuts, naishi pears

ibaraki (kanto) specialties

lotus roots, melons

tochigi (kanto) specialties

strawberries

gunma (kanto) specialties

cabbage and vegetales

hokuriku & chubu (central japan) regions

niigata, nagano, yamanashi (major wine region), shizuoka (famous izu region production)

niigata (central japan) specialties

koshihikari (japan’s most famous rice), sake production

nagano (central japan) specialties

soba buckwheat, apples, mushrooms

yamanashi (central japan) specialties

grapes & peaches; wine

shizuoka (central japan) specialties

green tea & wasabi