"Towada Lakeside Farm"＆”Towada Lake Local Produce Project”
In December 2010, the opening of the new Shinkansen terminal at Shin-Aomori Station brought great expectations. Many people believed that more visitors would come to Lake Towada.
However, only three months later, in March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck.
Although the Lake Towada area itself suffered little direct damage, the Tohoku region was widely seen as a disaster‑stricken area, and while travel continued elsewhere in Japan, the number of people visiting Tohoku dropped sharply. As a result, the number of tourists to Lake Towada fell dramatically. Hotel reservations that had been filled for months ahead thanks to the Shinkansen boom were suddenly canceled.
Hotels and shops around Lake Towada were hit hard.
By 2012, the number of hotels and shops had been reduced by half. Many friends and colleagues lost their workplaces and moved away.
In the midst of this difficult situation, we gathered together and decided to take on a new challenge: farming and food processing.
We thought that if we could create products using local ingredients and sell them outside the Lake Towada area, we might be able to build a way of life that did not depend on fluctuations in tourism.
With support from many people—local residents, Aomori Prefecture, Towada City, the Food Processing Technology Center, the Public Health Office, and others—we learned farming techniques and food processing skills.
The activities that began with our group working together in the fields became “Towada Lakeside Farm.”
We started by borrowing a field that one member’s grandmother had cultivated long ago. Fortunately, the tractor still worked, so we were able to plow the land with machinery. Staff from the Kamikita Regional Affairs Bureau visited us almost every week to guide us, allowing us to start the farm smoothly.
And then, the project to sell products harvested from Lake Towada or made in the Lake Towada area became the “Towada Lake Local Produce Project.”
Currently, the project includes three participating members:
“Morita – Souvenir and Dining Shop,” “Denpō River Fish Shop,” and “Towada Lakeside Farm.”
Towada Lakeside Farm
Starting Towada Lakeside Farm: Growing and Processing Local Produce by the Shores of Lake Towada
We have a field by the shores of Lake Towada.
Since all of our members have their own primary jobs, we work there during the spare time between our regular duties.
We first made the planting rows by hand.
In 2018, we bought a tiller, and row‑making finally became much easier
We tried planting many different kinds of vegetables to see what would grow well
We also started selling our vegetables.
Harvesting Potatoes with Local Children
We used to dig up the potatoes by hand, and even a single row was hard work.
Since 2019, we’ve been able to harvest them with a tractor, making the job much easier.
We also grew edible chrysanthemums, which we use to make one of our local products called “Mamma‑sa.”
“Mamma‑sa” (left) is a pickled topping enjoyed over rice.
“Farm Veggie Rice Mix” (right) is a seasoning mix for making vegetable takikomi‑gohan.
We’re taking a break from fieldwork and focusing on making products.
We hope to restart the farm someday.
Both “Mamma‑sa” and the “Veggie Rice Mix” are made without any meat or fish
Towada Lake Local Produce Project
We process and sell foods made from ingredients harvested in and around Lake Towada.
That is what Towada Lake Jimono‑ya is all about.
Morita’s processed products
We also attended business matchmaking events.
