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Japan: Journey to Excellence

Write: Monica Uriel. Journalist

Beyond the classic tourist routes in Japan, We propose a tour of some of the places where the most popular products are made. high quality. As the wasabi, the, whiskey or even famous knives. Without forgetting the precious fish and kobe ​​beef. The traditional elaboration, the quality of the raw materials or their meticulousness. These are the keys to success which have led, in the case of whiskey, to high international recognition.

Away from the accolades and fame of the Japanese cook Outside its borders, we find ourselves at the beginning of our journey in a remote high mountain area. Surrounded by terraces, is one of the main towns for the cultivation of wasabi.

El wasabi in Japan

Although it is grown in other parts of Japan -the only country where it grows naturally- as in the area of Nagano, the town of utogi is considered a benchmark of wasabi. It is in the prefecture of Shizuoka. There you find what you need: abundant water and pure from the mountain and high altitude.

In that place the visitor can discover what is the real wasabi. Not the substitute that is served in many restaurants, even in Japan. They are made from horseradish and green coloring. However, Yuma Mochizuki, cultivator of wasabi in Utogi, will show us the hon wasabi (authentic wasabi). By grating a one-and-a-half-year-old root that has just been cut from the deep green terraces. Meanwhile, we listen to the streams in the background.

Before you try it, Yuma He advises us to wait a minute, as it is when it is better. The wasabi it has a spicy taste and, being antibacterial and antiseptic, it was formerly used to preserve the fish.

Pasta is made every time it is eaten, although it can be kept in the fridge for three weeks. The root lasts for a month, allowing the fresh export and reach the best restaurants in the world.

Wasabi plant

The growth of wasabi is between one and two years

El wasabi it's a horseradish (its scientific name is Wasabia) of the same family as the turnip and mustard. Its growth lasts between one and two years and there are countless varieties. It is planted throughout the year and is also harvested throughout twelve months in a process that is totally handmade.

In a year, the family of Yuma, which cultivates wasabi for four generations, it produces 3.000 kilos. About twenty families have plantations in this place and the restaurant is very popular in the town. It is also a store. In addition to the roots of wasabi, sells its leaves, used in salads.

The restaurant fills up at lunchtime with people coming from afar to taste the wasabi ramen. For dessert the visitor can also have an ice cream from him. These producers used to sell the wasabi only in the markets but now they also do it online. It sells for 10 yen for 1 gram, a high price even for Japan.

Wasabi extraction

Daigari, the excellence in tea

Also green in color, but not as cool as the wasabi, are the plantations of the high quality Makinohara. They are the largest of Japan, located in the prefecture of Shizuoka. They occupy 12.000 cultivated hectares (30% of the tea plantations in the entire country). The fields stand out for their beauty, accompanied by the great icon of Japan, Mount Fuji, on clear days.

Meanwhile green stand out plittle windmills that protect plantations from frost. In Green Pia Makinohara you can know the whole process of you, from cultivation to packaging. Also eat a menu cooked with tea that has tempura made with the leaves and noodles, with sweets and ice cream for dessert. In this area the harvest is done by hand or by machine, from mid-April to the end of September, in three batches.

Every five years a very exhaustive pruning of the the. A process called daigari, from which sprouts come out that produce a excellent tea of the same name. After harvesting, the plant receives a 30-second steam treatment that gives it that green characteristic of japanese tea. The sheet is then subjected to drying and treatment.

De Makinohara come out various qualities of the: kona-cha (ground tea), kuki cha (tea stems) and sen-cha (Green Tea). The largest leaves of the sen-cha are used to make the type Bancha and Houji cha, which is roasted tea. There are various varieties of tea: The gyokuro, sencha, fukamushicha and leaf.

Matcha, the powder of tea leaves

In the traditional ceremony of japan tea the matcha. Is tea leaves powder once the stem and the leaf filaments have been removed.

Knife production

Niigata, the paradise of Japanese knives

We crossed to the other side of the island contemplating from the train the Japanese alps until reaching the area of Niigata. En el Sea of ​​japan, full of rice fields. There 50 years ago Torao Fujita rice was grown in spring, summer and fall, while in winter there was no work. He then decided to open a knife factory to earn a living at that time of year.

Factory Tojirou, where his granddaughter now welcomes us Hiroko, went from making a small fruit knife to making 500 types of the highly valued. From those japanese knives they have won design awards.

The process still has a lot handwork. As of April, the factory, from which they leave 5.000 knives every day, will open its doors to the public so that you can see its preparation. Currently they already offer cooking and cutting courses. In Japan There are no more than four factories like this one, in which the entire process is carried out.

Knives for every use and product

There are different knives depending on what is cut: salmon, the different varieties of sashimi (with only one edge), soba, chicken, meat, frozen food; to cut, fillet, peel ...

Although Tojirou It is a large factory - it works a hundred people - it maintains the production of knives from the traditional way. It is inherited from the katana, the sabers used by the samurai. In the manual manufacture of these luxury knives, which exceed the $500 each, only four people work. Only one, the boss, knows how to do it. Every day they make three knives in an oven.

In the other section of the factory, where machines are used, you can see what distinguishes Japanese knives from Europeans. These are the result of an alloy of three materials that combine different types of nickel, cobalt and molybdenum. Meanwhile in Europa other types of alloys are used.

The knife should be hard but flexible

The most important part of the process is the oven and setting its temperature. That, depending on the climate outside, because the knife it has to be flexible but hard at the same time. The more expensive knives are sharpened with water, something characteristic of Japan. Tojirou also has a sharpening service for these long-lasting knives.

The factory logo is hand-marked On each of the knives - the owner's name can also be engraved. This task is carried out by women, as well as placing the handles. Tojirou exports 30% of its production.

Again spotting the Japanese Alps, this time its south face aside, and the Mount Fuji to the other, we reached our next stop. The Suntory Whiskey Distillery.

He has won the most relevant international awards such as the CSI 2015 and the prestigious American accolade SWSC. With the whiskeys yamazaki aged 18 and 25, among many other awards.

Hakushu, ornithological reserve and crystal clear water

It is located in Hakushu, an area that is distinguished by its forests and onsen, the volcanic hot springs typical of Japan. So it can be used to take a bath. Also stroll through the Shosenkyo gorge, highly recommended in autumn, near Kofu.

That, in addition to visiting the distilleryCourse. Shinjiro torri founded it in 1923 in yamazaki, near Kyoto He had to overcome numerous obstacles to introduce whiskey culture into Japan. Keizo saji, the second president of Suntory.

That one traveled by Japan looking for a site for a second distillery in an area that had a excellent water from a natural environment. He found it in 1973 in Hakushu. Here, 700 meters high, the water comes from the mountain Kaikomagatake, de los Japanese alps. It is one of the best in the country.

An impressive winery

The distillery It is one of the few in the world that is in the middle of a forest and an ornithological reserve. Fermentation takes place in large wooden barrels, which are reached by microorganisms and bacteria from the natural environment of Hakushu. They are the ones who help to give whiskey its unique fresh scent.

Another peculiarity of Suntory is that the first distillation is carried out with stills of different size and shape. Giving each of the types of whiskey its own personality. Something that few distilleries in the world do.

El malted It is produced with peat, which gives a very characteristic flavor and is used by fewer and fewer distilleries. The impressive cellar full of huge whiskey barrels aging manages to intoxicate with a strong smell.

The quality of Japanese whiskey is already known worldwide

The visit to the distillery ends with a tasting of four types of whiskey. It is very pleasant even for those who are not lovers of this drink. In 2003 the 12 year old Yamazaky single malt whiskey he became the first Japanese whiskey to win the gold medal. It was in the International Spirits Challenge (ISC).

Suntory-Hakushu Distillery

Craft beer in Japan

Another drink that I eat whiskey It is not genuine from Japan it's beer. Which is acquiring much relevance throughout the country with the opening of craft breweries. On our trip we visit some of the most relevant craft breweries in Japan. Country where the consumption of quality beers is increasing.

Near to Mount Fuji and surrounded by a shopping center you can visit the Kogen de Gotemba brewery. En Tokyo highlights Popeye and Bankan, And in Kyoto is Kyoto Brewery. In Osaka, city with many craft breweries, highlights Craft Beer Marciero.

Japanese wine too

Back in Kofu It can be used to visit a wine cellar, such as sadoya, XNUMX minutes from the train station (visits are only in Japanese). Although not excellent, it reminds us that the vineyards in the area produce a worthy Japanese wine.

Sake Daishichi Distillery

El water is also fundamental in the elaboration of the Sake, the traditional Japanese drink. The water in japan it is not very hard, it is very well balanced, and therefore it is possible to produce sfake. While in some parts of EuropaFor example, it could not be done untreated due to its harshness. In Japan there are 1.200 distilleries.

At the distillery Daishichi, in Nihonmatsu, the master brewer has worked for more than 20 years Takanobu Satō, of 69 years. Sato was distinguished with the first prize of Japan in its category using the traditional method kimono. Currently there are less than 10 teachers with this title who are still active.

Sake with the Kimoto method

daishichi, one of the most artisanal distilleries in the country, uses the Kimoto method. Created 300 years ago, it consists of mixing koji (fungus that is used for the fermentation of rice, different in each distillery), rice (a specific variety for the sake) and water. The koji It is grown in four rooms and in each one it spends 24 hours at different temperatures.

This mushroom, widely used in Japan for different culinary uses, such as for making the soy, It is different in each distillery. Most modern distilleries use the Sukuyonto method, faster (in 10 days compared to 30 it takes the Kimoto method).

At Lóleo Eventos, Second World War the government developed the Sukuyonto method due to the shortcomings in the country. Until then, only the kimono and a lot of rice was lost in processing. Many distilleries then switched to the new way of making Sake. Currently 90% of distilleries use the Sukuyonto.

Rice polishing

En daishichi, where they also make their own yeast, follow the Kimoto method for all types of Sake, even the lowest quality ones. Another differential aspect of this distillery is the technology used for polishing the rice.

A very important process since it eliminates the protein and fat to the grain, which is what would give a coarse flavor to the grain. Sake. It is only made from October to March since fermentation requires cold.

As a novelty, 15 years ago the Sake sparkling -with less alcohol, between 6 and 9%, compared to the 14% that it normally has-. It is becoming very popular in Japan, has been created to attract especially of and YOUNG.

«These used to consume this drink more but today they have moved away from it because of its price and because they are reluctant to drink a lot of alcohol. They take noodles and they don't drink Sake”, Sums up the Sommelier Keita Akaboshi, which organizes seminars on the Sake for young.

The pairing of sake

El Sake sparkling advises to take it with the aperitif. In your restaurant Akakuma, riding a Tokyo, this sommelier offers pairing menus with Sake. It has about 300 types of it to match the great variety of Japanese food. He points out that European food combines very well and gives Italian cheese as an example Mozzarella. On the stove, the Sake it's used in Japan to cook fish. The meat, like the famous of kobe, advises taking it with Sake hot.

Wagyu, an exceptional quality

La kobe ​​beef -meat of wagyu bovine breed indigenous to Japan that occurs in the area of Kobe- It is a state secret in the country.

El secrecy of its production due to high price and big economic interests make it impossible to visit a livestock farm. Therefore, to be able to verify the myths of the massages that do to calves while listening to classical music and the beers they are given.

The ban also applies to the Japanese and is covered by health issues. But without a doubt this meat stands out for its high quality and control in product certification by having a high percentage of fat infiltrated in the meat. All this makes this meat one of the World's greatest.

Tsukiji, the fish market

Another must see in Japan es Tsukiji, the market of fish de Tokyo, the largest fish market in the world. It will soon leave the place where it has been since 1935. At its current location, Tsukiji offers the possibility of attending tuna auctions that take place early every day. Also visit the market and have breakfast at the excellent fish stalls.

The market moves more than 2.000 tons of 400 kinds of marine products per day. They come from all over the world and work there about 60.000 workers.

Here you can see tuna up to 2 meters long. At the auction, which begins at 5 in the morning, the tuna are displayed frozen and before bidding, the buyer can see their fat infiltrated in the tail and belly.

The buyer makes several incisions although the tuna is frozen to try to find out the quality of the fish. The highest price ever paid for a tuna in this market were 700.000 yen (almost 6.000 euros).

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