The northern Hokkaido town of Kamifurano has entered its peak harvest season for the cone flowers of the hops plant, used in making beer. The yellow powder called lupulin inside the hops cones gives beer its fragrance and bitterness.
At the hops peak in the 1960s, there were some 120 locations producing hops in the town of Kamifurano and the neighboring town of Biei , but currently there are only four farms growing hops in Kamifurano. On August 28, a farm that produces four kinds of hops started harvesting a type called “Little Star” in an approximately one hectare field. Vines and leaves were removed by machinery, and the cone flowers were dried for eight to ten hours in drying equipment. Harvesting continued until around August 31.