insights from frontier Japan

Two types of sweets began being sold at the Art Hotel Asahikawa in the city of Asahikawa on July 2, in support of Kitaguchi Haruka (23-year-old representative of JAL), a local athlete who has been selected to represent Japan in the women’s javelin event at the Tokyo Olympics.

On June 26, the Shin Hakodate Agricultural Cooperative (Hokuto) in southern Hokkaido began selling ‘Dojima Roll Tomato Mix,” a roll cake made with tomatoes produced in the city of Hokuto. Jam made from tomatoes produced in Hokuto is added to the cake’s sponge and cream.

The ‘Kobayashi Farm Soft-serve Ice Cream Shop’ run by the Kobayashi Farm dairy in Sapporo’s neighboring city of Ebetsu is proving popular. After opening in late April, the establishment attracted approximately 1,300 visitors per day during the long vacation period. With milk and cheese also on sale there, the wide range of fresh dairy products is receiving favorable reviews.

People of all age groups love strawberries, from children to senior citizens. Selective breeding is advancing, and delicious strawberries are now available year round. New strawberry products and specialty shops are cropping up rapidly.

Belgian confectioner Tom Verlinden and his wife Kyoko have opened ‘Petit Belge’, a shop that specializes in Belgian chocolate, in the Ishikawa-cho district of Hakodate in southern Hokkaido.

　Confectioner, Ishiya Co., Ltd. (Sapporo) is focusing on selling its flagship product ‘Shiroi Koibito’ on internet mail-order sites aimed at Chinese customers, amid a decrease in overseas tourists due to the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

The second round of the Oi-sen (throne game), which is one of the major shogi title matches, was held in Sapporo on July 13 and 14. Sota Fujii (17), a seventh-dan high school student, played against the Oi title holder Kazuki Kimura (47) in this hot match. Lunch meals ordered by players known as “shogi meshi” and snacks served during the match attracted as much attention as the match itself.