For the month of December, Domingo is collaborating with Yubari City to introduce the town's tourist spots, food, and specialty products. This time, we're featuring 'soba' (buckwheat noodles) grown with meticulous farming methods in Yubari City. Let's explore the safe and wholesome, JAS-certified organic soba from Yubari.

The First 'Soba' in Yubari City to Obtain Organic JAS Certification

When people think of soba production areas in Hokkaido, names like Horokanai and Shintoku likely come to mind.
But did you know there's a farm cultivating soba in Yubari City as well?

Ono Farm, located in the Momijiyama district of Yubari, has been cultivating soba for about 10 years. We spoke with the current representative, Mr. Hiroshi Motozawa.

At Ono Farm, they practice agriculture with a focus on building healthy soil by incorporating natural microorganisms into the earth using plenty of 'rice bran' and 'fully-matured compost.' In 2021, they obtained Organic JAS certification for their soba grown with these special methods, actively working to ensure the safety and reliability of their produce. This was the first time such certification was granted in Yubari City. Ono Farm's characteristic is its proactive approach to taking on new challenges.

Photo courtesy of Ono Farm

Soba is said to prefer cool, dry climates with a large temperature difference between day and night, and places where fog is likely to occur.

"Especially here in Yubari, we're near a river, so river fog often forms," Mr. Motozawa says. "I believe we have a climate that can compete with other production areas. Instead of producing large quantities cheaply, we want to add a premium value with safe and reliable soba that is committed to organic cultivation."
While Yubari's famous gourmet dish is 'curry soba,' he saw an opportunity in the fact that there were no local farmers growing soba. He aims to make delicious soba that will make local soba restaurants say, 'We want to use Ono Farm's soba!'

Giving Value to Yubari's 'Underutilized' Resources

The name of Ono Farm's soba is 'Yubari Nagaimo Soba.' The characteristics of this product go beyond the farming method that uses rice bran and compost. As the name suggests, it uses 'nagaimo' (Japanese yam), a specialty of Yubari renowned for its stickiness and sweetness.

Photo courtesy of Ono Farm

Yubari has a long history of nagaimo production, and there used to be a company that produced and sold nagaimo shochu (a distilled spirit). They would buy non-standard nagaimo to use as raw material. However, with the financial collapse of Yubari City, the production of nagaimo shochu ceased, leaving the non-standard yams with nowhere to go.

Mr. Motozawa of Ono Farm took notice of this and thought of using nagaimo when making soba noodles.

"In the past, there were buyers for the non-standard products, so farmers were motivated to grow nagaimo. But now that's gone, and I wanted to make effective use of this underutilized resource. I thought it would be great to grate it and knead it into the noodles, which led to the product's creation."

Photo courtesy of Ono Farm

'Yubari Nagaimo Soba' is Ono Farm's original creation, using Yubari-grown nagaimo as a binding agent, blended with Ono Farm's 'Rera no Kaori' buckwheat and Yubari-grown 'Yumechikara' wheat.
It's a special soba where you can taste the firm flavor of Ono Farm's buckwheat and the sweetness of Yubari's nagaimo.

■ The Product for This Giveaway Campaign

The product for this giveaway campaign is 'Tantetsuko Soba.'

This product was designed to represent the 'Tantetsuko' (Coal, Iron, Railways, and Ports) heritage by combining ingredients from the Sorachi, Muroran, and Otaru regions into a single menu item.
The set includes:
・Sorachi Region: Yubari Nagaimo Soba (Ono Farm, Yubari City)
・Sorachi Region: Salmon flake and bonito dashi pack (Bimi-ka Co., Ltd., Naganuma Town)
・Muroran Region: Quail eggs (Uzura-en, Muroran City)
・Otaru Region: Tororo kombu (shaved kelp) (Motono Yujiro Shoten, Otaru City)

Through the Furusato Nozei (Hometown Tax Donation Program) for Yubari City, you can choose 'Tantetsuko Soba' in a special package designed by students from Yubari High School as a return gift.
This was part of the Hokkaido CLASS Project (a school-community collaboration promotion project), where third-year students from Yubari High School collaborated with local businesses. They learned about 'Tantetsuko' and the region's history, and through business classes, professional lectures, and market research, they developed shapes and designs in groups, resulting in four products.

Be sure to check out the Furusato Nozei program.

■ From Management Consultant to Head of Ono Farm

Mr. Motozawa is a 'farmer,' but the more I listened to him, the more I got an impression completely different from the image of a farmer I had in mind.

And for good reason. Originally, Ono Farm and Mr. Motozawa were connected as 'a farm wanting to resolve its deficit' and 'a management consultant.' While focusing on developing sales channels, sixth-sector industrialization, and Eco-Farmer certification to improve the business, Mr. Motozawa felt the need to change the farm's structure and strategy. He then took on the role of the farm owner to seriously engage in agriculture at Ono Farm.

With his unique background of transitioning from a management consultant to a farm owner, Mr. Motozawa runs the farm with a perspective on business and sales promotion that only he can provide.

Mr. Motozawa, who excels at product development and market cultivation, is not only involved in producing and selling agricultural products at Ono Farm but has also started branding existing food products in Yubari.

For example, 'Barimitsu,' honey from Yubari.
This is honey from the linden flowers that bloom abundantly in the nearby mountains and the buckwheat flowers of Ono Farm. The refreshing linden flavor is mixed with buckwheat, creating a unique taste with just the right amount of richness.

Photo courtesy of Ono Farm

In fact, with 'Barimitsu,' you can compare the tastes of honey collected from 10 different locations within Yubari City.

"There are 10 places in Yubari where honey is collected, and when I tasted them all, I was surprised that each one had a different flavor. I thought this could be a great selling point. By marketing the honey separately as 'honey from this area' and 'honey from that area,' it could be a chance for people with memories of Yubari to recall things like, 'Oh yeah, that mountain had those kinds of flowers,'" he explained.

He says he wants to team up with beekeepers to develop products and link them to Furusato Nozei return gifts and sales at roadside stations (Michi-no-Eki).

With two Furusato Nozei donations, you can taste and compare all the honeys collected from the 10 locations in Yubari, so if you're interested, be sure to check it out.

■ From Management Consultant to Head of Ono Farm

Mr. Motozawa is from Yubari. Having worked as a management consultant deeply involved in the community, he talks about his desire to change the image of his hometown, Yubari.

In Yubari City, many people are leaving farming due to old age, and there is a lot of unused farmland.

"You see more young people starting to farm these days, right? If the image is that 'farming in Yubari means your only choice is Yubari Melons,' I don't think anyone will come. That's why I want farms like ours, which grow things other than Yubari Melons, to launch various initiatives aimed at outside regions. I want to create an image that 'it's okay to grow crops other than Yubari Melons!' If they eventually want to grow Yubari Melons, they can. I just hope they'll consider farming in Yubari with that kind of mindset."
He also wants to create a system that makes it easier for the many people who support Yubari to do so more casually.

"When we go to events, many people buy our products saying, 'We're cheering for Yubari.' They may not want to make a large Furusato Nozei donation, but they have this desire to 'support Yubari.' I hope to create a mechanism that can somehow connect those feelings to the city's revenue."
Mr. Motozawa's creativity and ability to execute felt like a new wind, gradually changing the image of Yubari.