Message from Shawn Iguchi

<< Seasonal Information >>

Unlike usual, this time I’m going to talk about something different from political issues.

Every day is rainy day in Japan until about the middle of July.

But this is good for agriculture so that this particular weather condition will let many fruits and veggies grow which are unavailable in the US.

< Hakuhoe >

When I lived in the US, I was surprised to find out that there were many unavailable fruits in the US.

The most surprising fruit for me was a peach. The one which had been familiar to us was very juicy, tender, and sweet. But in the US, there wasn’t like Japanese peach available.

I think Japanese peach is difficult to sell in the US market unless it is sold in a special way such as encasing each peach in a box not to let anyone touch it because if you touch it roughly, it will be easily mashed. It is extremely soft and delicate. So even if you find Japanese peach sold in Japan, you may not touch it. It’s a manner for everyone.

And you can peel the skin off from the flesh by pinching the skin with your finger nails and pulling it off. You haven’t seen any peach like that in the US, right?

And when you carefully removing the skin from the peach, the juices pour and drip all over the place. When you take one bite, the juices pour and drip down from your chin. And your fingers become drenching wet from the juices. You have never experienced this much juicy fruit before. The sweetness is outstanding! The sweet smell of peach is very strong and wonderful!

Japanese peaches have just begun distributing in the market for this season now. But you need to know there are two major kinds of Japanese peach. “White Peach”, which is available from late June to July, is not very sweet but moderate and the softness is also moderate. But the one that is outstanding and exclusively available in Japan is called “Haku-ho (Ha-ku-hoe)” which begins to be available around August and September. That’s the kind of peach I am talking about here.

Hakuho is exclusively available in Japan (Recently exported to Asian markets) so those Chinese tourists, who know this peach, mass-buy it when visiting Japan during August and September because the price is way cheaper than the ones sold in China. And even if Hakuho is expensive in China, it will be sold out immediately.

<Kyohoe = Giant Grape>

Another Japanese fruit you should try when visiting Japan during summer season (August and September) is Japanese grape called “Kyoho (Kyo-hoe)”.

I tried any kind of grape while I was in the US but none of them could come close to the smell of “Kyohoe”.

Kyoho (Kyo-hoe) is a totally different breed from any grape. It was created by a Japanese agriculture scholar "Yasushi Ooinoue" in 1942 by crossbreeding many European and American grapes.

Kyoho in Japanese means “Giant grape” so each piece is larger than one inch (3 cm or more).
When you buy Kyohoe in Japan, you have to ask whether it is Kyohoe or not because there are same large size grapes, seemingly similar to Kyohoe but different kinds of grape, available in Japan. Only Kyohoe has the distinctive smell.

What make Kyoho outstanding from the rest of any grape are, not only its taste but also the distinctive smell that is absolutely intoxicating.

You can tell whether it is Kyohoe or not by just its smell without a mistake. That much the smell of Kyohoe is different from any kind of grape.

If you know Kobe Beef, then you should also try these Japanese fruits if you ever have a chance to visit Japan during summer season.
And make sure to keep them in a refrigerator before you eat them. Cold and juicy Hakuho and Kyoho are amazing!

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