JAL, which has bases throughout Japan, has been continuously implementing regional revitalization initiatives (currently the “JAL Furusato Project”), and in August 2020 launched the “JAL Furusato Ambassadors,” cabin crew members selected through an in-house recruitment process who move to the area to promote initiatives in their respective regions. In December of the same year, JAL appointed “JAL Hometown Cheering Troops” who are involved in regional revitalization while serving on board. The aim is to develop products and solve regional issues for hometowns and other regions with which they have connections, utilizing the knowledge they have accumulated as flight attendants.
We spoke with Ms. Chiharu Ishii, a JAL Furusato Ambassador who is involved in sake development at the West Japan Branch Office.
–What can you tell us about your initiatives?
Hello everyone, this is Ishii, JAL hometown ambassador.
Do you know the sake brewery Kasutsuru in Kami Town, Hyogo Prefecture, which celebrated its 300th anniversary last year?
Hyogo Prefecture is the largest producer of sake in Japan, and the Tajima area is a treasure trove of sake, nurtured by the traditional techniques of the Tajima Toji, one of the four great sake brewers, and the abundance of nature in the area. The severe cold of winter, limpid water, and high quality rice allow us to offer locally brewed sake with a deep richness and sharpness.
As part of the activities of JJ Area Center Tajima (consisting of JA Tajima, Nokyo Kanko, and JAL), “Namaisho Junmai Ginjo Maisho” was created with the cooperation of Kasumitsuru, using rice that grows storks, which is the raw material for Japanese sake.
–How are you involved in this effort?
As an ambassador, I was involved in the entire process for about a year, from rice planting to harvesting, brewing, and label design.
First, you need rice for sake making.
The rice is “stork-breeding rice” and was planted in May and harvested in September. In the Tajima region of Hyogo Prefecture, rice is cultivated without pesticides and without using herbicides in the rice paddies so that storks can live in the natural world. Therefore, weeds grow in the same way when the rice plants are growing, and farmers say that there is a lot of hard work when harvesting the rice, which we actually experienced.
Such coexistence in nature grows into delicious rice and is delivered to consumers.
The process of brewing sake begins with polishing brown rice. While rice for food is polished only once, sake is made by polishing the surface of the brown rice, and the percentage of white rice remaining is called the milled rice ratio. The lower the value, the more polished the rice is, and the clearer and more gorgeous the taste becomes.
It is considered good if the rice has a cloudy white “heart white” in the center.
Sake is made by sprinkling koji mold over steamed rice. The ingredients of sake are rice and rice koji. For “Mai-Sho,” which is made using the “Nami-Hashimoto” method, the sake mother is made in a small tank for one month, and yeast is added about two weeks later. Once the mother liquor is ready, it is transferred to a larger tank. The koji bacteria and the mother of sake simultaneously undergo saccharification and alcoholic fermentation, resulting in delicious sake.
During the sprinkling of koji mold, participants experienced the work with a wish that it would result in delicious sake.
All the staff members took turns working with a particularly heavy oar stick, which was used to fill large tanks with the raw ingredients for the sake. It was very hard work, so much so that I can still feel the sensation in my arms.
After 3-4 weeks of maturation in tanks, the liquid is filtered and what remains as a solid is sakekasu. After filtration, the remaining liquid is fired and about 3,000 bottles of sake are bottled from a single tank.
–What are your future plans and prospects?
On the label, the image of the Kozumi crane, the “crane” of Japan Airlines, and the “stork” symbolizing the Tajima region, both flying into the sky together, is powerful. Amidst various challenges such as the shortage of farmers and the soaring price of rice, JA Tajima, Agricultural Cooperative Tourism, and JAL staff have come together to create a new label that will help people understand the charms of Tajima. This sake is the result of the united efforts of JA Tajima, Agricultural Cooperative Sightseeing, and JAL staff.
–What is your message to travelers?
The Tajima area is a “treasure house of food” with Tajima beef, Matsuba crab seafood, and one of the largest bell peppers production areas in the Kansai region, and is an area where you can enjoy sake matched with local ingredients.
Regardless of the season, the Tajima area offers a wide variety of attractions. We hope you will enjoy our Japanese sake “Mai Sho” as you take in the scenery of each of the four seasons.
Sold at: Kouzuru store, JA Tajima direct sales shop “Tajimanma
© Source travel watch