About a fifteen-minute walk from the Miho Museum, there are rural rice paddies nestled between the mountains of Shigaraki, lush with murmuring streams, luxuriant trees, and singing birds. In one corner is an approximately 2.5-acre field, which belongs to Shumei Natural Farm Inc., where chemically free, naturally grown vegetables thrive. Here, forty-two varieties of crops including rice, soy beans, adzuki beans, carrots, burdock root, sweet potatoes, green peas, eggplant, pumpkin, and tea, are produced and harvested using the Shumei Natural Agriculture method, a practice of sowing seeds saved from previous crops grown in their fields.
Yasunori Sako, who is in charge of this field, proudly tells us, “When we use the seeds saved from our own crops, we are able to produce strong, healthy vegetables that can withstand disease and harmful insects and which are well suited to their locality.Also, vegetables, grown from saved seeds in soil free of agricultural chemicals and fertilizers retain their original flavors.
By not using chemicals and fertilizers we can actively participate in the environmental preservation of rivers and oceans. The only fertilizer that we provide for our plants is the love and affection we give them everyday.” When savoring the earthy scent and rich flavors of these natural vegetables that remind us of the beauty of life, one feels happy. |
Peach Valley Restaurant and Pine View Café offers a healthy menu made of 100% natural organic, chemical-free ingredients. Come enjoy our wholesome dishes served to you by our caring staff. And savor yet another aesthetic realm at Miho Museum.