Eat vegetables you grow yourself and wear clothes you dye yourself.
I heard that it is good to dry corn whiskers in the sun and roast them to make tea. The tea, served by the host, Jumi, had a fragrant aroma that one would not have realized was corn whiskers if he had not told me. Since it is grown without pesticides, it has a delicious potherb mustard-like texture when eaten raw in salads, he said.
Ms.Jukai is originally from Gunma Prefecture. She moved to Shikagawa in 2013 with Mr, Shinya Jumai from Osaka Prefecture, whom she met in Nagano Prefecture, and the following year the couple started “Noka Minpaku JUGEMU“.
Noka Minpaku means to sleep with farmers, work on the farm with them, and experience the local lifestyle. Noka Minpaku JUGEMU has a total of six fields. They grow about 30 kinds of vegetables in total, including peas, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, watermelons, edamame, Chinese cabbage, and radishes. We grow those according to the season, but we also grow rice. Behind the inn, there is also a donkey they keep, “Gaspar-kun.
”We are now practicing so that visitors can experience donkey-walking. I also like indigo dyeing the best. At the end of making the dye solution, I should have encouraged the fermentation process a little more, so the color would have been darker, but I was so happy that I finished it right away (laughs). This time, the solution may not be very dark. It’s up to the microorganisms, so it’s not easy.”
The sky-blue T-shirt ms. Jukai is wearing was also dyed with indigo. The fact that the color is not the same every time is also a good sign of the handmade quality of the product. Rice is cooked in a hagama (a rice kettle) over a firewood fire. The heat is applied evenly throughout the rice, making each grain of rice stand out and making it fluffy and tasty. The wood-fired bathtub “makes the water feel soft. The water is always warm and warm. It’s good to use wood to heat the water,” says Ms. Jukai.
Breathing in the air of Irokawa, I live a fresh tomorrow.
She says she is especially happy when she harvests crops in her daily life.
“The seeds I sow in the field bear fruit until they reach the dinner table. That’s when I feel the greatest joy. The taste is totally different. Then there is the first serving of the new rice of the year. That is very special. “
Cooking, farming, dyeing, bathing, and all the other daily tasks that are indispensable to life. It may seem difficult to live a life in which one does not make a living from the money earned by working, but rather spends time on the daily activities of life itself. On the other hand, considering that about half of the villagers have chosen to come all the way to Shikagawa, each of them must feel comfortable living in this village.
When asked about the advantages of Shikagawa for Ms. Jukai, she replied, “There are so many things to do by myself, and it is a lot of work. But the biggest thing is that there is no stress. I can rest at my own pace, and no one tells me to do this or that. With vegetables, the more you do, the more you get back. The sense of fulfillment is totally different.
“I think everyone feels differently, but I hope people come here to relax. People who are tired of living in the city will be healed just by looking at the scenery and relaxing. If you live in the city, you probably have never tried cooking rice this way, and I hope you enjoy it. “
We accept overnight stays from one night, but for those who want to experience the lifestyle, we recommend a stay of at least two days. The experiences available change with the seasons, so please visit the official website of Noka Minpaku JUGEMU. We wish you a wonderful stay experience that will help you find the way of life that suits you best.
