Through the Kitchen Window

For over 200 years, Yoshida Kiyoshi's family has been farming yukina, a rare vegetable cultivated in the snow.

Junko lives with her cat among the mountains of Nagano Prefecture. She runs a restaurant specializing in soybeans, and passes on her methods to the local children.

The Mimura family has tended a bamboo grove for three generations, producing fresh bamboo shoots, a spring delicacy.

Ishigashira Etsu runs a workshop specializing in saki-ori, a traditional fabric made of unwanted materials. And her cooking is just as resourceful.

Teshima in Kagawa Prefecture is one of the area's "art islands." Playing host to tourists, 89-year-old Akeda Hanae cooks with affection and smiles.

Traditional futomaki sushi rolls hold their true beauty within. Ando Kuni has been making them for years, and they taste as good as they look.

In a small mountain town of just five people, we visit the kitchen of Isogai Hamako, sharing in distinctive foodways and smiles along the way.

Harasawa Shoko's family lovingly call her the "prime minister of apples." If only all governments functioned as well as her brilliant orchard!