Many visitors will experience the food culture of Satoyama while enjoying the rural scenery and meeting new people! This year marks the 17th time, with 56 stores opening “Ikeda Food Cultural Festival 2024”
Ikeda Town Hall Press release: November 7, 2024 Many visitors will experience the food culture of Satoyama while enjoying the rural scenery and meeting new people! “Ikeda Food Cultural Festival 2024” marks the 17th time this year, with 56 stores opening ■ November 2nd (Sat) and 3rd (Sun), 2020 10:00-15:00 ■Venue: Entire Ikeda Town
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-97f1138b50e762c487d01dca637c6338-3000×2000.jpg Agricultural machinery riding experience
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-c979f3817c347a27fc6659356cf8f919-3000×2000.jpg Soba and hometown cuisine set (example of dishes) Ikeda Town in Fukui Prefecture held the “Ikeda Food Cultural Festival 2024″ throughout the town for two days, November 2nd (Saturday) and 3rd (Sunday), 2020. Although it rained on the first day due to the typhoon, most stores opened as planned. The second day was blessed with good weather, and visitors could be seen enjoying Ikeda’s food, experiences, and interaction with locals at various locations around the town. This year marks the 17th edition of the Ikeda Food Culture Festival, which has been held without a specific venue since its inception. We want people to learn about the backgrounds of the producers who support Ikeda Town’s food culture, and to enjoy interacting with them, so the venue will be located in each producer’s hometown, that is, the whole town. It is a format where you can enjoy food and experiences while touring the town using the “Food Culture Festival Guide Map” as a reference, and it has been well received as it allows you to enjoy deep interaction with local areas and local residents that are not listed on tourist maps. Masu. 56 stores participated in this year’s “Ikeda Food Culture Festival,” each entertaining visitors with elaborately designed foods and experiences unique to Ikeda. At three of our stores, students from Tokyo Metropolitan Shiba Commercial High School, which is affiliated with Ikeda Town, participated as staff members and held a “Learning Program of Encounters and Experiences.” In addition, this year’s fun events include comparing the tastes of “Ikeda Tama Manju” developed at “Shoku Labo”, a food processing research support facility in Ikeda Town, taking the Ikeda Rural Certification Test, riding agricultural machinery, and harvesting vegetables. Implemented. The popular “Bale Carrying Challenge” was held as scheduled every year, and the venue was very lively with the cheers of challengers and spectators. Ikeda Town, Fukui Prefecture, is a small town with a population of approximately 2,200 people and is surrounded by forests, with over 90% of the area being forested. We aim to be a “city that does not accept the natural,” where people can live in harmony with the original Japanese scenery, the gratitude of caring for crops, and caring and supporting each other. “Ikeda Food Culture Festival 2024” event overview ■Event schedule Saturday, November 2nd and Sunday, November 3rd, 2020 10:00-15:00 ■Venue Entire Ikeda Town *Headquarters: Ikeda Junior High School parking lot *Shop information center: Machi-no-Eki Kottekoteikeda, Oasis on the Road Four Season Terrace ＜Status of the day＞ ■Ikeda food colors autumn This year, 28 vendors entertained visitors with food unique to Ikeda Town. We offer traditional local cuisine and dishes made with locally grown ingredients, including delicious rice from Ikeda Town, soba, game dishes, sweetfish, and rice flour bread. Visitors enjoyed interacting with the vendors and enjoying the food in Ikeda Town. Additionally, many popular stores sold out before the closing time.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-e8df9c00c1aac75f540ef87ad0e7b51c-3000×2000.jpg Konnyaku Oden and Dengaku
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-01d32d080cedd3ee74977e96a9c17392-3000×2000.jpg Freshly made rice cake 〇Fun project: “Ikedadama Manju” tasting comparison “Ikedadama Manju”, which uses plenty of local vegetables, was developed last year at the “Shoku Lab”, a food processing research support facility in Ikeda Town. This year, we used
“Fukukomugi” from Fukui Prefecture for the thin skin, and repeat customers commented, “The chewy texture is even more delicious than last year.” *About “Food Lab”
https://www.town.ikeda.fukui.jp/shisetsu/sonota/p002416.html Image
URL: https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-162f9ef959be35e0bc333053277d74f6-3000×2000.jpg Ikedadama Manju offers three flavors: “pork radish”, “boiled pumpkin”, and “potato curry” ■Autumn rural experience in Ikeda 19 stores held experiential events related to Ikeda Town, which is rich in nature, such as rural life and manufacturing. Many people of all ages and genders can experience the rural culture of Ikeda Town, such as riding on agricultural machinery that is usually not possible to ride, making play tools using cedar from Ikeda Town, and harvesting vegetables. The two days were filled with constant interaction between visitors and local vendors.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-65768a548ba561e00b1031d7e155e4db-3000×2000.jpg Agricultural machinery riding experience
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-260c42f7bb547503d0b4cc2cbc4609af-3000×2000.jpg Vegetable harvesting experience
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-00b71de1823833df1c74501b3b05f06d-3000×2000.jpg Making a wooden lunch box 〇Fun project “Ball carrying challenge” will be held again this year to pass on the culture This is a very popular project every year, where those who can lift a rice bale
(approximately 60 kg for men, approximately 30 kg for women, and approximately 20 kg for elementary school students) to the top of their shoulders receive Ikeda’s new rice (2 kg). A total of 258 people participated, with 81 people participating on the first day and 177 people on the second day. It is said that one bale of rice
(approximately 60 kg) is consumed by one person in a year, and in the past, if you could carry one bale on your shoulder, you were considered a person. In addition, straw bale weaving was once done in each household as a leisure activity during the winter months, but now there are only a few people who can weave it. We continue this project every year with the hope that people will be able to feel the inheritance of rural culture and traditional wisdom. Many people were curious to see the rice bales for the first time, and when the participants lifted the bales, the audience erupted in applause and cheers. We also saw people taking on the challenge with their families and people who participate every year, and the venue was filled with excitement as advice was exchanged.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-fb9a5d95c39028b4d736117c7dbaaa5b-3000×2000.jpg Success if you carry the bale over your shoulder ■Selling special products made in Ikeda Town This year, nine stores carried out sales plans. We sell special products and handmade products made in Ikeda Town, such as freshly milled rice, pickles made using traditional methods, Echizen Kantake mushroom bed, herbal tea, cloth sandals, and cedar chainsaw art. Miscellaneous goods, each of which was carefully crafted over time, were also well received.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-275cf5bd753e6fca42649dd0751e0756-3000×2000.jpg Chainsaw art
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-f71002ce9cd6e0b4f84c78eaa522e9e3-3000×2000.jpg Handmade bag 〇Fun project: Promote touring around the town with the “Ikeda Rural Certification” This year as well, we held the “Ikeda Rural Examination” where you solved questions related to Ikeda Town in a quiz rally format that were set up at each store. The questions are 3-choice questions, and you have to solve the questions installed at all stores (maximum of 15 questions). 15 questions correct “Expert level”, 10-14 questions correct “1st grade”, 5-9 questions correct “2nd grade”, Those who answered 1 to 4 questions correctly were categorized into “3rd grade,” and they were asked to apply for gifts based on the correct number of questions. The event also encouraged interaction between visitors and exhibitors, with visitors receiving hints on difficult problems from exhibitors.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-f39eca720438ef93160a95a555e93ce7-3000×2000.jpg “Ikeda Rural Examination” question examples ■Environmental initiatives – Newspaper My Bag Distribution Plan – At this event, as part of our efforts to reduce plastic waste, we presented “my own newspaper bag” to those who answered the questionnaire. Approximately 200 newspaper bags were prepared with the cooperation of the Ikeda Town Women’s Welfare Association. Visitors to the event gave positive feedback, saying, “It’s wide and easy to put things in,” and “It’s so durable that you can’t believe it’s a newspaper.” Participants enjoyed shopping at various stores with their bags in hand.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-f1fe551535e001a7c263394768d441bd-3000×2000.jpg Distributing “Newspaper My Bags” at the headquarters and store information center ■City-rural exchange/cooperation project – 6 members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Shiba Commercial High School “Ikeda Club” members interacted – Exchange and collaboration projects between Ikeda Town, Fukui Prefecture and “Tokyo Metropolitan Shiba Commercial High School” started in 2014, and a new “Ikeda Club” was launched in April of this year. This is a club set in Ikeda Town, Fukui
Prefecture, a rural Japanese village, where students from Shiba Commercial High School explore their own way of life and values. This time, in conjunction with the “Ikeda Food Culture Festival,” a total of six members, one third-year student, three second-year students, and two first-year students, came to town for 2 nights and 3 days. On the first day, the club members deepened their friendships with junior high school students from Ikeda Town, and observed the techniques of masters making straw sandals while observing a food culture festival. On the second day, I participated in the event as a staff member of the three stores that will be participating in the food culture festival (Uomi Handmade Konnyaku Dojo, Satoyama Shokudo Higashimataya, and Ikeda Town Agricultural Corporation), and on the third day I participated in the event as a staff member of the three stores that will be participating in the food culture festival. They learned about the agricultural system while touring the compost center, fields, and food processing kitchen, and at the end, they exchanged opinions with Mayor Sugimoto. Members said, “Listening to the stories of farmers and actually seeing the fields, I began to appreciate the food we casually eat every day.” Everyone was harvesting with smiles on their faces. I thought the field was a place that made everyone smile. “To be honest, I wasn’t good at vegetables, but the vegetables I ate in Ikeda were really delicious.” “Before I came to Ikeda Town. , I thought there would be a lot of inconveniences in the countryside, but I think it’s great that there are so many things that we can create on our own, by making ingenuity and cooperating with each other.” They talked about their feelings, and there were times when they were overcome with emotion and burst into tears at the time of their farewell. *About “Ikedabu”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-a85f8bebf20b7ae832f013af9edda57d-3000×2000.jpg Uomi Handmade Konjac Dojo
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-cb284123520a496db97918632da6acc1-3000×2000.jpg Satoyama Restaurant Higashi Mataya
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-cf9106a66705502f2ce301e32dfc5782-3000×2000.jpg Ikeda Town Agricultural Corporation ■Ikeda Town, “a town that does not compromise on the commonplace” Ikeda Town, Fukui Prefecture, is a small town surrounded by forests with a population of approximately 2,200 people. We aim to be a “city that does not accept the natural,” where people can live in harmony with the original Japanese scenery, the gratitude of caring for crops, and caring and supporting each other. Ikeda Town Mayor Hirofumi Sugimoto “Because we are a small society where people live together, we want to be a city where people can interact and support each other.”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/35317/51/35317-51-3215f930891361ed61f7767c764ab11a-3000×2000.jpg Yoshio Hirata, 89 years old (resident of Ikeda Town), repairs bales on the evening of the first day of the Food Culture Festival.
