[Happoen] The Happoen Group and Kushiro City, Hokkaido and Matsushige Town, Tokushima Prefecture conclude a “Collaboration Agreement on Regional Revitali

Happoen Exchange Content Production and Kushiro City have been promoting the wide range of attractions of Kushiro City from within Tokyo by producing events with the theme of “camping” and events focusing on eastern Hokkaido, where the city is located. I've been here. Furthermore, due to environmental changes such as rising seawater temperatures in recent years, the amount of fish caught off the coast of eastern Hokkaido has increased, and Kushiro City is also implementing initiatives to popularize and effectively utilize yellowtail, which is still unfamiliar to daily life. We held a tasting event with the company's chef.

Additionally, Happoen and Matsushige Town will conclude a comprehensive partnership agreement in June 2022. We are engaged in various initiatives, product development, and events aimed at regional revitalization through further promotion of the town and expansion of the number of people interacting with each other.Currently, we are working on the “FOOD BASE KITCHEN” located in the town's exchange base facility “Matsushi Gate”. Happoen Exchange Content Producer is in charge of planning and operating the event.

Kushiro City, Matsushige Town, and the Happoen Group, which have such ties, have recently concluded a “Collaboration Agreement on Regional Revitalization through Food” with the aim of revitalizing the region through food. We will work to create relationships and exchanges centered around food.

• Purpose of conclusion of the agreement

The purpose of this agreement is for the three parties to work closely together to promote collaborative activities that make effective use of their respective resources and contribute to the revitalization of the region.

• Cooperation matters

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the three parties will work together on the matters listed below.

(1) Matters related to discovering, developing and widely disseminating the charms of the still unknown regions of Kushiro City and Matsushige Town, and revitalizing the local economy by promoting or co-sponsoring events.

(2) Matters related to improving the added value rate and product development related to local resources such as agricultural, fishery and livestock products and processed products

(3) Other matters necessary to achieve the purpose of this Agreement

In order to effectively implement these matters, we will hold periodic discussions and decide on specific implementation matters through three-party agreement.

• About future initiatives

As the first initiative after signing the agreement, we will jointly develop products that utilize ingredients from Kushiro City and Matsushige Town. To address the issue of dissemination and effective utilization of yellowtail due to the increased catch of yellowtail caused by recent environmental changes, Kushiro City is combining yellowtail from Kushiro City with specialty products from Matsushige Town (such as lotus roots and sweet potatoes) to improve food culture. We will foster further added value through jointly developed products that generate interaction.

[Issues faced by Kushiro City, Hokkaido – Improving the value and effective use of the new specialty yellowtail]

Due to the effects of rising seawater temperatures due to global warming, catches of salmon and saury, which were considered specialties in Kushiro City, Hokkaido, have been poor, but yellowtail has been abundant. Yellowtail is originally a fish that is often landed in the Sea of ​​Japan, and is familiar in Honshu, but it is not common in Hokkaido, where until then it was only caught in limited quantities, and although it is of very high quality, it is not very valuable. The current situation is that it has not increased. Therefore, in this project, we hope to promote yellowtail produced in Kushiro, which has no odor and is fatty, by combining it with ingredients such as lotus roots and sweet potatoes from Matsushige Town, and hope to improve its value and increase demand.

• Comments from three parties at the signing ceremony

[Mr. Naoto Yoshida, Mayor of Matsushige Town, Tokushima Prefecture]

As a result of international exchange, we began to establish connections with sister cities within Japan, and we thought, “What can we do in Matsushige Town?” and have been working on various things to revitalize the region. During that time, I also met Happo-en.

Currently, “hometown tax'' initiatives are being carried out in various regions, but compared to the past, these initiatives are now being reconsidered as even more important initiatives. Under these circumstances, we thought it would be meaningful to collaborate with each region with which we have exchanges and create new hometown tax gifts, so we have connected with sister cities and friendship cities.

As part of our idea of ​​expanding in a positive direction, we wondered if we could do something with Kushiro City, which was the first town to form a friendship city, which led to a food development project with Happoen. I believe that the conclusion of this agreement will lead to initiatives related to hometown tax donations in the future.

[Mr. Kikuji Akisato, Deputy Mayor of Kushiro City, Hokkaido]

Kushiro City is a place where you can catch a variety of fish and is rich in nature, but it is still unclear how widespread its appeal is and whether it is recognized by people across the country.

In this process, we were connected to Matsushige Town as a friendship city, and from there we were connected to Happoen.

As we consider how to promote the attractive content that Kushiro City is full of, we hope to use this collaboration to improve the quality and value of each ingredient. We believe that this will lead to people wanting to eat in Kushiro City and wanting to order ingredients, which will have a positive impact on hometown tax payments and tourism. We hope that this will be an effective initiative for town development and city promotion, helping people understand and enjoy the value of ingredients.

[Happoen Co., Ltd. President   Yoshinori Inoue]

Through collaboration and initiatives with local governments, companies, and schools, the Happoen Group strives to achieve sustainability by balancing public interest and profit. These efforts have become one of the factors that make our city a chosen venue for international business events and other MICE events.

From this point of view, the partnership agreement leads to very effective and powerful activities, and we see it as a business opportunity for us as well. By turning the culture and food of each region into content, we would like to create a business that attracts people to visit each region.

With this “Collaboration Agreement on Regional Revitalization through Food”, we will further promote this initiative through the development of food that responds to diversity.

• Prototype menu using Kushiro yellowtail and Matsushige ingredients

The Happoen Group and Kushiro City, Hokkaido and Matsushige Town, Tokushima Prefecture conclude a “Collaboration Agreement on Regional Revitali’>

*The photo is an image

[52 degree yellowtail confit, Matsushige lotus root and citrus sauce]

A dish made with the back part of Kushiro yellowtail, Matsushige lotus root and sudachi from Matsushige town. The yellowtail is marinated overnight in a vacuum with olive oil and salt koji, then pasteurized at 52 degrees for the most moist finish, and combined with a sauce made with Matsushige lotus root, sudachi, and citrus. To finish, add shaved sudachi skin to enjoy the refreshing aroma.

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