Deep Fukuoka you don't know about - Yoshii, a town of fruits and pure water

Ai Nishimura
Administrator of the blog "My Diary," which began in 2004. A writer who has traveled to all 47 prefectures and loves local culture and history.
Author of Shimane's "Geography, Place Names, and Maps" Mysteries (Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha), My Town is the "Number One in Japan" Dictionary (PHP Institute), and Prefectures Explained in Neko Neko Japanese History (Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha). Official blogger for Suntory Gourmet Guide, official top user for Retty, and official platinum blogger for Excite.

The kingdom of fruits, as everyone recognizes it! Eat the fruits of Ukiha, a symbol of local pride

Yoshiimachi, Ukiha City, is a town in the Chikugo region in the southern part of Fukuoka Prefecture. Fruit cultivation is thriving here, thanks to the town's warm climate and abundant, high-quality groundwater. There is a wide variety of fruit, and new varieties are constantly being developed. There are also many tourist farms and processed products made from fruit.
Ukiha City is often called the "Fruit Kingdom," and many different fruits are available all year round. One of the characteristics of this fruit-rich town is the large number of Western-style confectionery shops, and you can find sweet shops that use fresh fruit even while walking around the tourist spots.

The first store we went to was "Kawasemi Danish."
They sell cute Danish pastries topped with fruits from Ukiha City. Just looking at the jewel-like sparkling sweets is exciting. This Danish pastry specialty shop can also be used as a cafe, and you can enjoy them with a drink set.
They buy directly from farmers so they never miss the peak season and use fresh fruit that takes advantage of the benefits of direct from the farm. They always have 4-5 types of Danish pastries on offer, paired with custard cream that changes depending on the season and fruit. They use dozens of types of fruit throughout the year, and by combining them with about 20 types of custard cream, so there is a wide variety available, and each taste is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's a quiet cafe where you can enjoy the different flavors you might encounter when you visit, and is a great place for both locals and tourists.

The next place we visited was Bousyoku no kazitsu, which serves sweets made with mochi rice cakes.
The shop's name is impactful and intriguing, but the Japanese sweets they serve are also very particular. Their flagship product is Fruit Daifuku, made with mochi and red bean paste from Ishibashi Mochi Processing Factory in the same town.
Unlike Gyuhi daifuku, the strawberry daifuku served here is made with mochi rice cake, giving it a rice flavor and a firm texture that is satisfying to eat. It hardens quickly, so it has a best-before date of the next day, but it does not use any additives to make it last longer, and is a straightforward Japanese sweet that cherishes the original flavor of the mochi.
In addition to strawberry daifuku, you can also find daifuku made with seasonal fruits such as peaches, figs, and muscat grapes. The combination of mochi and juicy fruit is a little different from the usual fruit daifuku.

Qui tico co is popular for its fresh cream dorayaki, which has a perfect balance of Japanese and Western flavors.
The owners are a married couple who moved here from Kitakyushu City. The husband is the son of a Japanese confectioner and trained at a famous dorayaki shop in Tokyo, while the wife has experience working in a Western confectionery shop. Just like their dorayaki, they are a mix of Japanese and Western styles. Their dorayaki, packed with the delicious flavors of fruits harvested in Ukiha, are extremely popular.
The dorayaki pastry, baked by the owner, a true craftsman with 25 years of experience, has a soft, moist texture and an exquisite aroma. This product was created in an environment where fresh fruit is readily available, picked that morning, and goes perfectly with the rich, high-fat cream for a "happy taste." In the summer, they also serve shaved ice made with fresh fruit and local matcha, and the products they make are packed with the essence of Ukihara.

When we asked people involved in making sweets and Japanese confectioneries using fruit, they all praised Ukiha's fruits highly, and were amazed at the new fruits that are constantly being improved and appearing. They also said that they are grateful to the farmers and the environment of Ukiha when they create their products.
Yoshii Town is blessed with abundant nature, people who use that nature to farm, and shops that deliver delicious produce to consumers. It was a sweets tour of the charming town of Yoshii that satisfied both the heart and the palate.

kawasemi danish

Bousyoku no kazitsu

Qui tico co

A story about water in Yoshii, a town where all households live off groundwater

Ukiha City is the only city in Japan that does not have a water supply system, and is a rare region where each household can rely on groundwater for drinking water, daily life, and agricultural water. Yoshii Town, as its name suggests, is a land where Yoshii means "good well water," and has long supported the lives of the local community with groundwater. The groundwater is not only great for its quantity and high quality, but also of high mineral content, making it suitable for fruit cultivation. Another characteristic of the mineral component is that it contains a lot of "silica."

In the early Edo period, the Ukiha area was located at a higher elevation than the Chikugo River basin, and suffered from serious water shortages. However, the construction of the artificial irrigation canals Minami-Shinkawa and Kita-Shinkawa allowed for stable rice production. Wheat was also grown as a secondary crop, and flour was milled using waterwheels, which led to the development of industry and commerce.
The five village headmen of Yoshii-machi brought this irrigation water to the town in order to enrich the lives of the people. They promised not to burden the domain, and a crucifixion stand was set up for them to take responsibility for if they failed, and they carried out the difficult construction work, risking their lives.
The local farmers, determined not to let the village headman die, lent their help to the construction, and it was completed without incident. The story of the "Five Village Headmen" is still treasured today, and is a source of pride for the local community, as it is still sung in the elementary school song and on explanatory signs in the town.
These canals still flow through the city today, adding fresh moisture to the lush landscape.

The people from Koga Tofu Shop, Nagao Noodle Factory, and Kirito Coffee Roasters learned about the true quality of Yoshii's water and spoke passionately about the blessings of water. Tofu, noodles, and coffee cannot be made without water, and moreover, they are foods and products that benefit from delicious water because they are almost entirely made of water.

Koga Tofu Shop, which will soon celebrate its 100th anniversary, is run by the third-generation owner and his fourth-generation son, who are particular about the ingredients they use to make tofu. They offer unique products such as "Yose Tofu" made with domestic soybeans, and "Atsuage" made with a new variety of high oleic acid soybeans developed at Saga University.
The water pumped from deep underground has never run out and is kept at a constant temperature. This groundwater is always used to make tofu, so it is an essential and important resource. The tofu produced is rich in the abundant minerals contained in the water.
Freshly made products can be purchased inside the factory.

Nagao Noodle Factory produces somen noodles, a type of noodle that was created throughout history.
Ukiha, including Yoshii, has been making noodles since the Edo period.
Nagao Noodle Factory is a company that has been making noodles, mainly dried noodles such as somen and udon, in Yoshii for many years. While most somen noodles are made using edible oil, Nagao Noodle Factory makes oil-free somen noodles using a unique hand-stretching method. Yoshii somen has a delicate flavor and is best eaten immediately after boiling, and is somen that is packed with the history of Ukiha.

"Kirito Coffee Roasters" is a specialty roasted coffee shop located in the same city. It is a shop I really wanted to visit when talking about Ukiha Water.
Mr. Hama, the owner of the roaster, is a passionate man who loaded up his coffee-making equipment and traveled to all of Kyushu's prefectures to find the best water for coffee. He finally found the perfect water in Ukiha and settled here, truly a lover of Ukiha's water. Nearby is Kiyomizu Spring, an underground spring in the grounds of Seisuiji Temple that Mr. Hama fell in love with, where pure water gushes forth endlessly.
Kirito Coffee Roasters handles several varieties of Mandheling coffee produced in Sumatra, Indonesia. The coffee brewed with dark roasted beans roasted in-house by the owner has a bitter yet complex flavor, making it a cup you'll want to savor slowly. You can talk about coffee, listen to the owner's preferences, and learn how to brew it, so this is definitely a shop for coffee lovers.

Koga Tofu Shop

Nagao Noodle Factory

Kirito Coffee Roasters