Foot Path in Nanporo Town 3!

 by Kazu

When we visited Sato Farm, the owner Mr.Sato showed us his hospitality and  enthusiasm to raise and provide organic veggies. He started to raise veggies and crops organically, asked by the moms whose kids were suffered from allergic dermatitis. It must be so difficult to make ends meet in producing veggies organically,
Introduced by the vice president of the NPO Mr.Kondo, Mr.Sato explained about the reason why he had started to raise organic veggies and crops.  

When he started to grow organic veggies and crops, the farmers around his farm complained about the effect brought by not-pesticiding his fields. Other farmers concerned about the harmful insects that damages the veggies and crops.

Every time he was criticized by other farmers, he remember the mothers craving for organic veggies and crops for their kids.

He provided us all with this boiled pumpkins. They were so sweet but sugar was not used .

At the end of our pilgrimage, we visited the cabbage field owned by a farming company in Nanporo Town, "Life" headed by the vice chair of Nanporo Town Council, Mr.Hidemasa Honma.

To be surprised, each participant was given two cabbages as present and experienced the harvest of cabbages, using small knives.

Nanporo Town is the most famous area producing cabbages in Hokkaido but aging population makes it difficult to continue to produce cabbages because the older the farmers, much more difficult to harvest heavy cabbages. "Cabbage fields in Nanporo Town may become the fields for raising broccoli that is easier to harvest for elders."said some farmers.

Forgetting the fact that every participant had paid 500 Yen for this foot path event, this surprising gift from the farm pleased every participant.

But the most surprising thing was that I met my alumnus of Kitami Hokuto High School, Mr.Naoyuki Kanahyou for the first time since we had graduated.
He is a famous artist carving stones and make sculptures.

His works and life style was described on the magazine "Slow Life" and I happened to read the magazine in a cafe in Teshikaga Town. After coming back from Italy, Mr.Kanahyou set his atelier and house in Kiyosato Town of eastern part of Hokkaido. I thought I had to plan to visit him and buy some of his works.
While harvesting cabbages, I recognized a person very similar to Mr.Kanahyou.

But as I thought he was in Kiyosato Town, I did not think he was Mr. Kanahyou. The more I gazing at the gentleman, the more I was convinced that he is Mr.Kanahyou. I asked the president of the NPO Mr. Hamada what was the name of the gentleman with kids. "He is Mr. Kanahyou who moved into Nanporo Town last year."  Before hearing all his comment, I rush to Mr. Kanahyou and he also recognized me as Ikeda. I will visit his house in the not-so-distanced future and drink beer. A tons of things to talk about 28 years since we graduated our high school.
"I had met Mr.Kanahyou in Italy many years ago and happened to meet him again in Hokkaido. So I invited him to live in Nanporo Town." said Mr.Hamada.
Thanks a lot, Mr.Hamada for giving me this occasion of reunion!