Yoichi was a town of fruits.

When I headed from Oshamambe to Sapporo on the Hakodate Main Line, vineyards spread out as I entered Niki Town. Once I entered Yoichi Town, they changed to apple orchards.

In Yoichi Town and Niki Town, strawberries are harvested in early June, and you can enjoy fruits for five months until the grape and apple harvests end in November. I looked into why fruit cultivation is thriving in Yoichi Town and Niki Town.

Yoichi Town, the number one apple producer in Hokkaido

How apple cultivation began in Yoichi Town

In the early Meiji era, former samurai of the Aizu Domain who were defeated in the Boshin War settled in Yoichi Town and began cultivation. They started growing apples from saplings ordered from the United States. They bore fruit for the first time in Japan.

Yoichi Town has the highest apple production in Hokkaido. As for pears, the "Senryo Pear," an oriental pear, is a variety original to Yoichi Town. The Senryo Pear is characterized by a crunchy texture like a Japanese pear and an elegant sweetness. It was born from a mutation of an individual introduced from China during the Meiji era.

For grapes, both edible varieties such as Delaware and Shine Muscat, as well as wine varieties, are cultivated. The cultivation of cherries, prunes, blueberries, and Western pears is also thriving.

Niki Town is thriving in grape production

Niki Town, which borders Yoichi Town to the south, also has thriving fruit cultivation. Niki Town was developed by people who gathered from Tokushima and Yamaguchi prefectures, led by Mr. Niki. In particular, it boasts the highest production volume of cherries, prunes, and grapes in Hokkaido.

It is also a wine-producing region.

It is also a famous wine-producing region in Hokkaido. Wine varieties such as Kerner, Niagara, and Siegerrebe are the main ones. There are wineries in Yoichi and Niki. For edible varieties, Portland and Campbell Early are the main ones.

Buying souvenirs at direct sales stores

There were direct sales stores at Yoichi Station and Roadside Station Yoichi. At the direct sales stores, processed products such as jams made from fruits harvested in Yoichi were lined up. This time, I bought haskap jam.

At the roadside station, apple pies were on sale. They were the common triangular type, and they were packed with chunks of apple. It was a pie that did not use cinnamon and made the most of the flavor of the ingredients.

Why is fruit cultivation thriving?

The climate is similar.

The conditions for growing delicious fruit are that three things are met: "there is a clear temperature difference between day and night, and between summer and winter," "there is little precipitation from spring to autumn, and long daylight hours," and "it is warm within Hokkaido."

In Yoichi, there are few places where buildings are densely packed, and it is less susceptible to the heat island phenomenon, so the temperature difference during the day is clear. Since there is no rainy season in Hokkaido, it is blessed with good weather from spring to autumn. Yoichi faces the Sea of Japan. Although there is half a year's worth of precipitation in winter due to seasonal winds, there are few days when the temperature drops below -10°C in the morning and evening due to the influence of the Tsushima Current.

It has walked the history of fruit cultivation along with its development.

Along with the development of the land, fruit saplings imported from the United States were test-grown. Fruits that could be cultivated in cold regions, such as apples, became established by the Meiji era. Fruit cultivation in Yoichi and Niki had already begun during the Meiji era.

This time, we focused on the fruits of Yoichi Town and Niki Town. Yoichi Town is located just west of Otaru City. From Otaru Station, you can take a train on the Hakodate Main Line bound for Kutchan and Oshamambe, arriving in Yoichi in about 25 minutes and Niki in about 30 minutes. Trains run about once an hour. If you are interested in the fruits of Yoichi and Niki, we recommend visiting them along with your sightseeing in Otaru.

Bonus: Nikka Whisky survived on apples when it was first founded

At the time of its founding, the company was named Dai Nippon Kaju Co., Ltd. The company name Nikka was derived from an abbreviation of Dai Nippon Kaju. The reason for including "Dai Nippon" was that it was a trend at the time to include "Dai Nippon" in company names, such as in the Empire of Japan.

Whisky base spirits had to be aged for five years. If they had just waited, the company would have gone bankrupt before they could sell any whisky. During the period before they could sell whisky as their main product, they managed the business by selling 100% fruit apple juice and apple wine as their primary products. Apple wine is still produced today and can be purchased.