Loss of Appetite in Summer and Gastrointestinal Care: Dietary Therapy with Bayberries and Acupuncture [Kobe]

When hot days continue, don't you find yourself losing your appetite or feeling sluggish?

In such times, rather than forcing yourself to eat nutrient-rich meals or engage in intense exercise, I recommend starting with “ dietary therapy incorporating seasonal ingredients” first.

This time, I will share the charm of
“bayberries (yamamomo)”
which are in season from June to July, through a bayberry harvesting experience held in the Aina area of Kita-ku, Kobe.

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《Are bayberries a “phantom fruit”? The reason why》
Have you ever seen “bayberries” at a supermarket or similar place?
It seems they are very rarely sold at roadside stations, but I had never actually seen them for sale anywhere.

The reason is that
“once picked from the tree, they spoil if not eaten immediately.”

Also,
while these “bayberries” can be harvested from June to July, the “true best harvest time” is said to be only one week.

I had no idea “bayberries” were such a precious item!!
When I was a child, I would climb trees in the summer to pick the fruit, and just by climbing the tree, a large amount of ripe fruit would fall off in clumps...
I often used to eat the dark red, ripe fruit I had gathered in such large quantities on my way home (laughs).

It feels so nostalgic♡
I recently visited the Aina area in Kita-ku, Kobe, to participate in the harvest of these “bayberries.”
Kobe City still has so much nature left like this.
Aina Satoyama Park is one of my favorite places where I can feel so much of that nature.

《Harvesting experience in the Aina area and stories from the storyteller》
It seems that the bayberry trees are not just old trees that have grown large as they are, but are grown by grafting varieties that produce large, delicious fruit or varieties that produce a lot of fruit.

Also, there are male trees and female trees, and since pollen is carried by “the wind” rather than by insects, if there is one male tree, it can reach female trees quite far away, allowing the female trees to bear plenty of fruit.

Therefore, in places where there are many male trees, they intentionally “graft female branches onto the male trees” so that they will bear a lot of fruit.

So, here is a question🙋‍♀️
Q. After grafting a female branch onto a male tree, what happens to this male tree?

① The male tree remains the main part, and only the grafted branch grows as a female tree.

② It starts as a male tree, but only changes into a female tree when the grafted female branch becomes larger than the male tree.

③ The male tree with the female branch grafted onto it changes entirely into a female tree.

Well then, the answer is!!

It is actually “③.”

Wow! I was so surprised!
The power of the female in the natural world is truly fearsome.
They are really strong!!

In this way, the bayberries in the Aina area are repeatedly grafted with strong, excellent varieties and branches from trees that produce delicious fruit, allowing you to encounter a wide variety of bayberry trees, such as
trees that produce large fruit,
trees that produce slightly tart fruit,
and trees that produce small but numerous fruit
and so on.

The refreshing and slightly sweet scent is also wonderful, and you can enjoy the differences in the taste of the fruit from each bayberry tree, fully feeling the blessings of nature just as they are.

《Enjoying the harvest work together》
Well then, with Aina's traditional bamboo baskets for picking bayberries, special stepladders, and safety gear equipped, let's go!

He was a truly cool grandpa with amazing agility, muscular, and energetic above all else.
I was surprised by that too (laughs).
I truly thought to myself that I want to age healthily like this.

This bamboo harvest basket was very old, but it was built quite sturdily.
It is surprising, but it seems it doesn't break easily at all.

Also, the lovely square bamboo basket with a lid used for holding the fruit after picking was shiny and magnificent.
By the way, it seems they line that magnificent basket with bracken or fern leaves to hold the bayberries when giving them away or storing them.
I looked into why they line them with those leaves later, and...

・Fern leaves have been used in rituals as a way to "ward off evil" and for their "purifying properties"
・They contain phytoncides (volatile substances released by plants) which act as insect repellents and preservatives

The wisdom of people in the past is truly wonderful!

And the craftsmen of old tools were so skilled at handcrafting things from nature, making items that were easy to use, magnificent, and fit perfectly into people's lives.
I was able to feel the good old days here as well.

It seems the harvest basket is used by hanging it from a tree or around the neck so that both hands are free.
I was able to see a demonstration of that,
and I was actually allowed to touch it as well.

We all had fun harvesting the bayberries, looking for the big, dark red, ripe fruits to eat, and they were so delicious!!
Plus, we even got some to take home as a gift!
It was truly a very satisfying day♡

《Enjoying seasonal flavors by making bayberry syrup and jam》
As soon as I got home, I made syrup and jam with the bayberries I received.
I brought home a recipe for a 1:1 ratio of fruit to sugar, but when I asked a veteran housewife how to make it,
she said a 3:1 ratio of fruit to sugar is delicious.

As soon as I got home, I washed the bayberries, drained them, put the fruit in a large pot, and dumped the sugar on top!
I put it on the heat, let it simmer for about 20 minutes, and let it sit in the residual heat, and it was done!

Then I separated the fruit from the syrup and made jam from the fruit.
It took quite a long time to remove the seeds one by one, but the jam was finished too!

It is incredibly delicious!
While people often add lemon to things like strawberries, bayberries have a natural acidity, so they are very refreshing and delicious just as they are♪
It's the best when mixed with carbonated water♪

Don't you become curious about what kind of effects and benefits such beautiful and delicious bayberries have?
I would also like to write in detail about 'bayberries' for summer dietary therapy.
Publication Date: July 23, 2025
Acupuncturist: Miyuki Wada

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Access & Location
un Hasami to Okyu to Tokidoki Ohari [un]
658-0047
1F The City Mikage, 1-22-9 Mikage, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Hyogo
・About a 10-minute walk from Hankyu Mikage Station
　(Head down towards the sea and go west along the Yamate-Kansen road)
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