Photo/Illutration The rice ball package shows illustrations of Mount Fuji and a torch for the Yoshida Fire Festival. (Takuya Ikeda)

FUJI-YOSHIDA, Yamanashi Prefecture--Situated at the foot of majestic Mount Fuji, this popular city is being flooded with a growing number of non-Japanese tourists.

The landscape has recently drawn considerable attention on social media. Hordes of travelers from outside Japan are flocking to the street even on weekdays, taking photos of the magnificent mountain behind it.

Honcho Street is particularly famed for its stunning view of Japan's tallest peak, which can be glimpsed from the shopping zone.

However, while the view is pleasing to the eyes, tourists are often at a loss when it comes to satisfying their appetites.

High school students here asked foreign visitors where they wanted to have lunch and discovered that most had no specific destination in mind.

Coming up with the idea of developing a local specialty for lunch seekers, the students contacted a regional supermarket chain for help to work together on a recipe that could provide the solution. 

Cooperating with a nonprofit organization in Fuji-Yoshida, the seven high school students were looking for something that is not connected to Mount Fuji but is still unique to Fuji-Yoshida for leaving an impression on foreign sightseers’ minds.

They conducted a questionnaire survey earlier this year on more than 40 tourists from Europe, Taiwan and elsewhere in person.

The findings indicated respondents knew little about Fuji-Yoshida’s attractions other than Mount Fuji. Sightseers stayed in the city for a limited period of time, but failed to find places to enjoy lunch.

TWIST ADDED TO LOCAL 'UDON'

What was found helpful by the high schoolers was the Yoshida-style “udon” noodle. The local delicacy boasts a surprisingly high level of elasticity--a feature that makes it as famed as the “hoto” noodle dish among other specialties from Yamanashi Prefecture.

They sought a way to convert the noodle meal into a form that can be easily consumed while walking along the streets.

The students reached out to the Selva supermarket operator because its flagship store sits in Fuji-Yoshida. A project got under way in July in a quest to realize a new delicacy based on Yoshida udon.

A rice burger was test-created. A doughnut was considered to reproduce the noodle meal.

But they ended up deciding to rely on the onigiri style, as that kind of Japanese food is especially renowned.

Rice cooked with soup for udon was mixed with the “kinpira” vegetable and the crunchy “tenkasu” bits of deep-fried batter. A traditional spice there called “suridane” is added before shaping rice into balls.

To perfect a prototype, the amounts of suridane and water for rice were carefully adjusted.

On Oct. 16, the students unveiled their brainchild in front of Fuji-Yoshida Mayor Shigeru Horiuchi and other attendees at a presentation in the city.

Tokuma Sato, 18, a third-year student of Fuji Hokuryo High School, who is a member of the high school team, touted the onigiri as being “full of ingredients for Yoshida udon.”

The presentation received a good response from participants who praised the rice ball for being “tasty” and “really filling.”

SALES TARGET OF 1,000

Many of the students had previously been “unaware of how appealing our hometown is.” However, they currently know the “great power of Fuji-Yoshida” and the “formerly hidden attraction of this city.”

The rice ball product was made commercially available on Oct. 21.

“My hope is many visitors will find our offering satisfactory,” said Nanako Fujii, 17, a third-year student at Yoshida High School, who headed the group, with a smile. “Our goal is selling 1,000 rice balls.”

The onigiri carries a price tag of 195 yen ($1.30), including tax, at Selva outlets in Fuji-Yoshida.

Related News