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| Nippori Farmer's Market aerial view |
This past Sunday took us down into an
old heart of Tokyo, near Yanaka and its magnificent gardens to visit
a new farmer's market. It's an area where we often take guests
because it feels old (it is) that results in a certain charm that can't
be found anywhere else. Old wooden houses dot narrow lanes near
some of the loveliest temples and shrines I've visited yet (including
those in Kyoto, Nara, and Nikko.) So, despite chilly weather that
threatened rain we sallied forth with umbrellas and waterproof
shopping bags to see what we could find.
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| Onaya-san's scrumptious manju |
The Nippori Farmer's Market is what I would call
“off-the-grid.” It's not part of the larger Marche Japon gig or
the all-organic Earth Day Markets series, but rather is the
brainchild of the owner of a nearby mansion (condominium) owner who
wanted to “do something nice” with the plaza space in front of
the high rises. Given Nippori's historic feel and past controversies regarding the Fuji Viewing Street, it makes sense that he'd want to
try to balance out his very modern high rises.
Based on my first visit I'd say this
effort is a successful one. The Nippori Farmer's Market is small –
about 30 to 40 vendors – but very pleasant with a remarkably good
selection of items. Fresh vegetables, rice, cheese, seedlings, baked
goods, fruit, and prepared foods to be eaten on the spot as well as
those for snacking were all on hand. (I recommend without reservation
Tatsuko Onaya's homemade manju and Ringo no Hana's steaming bowls of
hearty tonjirou. We sat down
for much-needed breaks at their respective tents to enjoy our food
and take in the atmosphere of the market.) Vendors from Hokkaido,
Niigata, Gunma, Aomori, and Aizu Wakamatu sported everything from
potatoes to fish to apple vinegar to cabbage to nanohana to dried
natto and bath salts.
This month's special feature, too, was
a booth sponsored by EAC, a division of Asahi Industries (not the
beer) where visitors could bring samples of items they wanted tested
for radioactive cesium. Folks brought everything from soil to water to bread to
rice to homegrown vegetables for testing. Interestingly enough, food
items tested relatively low amounts while some soil samples came in with higher numbers. (I'll be doing a longer piece on this later, by
the way.) One customer tested the shoes he'd worn that day to find
nothing could be detected. (To be fair, the machine used that day
couldn't detect anything below 10 becquerels.)
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| Sase-san from Aizu Wakamatsu |
Certainly, the personal tour given me
by Atsuko, the market manager, set the stage for a great visit, but
in the end as always, it is the vendors that make the experience. To
a person they were warm and welcoming, nearly all had samples and
were ready to talk about their wares more in-depth. The atmosphere
they created reminded me why small markets are sometimes preferable to large ones. The opportunity to talk with vendors is better since I
don't feel like I'm taking up too much time or space, and there's
more opportunity to peruse the market itself. The overall selection might be
smaller – only one person selling strawberries, for example – but
I don't really mind. It is sometimes nice to have only a few good
things to choose from rather than having to search out the best of
ten.
Started a little less than two years
ago, the Nippori Farmer's Market has a homespun quality that is a
delight to find in a big city. Vendor's chatted with each other as
well as customer's, and even danced a bit at their stalls when the
musical performances started. The presence of growers and producers
from Aizu Wakamatsu, Miyagi, and Ibaraki mean, too, it's a good
chance to support Tohoku as the region continues to rebuild and
reimagine itself. Held monthly on both Saturday and Sunday visitors
are sure to find plenty of good things to eat and explore. I know
I'll be back.
Saturday, April 14 and Sunday, April 15
10am to 5pm
Directions: Head out the East exit of the Nippori Station and look for the cluster of green awnings in the plaza. Or listen for the sound of taiko drums!
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