Japanese vegetables are renowned worldwide for their freshness, quality and nutrients kept intact, and Awaji Island stands out as a prime producer of these fine crops. Blessed with a mild climate, abundant sunshine, and fertile soil enriched with minerals from the sea, Awaji Island yields some of the finest vegetables and fruits in Japan. In this article, we will explain the unique characteristics of vegetables from Awaji Island and highlight where you can find them at local stores.
Table of Contents
Awaji Island: The Deliciousness of Japanese Vegetables
Awaji Island enjoys a Seto Inland Sea climate, with an average temperature of 16 degrees Celsius and stable weather and humidity throughout the year. As a result, vegetables from Awaji Island are, as mentioned earlier, renowned for their exquisite flavor, owing to the island’s blessings of a mild climate, ample sunshine, and fertile soil enriched with minerals from the sea. Known for their sweetness and delicious taste, Japanese vegetables are packed with nutrients when cooked properly.
They are also esteemed for the meticulous care taken in their planting and harvesting processes. Farmers on the island adhere to traditional cultivation methods, ensuring optimal growing conditions and preserving the natural integrity of the produce. These factors culminate in Awaji Island producing some of the finest Japanese vegetables available.
Among the most popular Japanese vegetables from Awaji Island are its onions, celebrated for their delightful sweetness and tender texture. In fact, these onions are approximately 1.4 times sweeter than your average variety. Characterized by their tender texture and elevated moisture content, Awaji Island onions can be enjoyed raw, making them a perfect addition to salads and other dishes without the need for cooking.
3 Stores to Find Delicious Japanese Vegetables on Awaji Island
1. Nojima Scuola
Our first recommendation for Japanese vegetables shopping on Awaji Island is Nojima Scuola. Nojima Scuola is a multifaceted facility featuring a market, restaurant, café and zoo. The market known as “Nojima Marché”, offers freshly picked vegetables sourced directly from local farmers each morning, alongside many other regional agricultural products and specialties.
In addition to famous onions and lettuce, the second well-known vegetable, the market stocks a variety of seasonal vegetables such as broccoli, pumpkins, eggplants, and greens. For further details, including operating hours, please check the official website of Nojima Scuola.
| Name | Nojima Marché |
|---|---|
| Address | 843 Nojimahikinoura, Awaji City, Hyogo Pref. 656-1721 |
| TEL | 0799-82-1820 |
| Official Web Site | https://nojima-scuola.com/marche/ |
| Reservations | Not accepted |
| Operation Hours | [Weekdays] 10:30 a.m.~7:00 p.m. [Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays] 10:00 a.m.~7:00 p.m. |
| Closed | Wednesdays |
2. Craft Circus
The second highly recommended location on Awaji Island is Craft Circus. Located by the seaside, Craft Circus is a vibrant market and restaurant complex. Within Craft Circus, you will find “Craft Marché”, a farmer’s market offering vegetables freshly picked in the morning directly from local farmers. Craft Marché specializes in seasonal produce such as asparagus, green peppers, Naruto kintoki sweet potatoes, and tomatoes.
You can also find “Kakushidama”, a unique variety of onions meticulously cultivated by Imai Farm for over 30 years. With a sugar content ranging from 10 to 13, its sweetness rivals that of fruits. This esteemed specialty is a proud representation of Awaji Island.
Another delightful kind of onions is called “fruit onion” with the same level of sweetness as pears and mandarin oranges. They are juicy and full of vitamins and amino acid, being cultivated with organic fertilizers.
| Location | CRAFT CIRCUS |
|---|---|
| Address | 2-2 Nojima-Hirabayashi, Awaji City, Hyogo Pref. 656-1724 |
| Access | 15 minutes by car from Awaji IC on Awaji-Kobe-Naruto Expressway. 10 minutes by car from Iwaya Port (Jenova Line Ferry). |
| Parking | 80 spaces |
| Business Hours | Weekdays: 10:30-20:30 (last order 19:30) Weekends/Holidays: 9:30-20:30 (last order 19:30) |
| Closed | Thursdays (excluding national holidays) |
| Tel | 0799-82-1855 |
| Website | https://awajicraftcircus.com/ |
| Reservations | https://www.tablecheck.com/en/shops/craftcircus/reserve |
Click here for details of CRAFT CIRCUS
3. Farmer’s Restaurant Haru San San
The third recommended destination on Awaji Island is Haru San San, a farmer’s restaurant dedicated to showcasing the finest Japanese vegetables. Here, they operate a farmer’s market selling produce grown on their farms, prioritizing safety, taste, and nutritional value. These farms are those which have no farmers to tend to or abandoned.
The vegetables are meticulously tended to by human hands, imbuing them with individuality and flavor that surpasses mere scientific nutrients. Farming is sustainable by fermenting roots and other non-sellable parts of vegetables as well as left overs from a cooking process and use them as fertilizers.
Seasonal offerings like cabbage, corn, radish, Chinese cabbage, and carrots are readily available at the market.
At Farmer’s Restaurant Haru San San, guests are treated to delicious dishes crafted to improve the natural flavors of Awaji Island’s locally grown vegetables. Chef Nobuaki Fushiki, specializing in fermented cuisine, collaborates with Chef Masayuki Okuda, one of the “World’s Top 1000 Chefs”, to create innovative dishes using Japanese vegetables.
Read this article if you are interested in our experience eating lunch at Haru San San.
| Name | Farmer’s Restaurant – Haru San San |
|---|---|
| Address | 1510-4 Nojima-tokiwa Aza Genpachi, Awaji City, Hyogo Pref. 656-1726 |
| Tel | 0799-70-9082 |
| Operation Hours | 11:00-18:00（L.O.17:00） |
| Closed | Wednesdays |
| Website | https://www.awaji-nlr.com/harusansan |
| Reservations | https://www.tablecheck.com/en/shops/noukarestaurant-haru-sansan/reserve |
Click here for details of Haru San San
Awaji Island is renowned for cultivating some of the highest quality Japanese vegetables available. Whether you’re looking to purchase this fresh produce directly or dine at a restaurant showcasing the best of Japanese vegetables, Awaji Island is the place to be.
