(Updated July 25) We’re hosting “TANBO trip 2023—Taking Rice Fields into the Future: Learn About Rice! Use It! Eat It!”
Venue: Yonehyakubyo Place Miraie Nagaoka
Noriko Shirai (in charge of cooking) from the Prototyping Team and Junichi Shirai (in charge of planning) from the Tasting Team make up “Gohan Alliance,” a rice-cooking food unit run by this married couple.
In the first half, we’ll introduce the activities of the Rice Alliance, and in the second half, we’ll discuss how to cook delicious rice and how to handle rice.
Location: Miraie Nagaoka, 5th Floor Miraie Step
The Rice Alliance Talk Show
As a culinary expert specializing in rice, I am dedicated to sharing ways to enjoy rice with rice lovers everywhere through cooking classes, workshops, and contributing recipes to magazines. My books, *Noriko Shirai’s Exquisite! 101 Side Dishes for Rice* (NHK Publishing) and *A Cheerful Evening Drink: 65 Sake Snacks to Make Drinking at Home More Fun* (Yama-to-Keikoku-sha), are now on sale.
Nagaoka is the birthplace of the Koshihikari rice variety, and Dr. Toyokazu Hoshi (former Director of the Niigata Prefectural Agricultural Research Institute; currently Head of Rice Cultivation Technology at JA Echigo Chuetsu) will share the story of its development and widespread adoption.
Taste samples of three varieties—"Kamenoo," a Koshihikari variety dating back three generations; "Nourin No. 22," the maternal parent of Koshihikari; and "Nourin No. 1," the paternal parent—all of which are rare varieties today. (Capacity: 80 people)
Location: Miraie Nagaoka, 5th Floor Miraie Step
JA Echigo Chuetsu Presents: Lecture by Professor Toyokazu Hoshi
After retiring from his position as a Niigata Prefectural Government employee, he served as the Head of Rice Cultivation Technology at the Echigo-Nagaoka Agricultural Cooperative, providing technical guidance on rice cultivation. He also played a pivotal technical role in the “Eco 5-5” campaign—which promotes the cultivation of specially grown rice using reduced-yield farming methods (50% reduction)—and dedicated himself to promoting these cultivation practices.
He will talk about the evolution of rice varieties in Niigata Prefecture and the untold story behind the creation of Koshihikari.
Capacity: 10 participants (3rd grade and up) Duration: 1 hour Material fee: 500 yen
Location: Miraie Nagaoka, 5th Floor Hall 1
Niigata Prefecture Soy Sauce Cooperative: Soy Sauce Brewing Workshop
Advance registration required. Participation fee: 500 yen (cash only)
This event features stories about soy sauce—things you might think you know but actually don’t—and a hands-on experience making soy sauce using plastic bottles.
Once you've prepared the soy sauce, let it age at home for one year to complete the process.
Capacity: 10 people | Duration: 30 minutes | Free admission | Includes a tasting
*People under the age of 20 and those who drive are not eligible to apply.
Location: Miraie Nagaoka, 5th Floor Project Room within the Innovation Salon
Iwanohara Vineyard Wine Seminar
Advance registration required. Free admission.
This is a winery in Joetsu founded in 1890 (Meiji 23) by Zenbei Kawakami, known as the “father of Japanese wine grapes.”
Capacity: 10 people | Duration: 60 minutes | Free admission | Includes miso soup
Location: Miraie Nagaoka, 5th Floor Project Room within the Innovation Salon
Miso Seiroku Seminar
Advance registration required. Free admission.
"Miso Seiroku" in Settaya
It’s been 50 years since he started his miso shop. The owner, Masao Hoshino, is a former engineer who graduated from Tokyo Denki University.
We’ll hear from Mr. Hoshino—who says he’s a craftsman at heart but not very good at getting by in life—about the meticulously crafted miso he makes.
I’ll also have some miso soup made with specially selected miso.
Capacity: 10 participants (3rd grade and up) Duration: About 2 hours Participation fee: Free
Location: 29th, 5th Floor, Miraie Nagaoka In front of Studio AB
30th, 5th Floor, Miraie Nagaoka, Gallery Lab
Nagaoka University of Technology: Let's Compete with Motors We Built Ourselves!
Advance registration required. Free admission.
Motors built into household appliances and robots.
Let's experience firsthand how a motor works!
11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00 (60-minute sessions)
mLimited to the first 8 participants per session. Participation fee: 500 yen (cash only).
Location: Miraie, 5th Floor, Gallery Lab
You can enjoy rice grown by farmers participating in the COI-NEXT program.
They also have side dishes to go with rice, such as Hoshiroku-san’s miso-marinated items.
Miraie, 1st Floor, Passage West
There are also booths where you can enjoy alcoholic beverages. Drunk driving and underage drinking are prohibited by law. We cannot serve alcohol to guests arriving by car or other vehicle, or to minors (we may ask to see your ID to verify your age).
N Cycle
This is a project being carried out by Iwatsuka Confectionery, JA Echigo Chuetsu, Honen Agri, Neos, and the Nagaoka University of Technology. Here is an overview of the initiative.
Click here to visit the BioCommunity website
Miraie, 5th Floor, Studio AB (Food, Beverages, and Merchandise)
Eguchi Dango
A demonstration sale featuring skewered rice dumplings made with Koshihikari rice from Niigata Prefecture, served with warm “mitarashi sauce,” as well as,
"Setta-ya Ohagi" made with the rare "Satomiya Taisho Mochi" rice and "Yukikura Kurade Rice Nagaoka Sekihan" will also be on sale for these two days only!
*We accept cash only.
Click here for the Eguchi Dango website
SoooooS. (Susu) Company
"Smile & Hotokechi," a pancake mix made with simple ingredients , is now available in two varieties made with wheat flour and rice flour.
Get a free gift when you visit: additive-free retort curry for kids! ☆ (*While supplies last)
Click here to visit the SoooooS. Company website
Chitose Research Institute
We’re offering the world’s first mayonnaise made with microalgae—created with the goal of building a sustainable world through the use of microalgae—along with fresh vegetables harvested at ”Chitose Agri Base,” a major hub for circular agriculture in Japan located in the Yatsugatake region!
Click here for the Chitose Research Institute website
Najiratei
Sale of Simmered Offal, Carefully Selected by the Foodie Owner
The Delicious Flavors of Yamakoshi’s Kagura Nanban: Bagna Kagura Tasting and Sales
Click here to visit the Najiratei website
Hachikai Brewery
Tasting and sales of “Amasake Made Exclusively from Koji,” a healthy beverage with a crisp and refined flavor born from traditional sake-brewing techniques. We also offer koji beer and sake☆
*We accept cash only.
Click here to visit the Hakkai Brewery website
Cantina Giosset
Niigata—a region where agriculture, centered on rice, thrives and offers an abundance of local ingredients—is home to a winery aiming to produce regional wines using Italian grape varieties rarely found elsewhere in Japan. Wine tastings and bottle sales available.
*We accept cash only.
Click here to visit the Cantina Giosset website
5th Floor, Miraie (Events)
Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Sciences Food Quiz Rally (29th only)
The Faculty of Applied Life Sciences at Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Sciences trains food experts, not pharmaceutical experts.
The students studying food science are developing various products at the university.
Participants in the quiz rally will receive cookies or cake made with “Shirayuki Mochi Barley,” grown in Akiba Ward, where the university is located.
Please come visit us. (Quantities are limited. This offer ends when supplies run out.)
Location: Hall 2
Niigata Prefectural Agricultural Research Institute
We are displaying a soil cross-section from a rice paddy that is 1 meter deep. Let’s take a look at what kinds of weeds are growing in the paddy.
Location: Hall 2
Nagaoka University of Technology
Free admission; no advance registration required
Here is an introduction to the “SDGs Educational Game” created by SDGs promoters.
Location: In front of Studio AB on the 29th
30th, Hall 1
Important Notes
・Eating and drinking within Miraie is limited to Studio AB and Miraie Step. Additionally, beverages must be in containers with lids.
・ To prevent accidents and disruptions, please be sure to follow the instructions of the venue staff. Failure to do so may result in your being asked to leave.
・Please dispose of your trash in the trash cans at the event venue or take it home with you.
・For events that require advance registration, same-day participation is permitted only if there are openings.
[Photos by the Organizer]
・Photography and other recording activities by Nagaoka University of Technology and media outlets are scheduled to take place at the venue. Please be aware that these may be featured on the Nagaoka University of Technology website or in television broadcasts, newspapers, and other media outlets.
In collaboration with: RIKEN Plant-Microbe Symbiosis Research and Development Team, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Niigata Prefectural Agricultural Research Institute, Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kagoshima National College of Technology, Hakodate National College of Technology, Ishigaki, Iwanohara Vineyard, Iwatsuka Confectionery, Eguchi Dango, JA Echigo Chuetsu, SoooooS. Company, Chitose Research Institute, Docomo Business Solutions, Toprise, Nagaoka Chuo Seika, Najirate, Niigata Prefectural Soy Sauce Cooperative, Neos, Hakkai Brewing, BSN Niigata Broadcasting, Bourbon, Honen Agri, Hokuetsu Corporation, Hokkaido Industrial Technology Center, Miso Seiroku, Agri System, Nagabe Farm, Kato Farm, Sase Farm, Nakamura Agricultural Products, Hyakusho-kai, BD Corporation, Secretariat for the Science of Fermentation
Nagaoka University of Technology has been selected for the JST Co-creation Hub Formation Program, COI-NEXT, as a hub for a fully circular bio-community based on regional co-creation in Niigata, a major rice-producing region. Under the theme “From the Rice Fields to the Future,” the university is working in collaboration with participating and cooperating organizations to address regional challenges and realize a fully circular bio-community based on local resources.
Contact: Nagaoka University of Technology COI-NEXT Center Management Organization Tel: 0258-47-9269
Organized by: Nagaoka University of Technology Co-organized by: Nagaoka City