Blog
Notes from Ichinomiya
Retreats, farm days and life in the Chiba countryside, one hour from Tokyo.
Retreats
Why a whole weekend without your phone
An hour without your phone is excellent. A day is incredible. A whole weekend in the Chiba countryside is something else. Here is what the retreats are about.
Farm visits
Lunch at Ayako san's farmhouse
A morning in the fields with Ayako san, then lunch at her renovated kominka. What a farm visit day in Ichinomiya looks like, from planting to the table.
Farm visits
The Daizu Club: a year with one soybean
Plant soybeans in July, harvest in November, make tofu, natto and miso through the winter. How the Daizu Club with Minamoto Farms runs, month by month.
Countryside life
Tsurigasaki beach and Tamasaki Jinja
Ichinomiya hosted the Olympic surfing in 2021 and has a shrine with written records going back to 868. The beach and the shrine are closer than you think.
Countryside life
Winter on the farm: mochi, shimenawa and daikon
Winter is the quiet season in the fields and the busy season in the kitchen. Pounding mochi, weaving rice straw and drying daikon in the Chiba countryside.