【Restaurant FoodCamp 2022】Oden and Southeast Asian Fusion Cuisine at Ooshimaya Konnyakuten

The Hairdresser

Shirakawa City developed as the gateway into the Tohoku region, with the ancient Shirakawa Barrier on the road north. The old castle town is still visible, as it was developed by feudal lord Matsudaira Sadanobu.

Born here, as the second daughter of three sisters, as the 8th generation owner of the Ooshimaya Konnyakuten, is Kazue. During her time in high school, her mother passed away, after which her father raised her and her sisters with enough love for two.

Although a konjac shop seems a bit old-fashioned, she always had a feeling that she might be the one to take over the family business. After moving to Tokyo and becoming a hairdresser, she met a striking, hat-and-glasses wairing man called Yusuke, whom she fell for. Sometime after, the topic of marriage came up. Kazue’s sisters were already working steady jobs, and when she brought up the family business, Yusuke replied rather casually: “I wouldn’t mind marrying into the family and taking your family name.” And so, the two moved to Shirakawa and became the 8th generation owners of the Oshimaya Konnyakuten.

The Actor

Yusuke hails from the city of Osaka, in the Kansai region. When he first moved to Shirakawa, he tried to suppress his original Kansai dialect. He did so because whenever he joined local festivals, as soon as people learned about his origins, they would tell him: “You wouldn’t understand our culture.” He feels that, as friendly and nice as the people of Shirakawa are, there is also a bit of exclusivity, perhaps due to the history of the city.

Before starting his life as the owner of a konjac producer, he was a stage actor in Tokyo. Ironically, he has been in the spotlights and media more since coming to Shirakawa. He largely feels happy about making the change to producing konjac. Although konjac seldomly takes the center spot on the table, or on the store shelves, the quality is undeniable, and real, easy-to-take-flavor konjac is an important part of Japanese cuisine. “That’s what I love about konjac. It’s delicious, interesting, and just really cool. I want to keep producing konjac, so more people get to know it.” Looking into his eyes as he speaks, you can feel that his softspokenness hides a strong conviction.

A ‘positive disconnect’

Although Ooshiyama can claim over 200 years of history, only until recently their products could only be found on supermarket shelves. Despite the fact that Ooshimaya’s konjac is high-quality and artisanal, in supermarkets it was lined up with run-of-the-mill, mass-produced konjac. This made the Yoshijima’s think: “Are we OK with this?” After the disaster of March 11th in 2011, there was a large business event in which local businesses from the six prefectures of Northeast Japan could take part for free. They decided to bring their konjac and tokoroten (a Japanese jelly-like dish) for potential buyers to try out. The reaction from buyers from high-end department stores was a mixed bag: “The product is good, but the packaging is boring. Also, the sauce is just from the supermarket. We can’t sell it at department stores like this.” This taught them the lesson that quality alone does not let you sell a product at a premium.

The couple also wanted to make a change with regard to the konjac itself. Up until then, the company had always used konjac potatoes from Gunma Prefectures. But the new owners decided they wanted to stick to regional ingredients. It was around this time that they learned about konjac-farmer Keijin Katano and his activities in Yamatsuri Town, in the local paper (read below). There is a big difference between using konjac powder and raw konjac potato, both in terms of taste and use. When using raw konjac potato, you get all the benefits of ample dietary fiber. Kind of like the difference between white rice and brown rice. This difference drove them to get in contact with Katano.

Using Katano’s konjac potatoes, they started developing new products and made the decision to their products off the supermarket shelves. They renewed all their packaging and started marketing to department stores, farm-fresh shops, delicacy shops, and setting up stands at events, aiming at customers looking for high-end, premium products. This strategy worked out great until COVID-19 reared its head, and events were canceled. They had fewer and fewer opportunities to sell their products. Looking back, they felt a sort of disconnect; even though they had the company’s hometown, they were only selling to faraway places. Yusuke calls this ‘a positive disconnect.’

“Why don’t we open up a restaurant?”

Somehow, this idea came up. And it took shape as oden-restaurant ‘Oden-ya Kami-To-Serifu.’ They had no prior professional culinary experience, or experience running a restaurant.  Nonetheless, the two were convinced of their plans: “Even more than having people enjoy our food, we want people to come to enjoy our company. We want them to come and enjoy our place. In the end, it’s oden made by ‘amateurs.'” This innovative philosophy, with a hint of nostalgia, may just be what’s going to support the oden-restaurant in this old, classic townhouse.

Chef Serizawa, head chef of Magonote Travel’s own company restaurant ‘VegeCafeBar BestTable,’ has taken on many a challenge, working with various producers and a plethora of local specialty ingredient. He knows his way not just around ingredients, but spices as well.

Only last year, he joined FoodCamp for its edition at soy sauce and miso producer ‘Neda Shoyu’ (also in Shirakawa City), providing a course meal centered around the soy sauce and miso made there in 200-year old barrels. Of course, miso and soy sauce can’t quite serve as main dishes, but Chef Serizawa succeeded in expressing the producer’s philosophies and atmosphere, as well as its  history and culture through his course meal. But even though there is obviously a philosophy behing Chef Serizawa’s culinary style and presentation, he would be the last person to brag about it.

This time around, the theme – and the chef’s objective – is  konjac. During the interview for this article, as well as the FoodCamp pre-meeting with the producers, the chef proved to be a man of few words. He gave his full attention to the Yoshijima’s, and the various ways of producing and using konjac. But what Chef Serizawa has in mind for this collaboration remains a mystery. To others, but probably to himself as well. But every time, he manages to convince, surprise and satisfy his guests in the end, proving that Chef Serizawa is a true, born cook.

Oden and FoodCamp

Late fall Shirakawa gets quite cold at night. What’s better for the cold season than a hot bowl of oden? One with konjac made from the konjac-potatoes of Katano-san’s farm in Yamatsuri Town.

Restaurant FoodCamp was started for the season in which it gets too cold for FoodCamp usual outdoor dining. The last two years it was organized ‘at home’ at BestTable. This year, Restaurant FoodCamp will take the leap to Shirakawa. First up: Katano-san’s farm in Yamatsuri Town for a harvesting- and cooking class, and a chance to get to know the farmers and the area. Next, the Yoshijima’s of Ooshimaya Konnyakuten will take over the torch, where you can get to know the real taste of konjac. They will tell you all about their activities, views and the difficulties they have had to overcome, just like any other outdoor  edition of FoodCamp. The Yoshijima’s will be in charge of providing their delicious oden, while Chef Serizawa will provide the rest of the FoodCamp experience.

“It’s simple: I want people enjoy a lot of delicious food”

Whenever we ask Chhef Serizawa about his thoughts towards the upcoming edition of FoodCamp, the answer always pretty much the same: “I won’t know exactly what the menu will be until the day itself. As long as the guests can enjoy good food and be happy, it’s all good.”

Chef Serizawa seems a little bit embarrassed to stand in the still shiny, newly-renovated kitchen. It even seems a bit small for two men to stand in together, but the combination of Chef Serizawa and Yusuke Yoshijima instantly seems like a good fit.  They both have a soft and gentle vibe around them. We are sure that this edition of FoodCamp will provide an evening with the sound of laughter spilling out from the restaurant on the old Shirakawa street corner.

The southern-most town of Fukushima Pref., Yamatsuri Town: once known as ‘Konjac Town’

The town of Yamatsuri lies on the border with Ibaraki Prefecture, on the southernmost tip of Fukushima. The Kuji River, known for ayu (sweetfish)-fishing, flows through the town center, as well as the JR Suigun Line and National Rt. 118 running along it.

Once, the town was such a big producer of konjac-potatoes, it was the town’s major crop, so much so that Yamatsuri was often called ‘Konjac Town.’

At one time, Yamatsuri was home to around 1800 households, about 25% of which produced konjac potatoes. This led to konjac farme even establishing a ‘konjac shrine.’ The biggest buyers of konjac-potatoes are business Ooshimaya Konnyakuten which turn them into processed konjac products. However, as times changed, many of them started using the more easily processable konjac-powder. Meanwhile, the consumption of konjac itself declined as well, leading to an overall decline of konjac-potato farmers.

“I don’t want this regional food culture to be lost”

The Katano-family has lived in this area since ages past. As the first son of this farming family, he was born and raised in Yamatsuri, and worked as an official of the local town hall until retirement. In this area it is quite common for people to farm produce such as rice and vegetables for their own consumption on the weekends, while also working a regular day job. Another part of life in Yamatsuri is heading into the forests and collecting wild vegetables, mushrooms, chestnuts, etc. depending on the season. In late fall, when it starts getting frosty, it is time for the konjac-potato harvest.

Home-made konjac from large konjac potatoes freshly harvested off the farm is absolutely delicious. Every household prepares them differently, giving them different textures, which makes it all the more interesting as an ingredient. Katano is very aware how different his products are from the konjac one finds in the supermarket. “I just don’t want this local food culture to get lost.” Although Gunma Prefecture is known as the largest producer of konjac, Yamatsuri has its own native variety. This type of konjac-potato used to be produced widely, but it proved susceptible to crop diseases, and offered relatively low crop yields, making it difficult for farmers to rely on, and slowly dwindle. But recently, there have been more and more people voicing their concern about these developments.

Katano’s ‘Yamatsuri Town, 1-Are of Konjac Per Person Project’

After retirement, Katano started the ‘Yamatsuri Town, 1-Are of Konjac Per Person Project’. It’s a very unique project that speaks to Katano’s character. He started distributing native variety konjac potatoes to his friends and acquaintances on board with his ideas, under the slogan ‘1-are (approx. 100m2) of konjac per person.’  He got 18 people together and started growing the crops. The ideal conditions for konjac potatoes are good sun exposure (being in the sun for about half a day), and soil with sufficient water drainage. Yamatsuri’s slightly mountainous geography turned out to be a perfect fit. As it takes 3 to 4 years for the first konjac potatoes to be fit for harvest, it is a kind of crop that requires some patience. What drove Katano to take on this challenge?

Katano’s eyes narrow from a big smile. “Lately, my grandkids  have been telling me they love konjac, and that their grandpa’s konjac is the best.” Katano’s wife brings over the lunch she has provided, with the humble comment “Just some veggies we had lying around.”

Okra and eggplant from their own vegetable garden, fried pumpkin, green beans in sesame sauce, and of course homemade konjac. The soft, gentle konjac, enjoyed with soy sauce with grated ginger is an absolute delight, and available in plenty!

“This is how we live. We eat whatever we produce ourselves. It’s all the more fun when you do everything yourself.” Concerning the upcoming FoodCamp, he comments, “I hope people will get to know the true taste of konjac, as well as this region’s features and its culture.”

At FoodCamp, we’ve taken on the heavy responsibility of conveying this strong message from Yamatsuri Town, the southernmost of Fukushima’s 58 municipalities. Here’s to hoping we can help realize their dream.