IKEDA, Hokkaido -- Climbing a small hill overlooking the Tokachi Plain, I could see straight rows of grape trees. The landscape was beautiful -- it looked like someone had drawn lines with a green marker. I was visiting an about 17-hectare vineyard in the town of Ikeda, Hokkaido, the production center for one of the nation's major wines.
"These grapes and our wines came to us as a result of the town's history of suffering," said Tatsuya Ichinohe, a 30-year-old town official who served as my guide.
Ikeda was hit by an earthquake in 1952 and cold weather the following year that caused poor crops. In 1956, the town was designated as a body requiring fiscal reconstruction under the central government's supervision. Four years later, then Mayor Kaneyasu Marutani focused on a plant called crimson glory vine growing in the mountains as a way to free his town from its plight.
Marutani, who died in 2014, thought it might be possible to grow grapes and brew wine in the town, as crimson glory vine bears fruit even in harsh winters when the temperature falls to minus 30 C. Despite opposition, the mayor took on the challenge of growing grapes.
In 1963, Ikeda became the first municipality to obtain a license to produce wine on a trial basis, but only produced 1 kiloliter from crimson glory vine growing wild. To increase production, it was necessary to develop varieties of crimson glory vine that were suitable for cold regions.
Grapevines are said to mutate at a rate of 1 in 1,000, and the town took advantage of this characteristic, selecting those that survived winter from among 20,000 trees of 118 varieties. Ten years after Marutani embarked on his challenge, the town successfully developed its own variety called Kiyomi.
Over the following three decades, Ikeda cross-fertilized crimson glory vine that was resistant to cold with varieties for wine brewing. More than 21,000 varieties were used for the breeding, through which the town also developed Kiyomai and Yamasachi, both of which are hybrids between crimson glory vine and Kiyomi.
Wine-making has grown into a major industry for this town with its population of about 7,000. Last fiscal year, Ikeda sold about 570 kiloliters of wine produced from about 360 tons of grapes.
When I visited the vineyard, staff were removing the branches and leaves of the trees to better expose the grapes to sunlight.
"They absorb light during the day to make sugar and condense it at night when the temperature falls," Ichinohe said. "Differences in temperature between the day and night are key."
A wine festival held in October at the peak of the harvest season attracts about 5,000 visitors every year, who can enjoy all-you-can-drink wine.
Ichinohe drove me to a place about 10 minutes away from the farm where I saw a building that looked like an old castle from medieval Europe. This is the town's grape and wine research institute, a winery that produces and sells Tokachi wine. Built in 1974, it is the nation's first facility of this kind to be established by a municipality. It is commonly called Ikeda Wine Castle.
"My title is head salesman of this castle," Ichinohe said. Here visitors can enjoy steaks of Ikeda beef, another local specialty, at a restaurant, and cakes made with wine and other special products are also on the shelves. About 220,000 people visit the winery every year.
I tasted wine brewed from three varieties of grapes in the castle. Kiyomi had a refreshing sourness, there was a subtle edge to Kiyomai's sour flavor and Yamasachi was more full bodied. After learning how a small Hokkaido town came all the way to producing wine today, I was able to appreciate even more how these products pleased my palate.
Tribute to popular band
Ikeda is also the birthplace of Miwa Yoshida, the vocalist of the popular band Dreams Come True. Ikeda Wine Castle has a hall dedicated to the band, named DCTgarden Ikeda, where costumes she wore during live performances are among the items on display. Also exhibited are photographs of local scenery that has been mentioned in the lyrics of the band's best songs.
Local favorite
A restaurant near JR Ikeda Station has been offering a famous treat for more than a century: banana-flavored manju buns.
According to 54-year-old Hiroyuki Yonekura, the fourth-generation owner of the Yonekura restaurant, the banana manju dates back to 1905. That was the year his great-grandfather Saburo began selling the treat at the station, wanting to help many people enjoy the flavor of the fruit, which was expensive at the time.
Saburo sold bento boxed meals on the station's platforms. Now the product is considered a local specialty.
The manju include a banana flavoring agent in the buns with white bean paste inside. The banana-shaped treat has a simple flavor that makes you feel a bit nostalgic. A pack of eight goes for 620 yen before tax, while a pack of 16 goes for 1,240 yen.
Access
It takes about 1-1/2 hours from Haneda Airport to Obihiro Airport, from which it takes about 40 minutes by bus to JR Obihiro Station. From there, a limited express service takes you to Ikeda Station in about 20 minutes. By car, it is an about 50-minute drive from Obihiro Airport to Ikeda Wine Castle.
For information, call the Ikeda Town Tourist Association at (015) 572-2286.
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