Steps Toward A Potential Niseko Delicacy: Rankoshi’s Medicinal Plant Tasting Event

A tasting event promoting three medicinal plants grown in Rankoshi Town, a potential Niseko delicacy, was held on 3 September.

Run by Rankoshi Town and CMIC Group, a Tokyo-based CRO (Contract Research Organization) company, the event featured several local hotel and restaurant chefs who prepared dishes that used ginseng, hikiokoshi (Isodon japonicus H. Hara), and a special type of red perilla called Shimoadachi, all grown in the town.

More than 50 people attended the event, and guests sampled some of the cuisines while listening to the chefs’ explanations on how the dishes were prepared.

There were comments from the guests expressing their surprise at the pleasant taste of the dishes prepared with medicinal herbs, which are typically known for their bitterness and are not commonly used in cooking.

The mayor of Rankoshi Town, Hideyuki Kon, who also attended the event, said “I attended this meeting thinking that we’ve finally come this far with this project.”

In 2020, CMIC Group began cultivating medicinal plants in Rankoshi with the town’s support, not only for pharmaceutical use but also for consumption.

The cultivation included a special type of red perilla called Shimoadachi, which is exclusively grown in Rankoshi and have a lemon fragrance.

The event was one of the first initiatives of the project to promote and explore the usage of these medical herbs for cuisines.

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