Hokujo Dune

Hello HOKUEI Vol.6 Harvesting Delaware Grapes

Hello HOKUEI Vol. 6 Harvesting Delaware Grapes

The best time of the day to go for a stroll around the farm is at about 6:00 in the morning.
The view of beautiful Mount Daisen from Hokuei Town is best at this time of the day.
Today I came to the Hojo Sand Dunes to harvest Delaware grapes, which can boast a history of over 100 years of being grown in Hokuei!
Do you know the origin of the name Delaware, as used when describing the grapes called Delaware?
Well, in fact, the name comes from its place of origin! Delaware is a native grape to the State of Delaware, a State on the east coast of my home country, the United States of America.
Delaware grapes have been cultivated actively in Japan but, since the grapes are originally from Delaware State, their name is just Delaware in Japanese. As a linguist, I find this very interesting!
Today I visited the farm of Shigemitsu Okamoto in Kunisaka-Hama and got the opportunity to view row after row of beautiful Delaware grapes hanging from the vines in his greenhouses.
The view was stunning! One interesting thing that I noticed during my visit was the little white papers that hung over each cluster of grapes. Apparently, farmers in Japan put these little white papers over the fruits to protect them from birds and heavy rain.
It must be very labor-intensive work, but it shows the love and dedication farmers here have for producing high-quality produce.
Another aspect that surprised me was that the farmers knew which grapes to harvest not by looking at the grapes themselves but by looking at the color of the vines the grapes hung from!
I still do not totally understand how they select ripen grapes by looking at just the vine but am impressed by their techniques.
The Delaware grapes of the Hojo Sand Dune is very big, round, sweet and tasty!
Usually, I each them one by one, but discovered during my adventure to Mr. Okamoto's farm that if you eat a big bunch of grapes all at once (as if biting into an apple) the taste is magnified and so is the enjoyment! (LOL!)
Lastly, while I usually eat the skin of grapes (that’s just how we do it back home), it is not commonly practiced here in Japan.
Yet, regardless, I still like to eat the grape skin! It has its own delicious flavor.

（和訳）
Hello HOKUEI vol.6 Harvesting Delaware Grapes
朝６時、農場の外を散策するのに最適な時間です。いつものように北栄町から見る大山の眺めはいつも素敵です。今日は100年以上の歴史を誇る北条砂丘ぶどうのデラウェアの収穫にやってきました。
みなさんは、”デラウェア”という名前の由来を知っていますか？実は”デラウェア”はアメリカのデラウェア州が原産のぶどうで、日本で品種改良されて盛んに栽培されるようになりました。それで”デラウェア”という名前が付いたんです。
この日収穫をした岡本重光さん（国坂浜）のビニールハウスには、たくさんのブドウが実っていて、それはとてもすばらしい眺めでした。とても興味を引いたのは、ぶどうの房ひとつずつに白い紙が被さっていることです。これは鳥と雨から果実を守るためにかけられています。とても手間のかかる作業ですが、農家のブドウへの愛情が伝わってきます。
　ぶどうの収穫は枝の色を見ながら収穫します。ただ僕には説明を聞いただけで収穫の判断がよくわかりませんでした。
　北条砂丘のデラウェアはとても粒が大きくて、甘く、とてもおいしいです。ふつう、一粒ずつ手で取って食べますが、房ごとかぶりついて（ハーモニカ喰い）食べるとサイコー！美味しすぎて皮ごと食べてしまいました（笑）