Mitsumune Murata was met with scepticism when he decided to make use of a hot spring of his plot of land in the cold, snowy town of Teshikaga, Hokkaido, to grow mangoes, back in 2011. Now his fruit hits the market between November and March, making them a novel and popular purchase during the traditional oseibo gift-giving season in December.
Heat from hot water running through underground pipes keeps Murata's greenhouses at around 25 degrees during the day. Even at night when the outside temperature drops to minus 25, it remains a toasty 20 degrees inside. And thanks to the spa water, costs are much lower than using fuel-fed heaters, Murata said.
After establishing his company in September 2011, Murata consulted experienced mango farmers from Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, two of Japan’s main producers of the fruit. Two years later, in 2013, the farm harvested its first batch of mangoes under the brand name Gokkan Kanjuku Mango — Mashuko no Yuhi (roughly translated as Fully Ripened Mango from the Severe Cold — Sunset at Lake Mashu).
In Japan, mangoes are usually harvested from spring through summer, with growers in the southwestern prefectures of Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Okinawa produce 95 percent of the domestic crop, the agriculture ministry said. Therefore, Murata's winter mangoes are quite the novelty.
The farm expects to ship about 20,000 mangoes this season. “We aim to increase the shipment to 80,000 in three years,” Murata said.
Murata also shared a little secret — he had actually never eaten a mango before he conceived the idea of growing the fruit himself.
Source: japantimes.co.jp