The "Tekikaka Harvest Festival" was held on July 14th at the apple farm "Moriyamaen" in Hirosaki (Midorioka, Hirosaki City), and participants from neighboring residents and outside the prefecture gathered.

The “Tekikaka Harvest Festival” is the first event hosted by Moriyamaen for the purpose of interacting with the local community. Participants enjoyed a talk session and roasted meat while experiencing the agricultural work called culling and enjoying the cider and apple juice produced in the garden.

Moriyamaen has continued for over 100 years, and the current president, Toshihiko Moriyama, is the fourth generation. Large-scale apple farming in Japan, such as individual cultivation management with QR codes for identification of trees in 8.7 hectares of gardens, and development of an application specialized in fruit cultivation to use accumulated big data We are working on industrialization.

“We had an idea for the event for a long time, but due to the lack of crowds, we planned by accepting two internship students from Hirosaki University,” said Moriyama. Mr. Shoji Kamata, an intern student, said, “I was introduced by an intern and an acquaintance who can plan an event. Although there were many difficult things, it was rewarded for 3 months when I saw the participants enjoying it.” I look back.

Plucking is a process of picking many fruits that have been produced and selecting those that will grow into large pieces. The fruits that have been plucked are called plucked fruits. The garden sells "Tekikaka Cider" (330 ml = 615 yen), which uses thinned fruits, and the new product "Tekikaka Apple Soda" (330 ml = 486 yen) released on July 16 is the venue. Announced at.

Mr. Moriyama says, "By using astringent and sour picked fruits, they are characterized by a refreshing sourness, which makes them suitable for everyday meals." "I tried to eat an apple, which is the ingredient of French cider, and it was astringent. If I could make a delicious cider from an astringent apple, I thought it would be possible to make a fruit."

"We want to spread the fact that many apple farmers use the fruit that they throw away. We want to build it as a new apple industry," says Moriyama. "I've always wanted to do an event like a harvest festival. I am grateful to the internship students for dating me."

The products are sold not only at mass retailers and souvenir shops but also at Moriyamaen online shop.