To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Tsutomu Fukuda smiles behind a sign for ice cream made with milk produced at his farm in Takatsu Ward, Kawasaki, on March 30.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
12:00 JST, May 19, 2024
KAWASAKI — The sale of soft-serve ice cream made from fresh, locally produced, high-quality milk recently started at two large-scale farmers markets run by JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperatives) Ceresa Kawasaki in Kawasaki.
The ice cream launched April 6 at the Ceresamos Miyamae and Asao stores is made from cow’s milk produced at Fukuda Farm in Takatsu Ward, the only dairy farm in Kawasaki.
“We hope many people will learn that such tasty milk is produced even in a large city such as Kawasaki,” a JA official said.
The farm is located in a residential area about 2 kilometers from Mizonokuchi Station on the Tokyu Denentoshi Line. The farm has a cattle barn and a garage-turned-shed on a site of about 1,300 square meters.
It was started by the father of current Fukuda Farm owner Tsutomu Fukuda, 69, after World War II, when he returned to Kawasaki from a Siberian internment camp and began raising cattle.
The area was tranquil countryside at the time, but it changed drastically due to developments that started around the time of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Fukuda became the only remaining dairy farmer in Kawasaki six years ago, although at one time there were more than 400 dairy farms in the city. He now keeps 13 dairy cows and ships about 300 liters of milk every day. The milk at his farm has been recognized for its high quality and won the Kanagawa governor’s award.
In addition to dairy cows, the farm raises other animals such as goats, sheep, ponies, rabbits, ducks and turtles. It also operates a mobile zoo that visits elementary schools, kindergartens and nursery schools both inside and outside the city more than 200 times a year.
The development of the soft-serve ice cream was completed after a series of trial runs. “With just a lick of the ice cream, you can enjoy the rich flavor of the milk. It’s smooth and delicious,” a JA employee said.
Fukuda said, “It’s a great honor to have soft-serve ice cream made from our milk sold in shops.”
