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.
Popular Gelato Offers Customers a Unique Taste of Aya Town, Miyazaki Pref. Vegetables; Favorite Flavors Include “Cucumber Lemon Chili,” “Banana Pepper Chocolate Chip”
The Yomiuri Shimbun “Cucumber lemon chili,” left, and “Banana pepper chocolate chip,” gelatos that proved popular this summer
By Yuki Kanahori / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
15:00 JST, September 29, 2024
AYA, Miyazaki — Garland chrysanthemum and tea, eggplant and white wine, burdock root and peanut. These are the unique gelato flavor combinations, all made from local produce, offered at “Alocca Hatake to, Gelato to,” in Aya, Miyazaki Prefecture, which has been gaining popularity.
Its owner Sho Nagahara, 35, moved from Tokyo to begin farming after becoming fascinated with the town’s agriculture. “I put the fields of Aya into cups. I hope people will enjoy it,” said Nagahara, enthusiastic about promoting the town, where organic farming is thriving.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Sho Nagahara sells gelato made with locally farmed fruits and vegetables in his shop in the town of Aya, Miyazaki Prefecture.
Located in Aya Tezukuri Honmono Center, a popular outlet for local produce, the shop has been in full operation as of November last year. There are always more than five kinds of gelato on offer, some rotating weekly, so customers can enjoy the ingredients in season.
One of this summer’s bestsellers is “Cucumber chili lemon.” It is sweet and sour with a tangy kick of green chili pepper. Other popular flavors are “Banana pepper chocolate chip,” which carefully counters the mild bitterness of banana peppers with sweetness, and “Grape sorbet,” which uses whole grapes, including the peels, for an added depth of flavor with herbs and spices. There is also a mango gelato, as a kid-friendly option.
“I can taste each ingredient very clearly. I feel excited about what kind of flavors I’ll be able to taste each time,” said a housewife in her 50s from Miyazaki City, a shop regular.
Nagahara mainly uses ingredients he farmed himself or purchased from other local farmers. Together with his wife Nahoko, 45, he experiments with cooking methods. When turning ingredients into a paste, Nagahara sometimes uses uncooked produce to preserve their freshness, while in other cases, ingredients are roasted or boiled to bring out their full flavor. So far, the couple have created around 50 variations.
Nagahara used to be an actor in Tokyo. He moved to Aya in 2016, the year after his first son was born. Drawn in by the town’s rich nature and agricultural offerings when he came on a trip, he started farming. He says farming has “a live feel, where things change shape each day, similar to acting.” Then, wanting many people to be able to enjoy the produce he and his fellow farmers grow with such care and attention, he turned his attention to gelato.
In the summer of 2022, he opened the shop for a limited period, and in November last year, it became a permanent establishment. The name “Alocca” came from “Aya local ice cream,” in line with his wish that the shop have its roots in the local community.
The shop is open from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and closed on Thursdays. Tubs with one or two gelatos are priced at ¥500, and those with three are priced at ¥550. Takeout is also available.
“Many people visit Aya for the rich nature — mountains and rivers. I hope our shop will be a place in town where people can stop by to have fun while enjoying the nature,” Nagahara said.
