Japan Tourism / Shirobara Dairy Factory Offers Visitors a Sweet Taste of Tottori Prefecture

By Nami Kojima / Special to Ryoko Yomiuri Publication

11:30 JST, June 24, 2025

When traveling in Tottori Prefecture, you’re likely to see a lot of dairy products in adorable retro packaging labeled “Shirobara Milk.” Locals are very familiar with Shirobara (White rose) — the milk is served with school lunches in all elementary and junior high schools in the prefecture. I visited the factory where it is produced to find out the secrets behind its delicious taste.

Located in central Tottori Prefecture, the town of Kotoura is at the foot of Mt. Daisen, the highest mountain in the Chugoku region of western Japan. In one corner of an expanse of farmland where grasses and corn are grown for cattle feed, stands the Daisen dairy agricultural cooperative’s factory, which produces Shirobara milk. All dairy farmers in the prefecture are members of this cooperative, whose special focus on dairy farming makes it a rarity in Japan.

One thing that sets this cooperative apart is their consistent practice of conducting monthly “herd tests,” which include checking various factors about each cow, including its milk yield and milk composition and quality, as well as its reproductive status. Their motto is, “There is no better product than milk.”

“The test is like a health checkup for the cows. Data in February show that the national average implementation rate (percentage of farmers conducting the test) is 51.3%, while the rate in Tottori Prefecture is 91.7%. The prefecture’s rate has been maintained at over 90% in recent years and has ranked first in the country for 24 consecutive years,” Katsufumi Enokida, the head of the cooperative’s sales division, said proudly.

One of the tests checks the somatic cell count (the numbers of white blood cells and cells shed from the mammary gland in the milk). This can increase due to disease or stress, so measuring it lets farmers quickly understand the physical and nutritional condition of their cows. Somatic cell counts in raw milk produced in Tottori Prefecture tend to be lower than the national average because dairy farmers in the prefecture identify cows that need treatment at an early stage and improve their conditions. For that reason, it is said that the prefecture’s milk has a distinctly sweet taste with low levels of bitterness, odd flavor and astringency.

Support for farmers

The cooperative’s dairy farming guidance department helps dairy farmers to keep their cows healthy. “Our professional staff, including veterinarians, provide comprehensive support for about 90 dairy farms in the prefecture, from feed preparation and cow health management to milking hygiene,” Enokida said with a smile. The steady efforts of dairy farmers to carefully raise healthy cows, and the cooperative’s support system, must be the secrets behind the delicious taste of Shirobara milk.

The factory has obtained FSSC22000 certification (an internationally recognized standard for food safety management systems), verifying its thorough level of quality control. The cows are milked twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, and the raw milk is transported to the factory. Only milk that meets strict standards is used in production. This ensures the delivery of safe, reliable and delicious milk.

Factory tour

I took the Shirobara factory’s popular tour. While tasting some Shirobara milk, we participants watched a video about the work of dairy farmers and the factory’s production process. We saw the production lines for milk and yogurt while listening to explanations by the staff. The way the packages were quickly filled with milk emphasized the factory’s commitment to freshness and quality control.

After the tour, we had another glass of Shirobara milk at Cowy’s Milk House, a shop operated by the cooperative on the premises of the factory. This second glass was even sweeter and tastier than the first! The shop sold dairy drinks, yogurt and sweets made from the milk. It really was full of “white roses.”

With summer already here, it’s the right time for ice cream. The Shirobara two-layer coffee ice cream bar launched in March has a coffee flavor that makes the milk’s richness stand out. The Shirobara blueberry and cream cheese premium ice cream showcases a perfect match between richly flavored ice cream and the sour taste of a sauce made from locally grown blueberries. The limited-edition Shirobara milk fresh rolled cake is also good as a souvenir.

This summer, why not change things up a little with a trip to Tottori Prefecture? You can visit the hometown of Shirobara milk and go on a food tour, trying cuisine from the mountains and the sea.

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Japan Tourism is presented in collaboration with Ryoko Yomiuri Publication, which publishes Ryoko Yomiuri, a monthly travel magazine. If you are interested in the original Japanese version of this story, click here.