Agar Blocks Sun on Fallow Fields During Off Season

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:34 JST, January 24, 2023

Blocks of kaku kanten agar are laid out on fallow rice fields in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, as the production of the regional specialty reaches its peak. Made of boiled tengusa and other plants, the roughly 30-centimeter-long and 4-centimeter-wide blocks freeze at night and thaw during the daytime, expelling moisture. The production process takes about two weeks and will continue into mid-February.