Month: April 2022

Cornus florida, the flowering dogwood, is a species of flowering trees native to eastern North America and northern Mexico. Flowering dogwood is a popular tree species chosen for gardens, landscapes and roadsides. There are a lot of roadsides planted with flowering dogwood trees in Japan. Asahi Street in the city of Kofu in Yamanashi Prefecture is also known for its flowering dogwood trees. Even the Flowering Dogwood Festival is held in the street every year. The trees were planted earlier than the ones in other streets in Yamanashi Prefecture, so they are tall.

It has been known that the mayor of Tokyo, Yukio Ozaki, gave the United States 3,000 cherry blossom trees to the city of Washington D.C. in 1912, and then the US government reciprocated with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to Japan in 1915. Since then, the species has been spread throughout Japan.

It is important to eat locally grown produce and foods as much as you can, except those you cannot obtain locally. Locally grown food is usually fresher, tastier and more nutritious than non-local food. It is a key element of sustainable agriculture and may eventually be good for the environment.

FYI: Local food (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_food); SQUARE MILE FARMS_ Food for Thought: What are the benefits of eating locally grown food?; Michigan State University: 7 benefits of eating local foods; McGill University: The benefits of eating local foods.

Cooked using locally produced vegetables, Healthy Restaurant Parsley, Kofu-city, Yamanashi, 03/31/2022

Cooked using locally produced vegetables, Sakura Chaya, Nirasaki-city, Yamanashi, 03/23/2022

Baked using domestically produced mulberry and crops, Sakura Chaya and Healthy Restaurant Parsley, Yamanashi, 03/31/2022

Sakura Chaya, Nirasaki（http://www.sakurachaya-lapassion.com）and Healthy Restaurant Parsley, Kofu-city (http://www.kusurinosunroad.com/paseri/), Yamanashi, 04/06/2022