Revisitalize Hashimoto with Omlet

February 14th, 2019 (Last Edited) Koshin Kitagaki

Japan is an island country in East Asia where located in the Pacific Ocean.Japan is the world's foremost forest country covered by forests with 67% of the country's land area. My home city, Hashimoto of Wakayama Prefecture where is a city with full of the grace of water and greenery, surrounded by Mount Kongo, Kisen mountain range, Kii mountain range. This is a perfect place for a change and a small vacation. It is a mountain area where you can enjoy fresh air and beautiful nature, and it is accessible if you use Nankai Koya line and you will only take less than an hour and a half from an urban city, Osaka.

When I visited Hashimoto, I saw flags and advertising board saying “Hashimoto Omelets.” A population of Hashimoto is approximately 60,000 people, and they carry out various activities for revitalizing the town. Hashimoto Omelets seems that one of them. This blog is researching what Hashimoto Omelets is.

Where did the idea come from?

According to Toshiki Umemoto, head of the Hashimoto City Hall "Economic Promotion Division,” the Hashimoto mayor received a suggestion from citizens saying why don’t we create food bland. Hashimoto City has often been named for agricultural products such as persimmon, grape, spinach, Koino mushrooms, Hatagonb burdock. But when it became a specialty dish, there was not. The city paying attention to omelets that various cooking arrangements are possible, then "Wakayama Hashimoto Omelette Promotion Council" was established three years ago.

Why an egg dish?

Hashimoto City is also an important local product of eggs. The hen's adults are about 142,000. Production of eggs is estimated to be about 46 million per year, the number of which is about 60% of Wakayama prefecture. There are several large-scale poultry farms in places high on the slope on the southern slopes of Mt. Kongo, and they are raised in a state close to flat keeping in clean water, air, and a clean environment.

Cooperation with the region community

There are two points to approve by Wakayama Hashimoto Omelette Promotion Council.

1. Use eggs from Hashimoto City
2. Use other materials from Hashimoto City together

As long as keeping this condition, the cooking genre is free. Now nearly 30 restaurants are affiliated, and many people agreed with the project and invented a new menu as "Hashimoto Omelette". These promotion movements led to activate not only outward appeal but also among residents. The local people began to reassess the city as "Was there a" brand egg that could boast in our town?" A mail, which is a small action from residents , made Hashimoto activated.

Resources:

Hashimoto Omelet Official Website: http://www.gnavi.co.jp/site/hashimotocity/

Yoshimura, Tomoki. “オムレツでまさかの町おこし。なぜ和歌山「はしもとオムレツ」は成功できたか .” TRiP EDiTOR, 4 Apr. 2018, tripeditor.com/335239/2. https://tripeditor.com/335239

Author Information

Koshin Kitagaki - He is a senior majoring Business Management at Brigham Young University - Hawaii. He borned in Osaka and raised in Wakayama. He was interested in English when he was a child and get into the school when he was 19. He loves eating, sleeping, and hiking.