Nagaokakyo Bamboo Shoot Fair" will be held from March 23 to May 6! Eat, buy, and answer the web survey! 10 people will be selected by drawing to win a gourmet bamboo shoots!

Nagaokakyo City Tourism Association and Nagaokakyo City will hold the "Nagaokakyo Bamboo Shoots Fair" from March 23 (Saturday) to May 6 (Monday, national holiday), 2024, with the aim of conveying the delicious taste of "Kyoto bamboo shoots," a specialty product and the king of spring tastes in Kyoto, to as many people as possible. During the fair, 10 winners will be selected by drawing from among those who eat, drink, and shop at 32 stores offering a variety of bamboo shoot dishes and sweets, as well as at a direct-sale place of morning-digging bamboo shoots, and answer a questionnaire on the web.

Nagaokakyo Bamboo Shoot Fair

Kyoto Nishiyama, the production area of Kyoto bamboo shoots, "Nagaokakyo Bamboo Shoots Fair".

At the "Nagaokakyo Bamboo Shoots Fair," 32 restaurants and sweets stores in Nagaokakyo City will offer a variety of dishes and sweets made with bamboo shoots during the period of the fair (March 23 (Saturday) to May 6 (Monday, national holiday). Traditional Kyoto cuisine, arrangements for pasta and pizza, "Take-no-Monaka" (bamboo shoots in a bamboo basket) featured on a popular TV program, "Bamboo Shoot Macarons" commercialized from a Nagaokakyo City sweets idea contest, and various other elaborate dishes and sweets will be introduced on the website and in pamphlets. A map of 16 direct sales locations of morning-ripened bamboo shoots grown with care and diligence is also included.

Ten winners will be selected by drawing from among those who eat, drink, or shop at participating stores and direct sales locations and answer an online questionnaire, and will receive bamboo shoot gourmet products such as bamboo shoot rice stock and Kyoto bamboo shoot tsukudani (food boiled in soy sauce and sugar).

Bamboo shoot cuisine in the tradition of Kyoto cuisineTake-noko tsukudani (bamboo shoot sushi) to taste the whole bamboo shoots.

Arranged in a pasta dish together with seasonal spring ingredients

Takenoko monaka (bamboo shoots)" introduced on a popular TV program; "Takenoko macaroon" filled with sweetened bamboo shoots

Bamboo shoot dishes that carry on the tradition of Kyoto cuisine

Sushi with bamboo shoots" to taste the whole bamboo shoots

Pasta dishes arranged with seasonal spring ingredients

Bamboo shoots in a bamboo shoot cake, introduced on a popular TV program.

Bamboo shoot macarons filled with sweetened bamboo shoots

Kyo bamboo shoots, grown using the traditional "Kyoto-style softening cultivation method," are soft and fragrant.

Nagaokakyo City is the hometown of bamboo shoots in Japan, where Jakushoin Temple is said to be the birthplace of moso bamboo, which is eaten as bamboo shoots.

Nagaokakyo City, located in the south of the Nishiyama mountain range that stretches from Arashiyama, is famous for its Kyoto bamboo shoots. Bamboo shoots are grown using a traditional farming method called "Kyoto-style softening cultivation," and are characterized by their soft texture, lack of bitterness, and high aroma. Since bamboo shoots darken in color and become briny when exposed to sunlight, they are dug up before they emerge from the ground. Bamboo shoots are dug up using a special long-bladed "hori" (a kind of spade), which is unique to this region, by using the slightest cracks in the ground as a marker.

Kyo bamboo shoots being dug up with the "hori," a special straw.

Cracks in the ground created by the bamboo shoots

■Nagaokakyo City, Nishiyama, Kyoto, a sightseeing spot in Kyoto where you can enjoy a relaxing and luxurious time without the crowds of Kyoto.

Nagaokakyo City is a city of flowers and history located about 10 minutes from Kyoto Station and about 30 minutes from Osaka Station by train. The capital of "Nagaokakyo" was established before Heian-kyo, and in spring, when Kyoto bamboo shoots are in season, the "Nagaokakyo Spring Sightseeing Festival" (sponsored by the Nagaokakyo City Tourism Association) is held, allowing visitors to enjoy sightseeing in a relaxed atmosphere away from the bustling Kyoto city.

At Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine, which enshrines Sugawara Michizane, known as the god of learning, 170-year-old Kirishima azalea trees bloom crimson flowers in Hachijogaike Pond from mid to late April. The temple is also known as the birthplace of "Hana-Tezui," or flower watering in a hand-watering pot. Also, from April 27 (Sat.) to May 6 (Mon.), Otokuni-ji Temple, where Kukai and Saicho first met, will display the "Standing Wooden Eleven-Faced Kannon," the "Oldest One-Day Standing Buddha," which is usually closed to the public, and the "Bishamonten," known as the "Bishamonten of Melancholy. The two important cultural properties, "Standing Bishamonten," known as "the oldest one-day standing statue of Buddha," and "Bishamonten, the Bishamonten of Mysticism," will be open to the public. Together with Kyo-taken-no-koto, please enjoy a relaxing and luxurious time in Nishiyama and Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, avoiding the crowded Kyoto.

Kirishima azalea at Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine

The "temple of flower watering by hand," Yanagitani Kannon Yangtani-ji Temple.

Outline of "Nagaokakyo Bamboo Shoot Fair

Period: March 23 (Saturday) to May 6 (Monday, holiday), 2024

Participating stores: 32 restaurants, sweets stores, etc. in Nagaokakyo City, Kyoto Prefecture, and 16 direct sales locations

URL : http://www.nagaokakyo-kankou.jp/html/takenoko/t_index.html

For details on participating stores and direct sales locations, please visit the special website.

*The period during which the dishes will be served differs depending on the store.

Present project】 【Giveaway project

10 people will be selected by drawing from among those who eat, drink, and shop at participating stores and direct sales outlets to receive a gourmet bamboo shoots gift!

Prizes: A set of Ogawa Shokuhin Kogyo Corporation's bamboo shoot rice stock and two kinds of tsukudani, a tsukudani made from Kyoto bamboo shoots.

How to apply: Answer the web questionnaire from the special site (Application deadline: Monday, May 6, 2024 (national holiday))

Outline of the organizer

Name: Nagaokakyo City Tourism Association

Representative: Yoshiyuki Tomooka, Chairman

Location : 1-2 Tenjin 1-chome, Nagaokakyo-shi

Tel : 075-951-4500(Representative)