Also known as "Kiriimo" (Mist potato), please enjoy the seasonal "Yama no Imo" (Mountain potato), a specialty of Tambasasayama.

The harvest season for mountain potatoes, a traditional vegetable from Tambasasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture (usually around early November to early December), is upon us again this year.

Yama no Imo is a rare vegetable with limited production due to the labor required to cultivate it. Please enjoy it while it is in season.

What is Yama no Imo?

It is a traditional vegetable that has been cultivated and eaten in Tambasasayama since ancient times. Its unique stickiness, whiteness, and fine texture when grated make it a popular choice for Japanese sweets and kaiseki cuisine. It is said that it cannot be grown well unless it is planted in early April and cared for almost every day for about half a year. Some farmers say they can "hear the farmer's footsteps in the soil", and only one potato can be harvested from one seed potato. New potatoes are available in stores from early November. Tambasasayama is also covered in a thick fog called "Tamba fog" from autumn to winter. It is around this time that the large, grown mountain potatoes are harvested, and they are also called "Kiriimo" (mist potatoes).

Mountain yam gourmet

Yamaimo keeps well and can be enjoyed in different ways depending on the season, such as as an ingredient in botan nabe (a hotpot made with peony root) in winter or chilled tororo soba (a type of soba with grated yam) in summer. At restaurants in Tambasasayama City, you can enjoy the authentic taste of professional chefs who have put a lot of effort into their cooking methods and seasonings. Yamaimo can also be purchased at various stores, so you can enjoy its deliciousness at home.

At home, you can cut it into strips and eat it raw with ponzu sauce, use it as an ingredient in wild boar stew, grate it (tororo) and sprinkle it on rice, drop it into soup and make dumplings, add it to okonomiyaki, or use it in isobe-age (deep-fried seaweed dishes).

It is also a prized ingredient in high-end Japanese sweets, and is essential for creating the fine, fluffy texture of sweet potato (joyo) manju. As you can see, it can be enjoyed in a variety of ways.

Helps to recover from fatigue. Also rich in dietary fiber.

Yamaimo contains dietary fiber, B vitamins, potassium, etc., and is said to be good for recovering from fatigue and preventing constipation. It also protects the stomach lining and improves digestive function. Farmers who produce it say that "the day after eating it, I feel good." It's perfect for when you want to enjoy something delicious while also being mindful of your health.

Also available as a gift in return for hometown tax donations to Tanba Sasayama City

Yamaimo is also available as a return gift for hometown tax donations to Tambasasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture.

Even if you cannot come to Tambasasayama in person, please take this opportunity to make a hometown tax donation and enjoy our products.

The donations we receive will be used for projects related to the promotion of agriculture as a city of agriculture, including the promotion of Tanba Kuro rice production.

For more information about Tambasasayama City Hometown Tax, click here

https://www.city.tambasasayama.lg.jp/soshikikarasagasu/burandosenryakuka/furusato/5395.html