Red dragonfly✨ A quiet moment of autumn, felt in the garden. When I was a child, I used to run to my mother and say, “Look! A red dragonfly. Autumn is here!” In summer, they stay in the mountains, then return to the fields as autumn approaches, their bodies slowly turning red. For many Japanese people,red dragonflies are a gentle sign that the seasons are changing. Seeing one always tells my heart that autumn has truly arrived🍁🍂 赤とんぼ✨ 畑で感じる、静かな秋のひととき。 こどものころ、赤とんぼを見つけるたびに 「お母さん、赤とんぼ！あきだね」 と、うれしそうに伝えていました。 彼らは夏は山で過ごし、秋が近づくと田んぼや畑へ降りてきて、少しずつ赤くなります。
My Wellness Trip Memory in Nagano, Japan 🇯🇵 Food 🌸 September 2025 From the garden to the kitchen. Seasonal gifts, simply enjoyed. Okra and myoga 🌿
My Wellness Trip Memory in Nagano, Japan 🇯🇵Food 🌸September 2025 🌿What Is Companion Planting? Companion planting, known in Japanese as kyoei sakumotsu (mutually beneficial crops), is a gardening method in which compatible plants are grown close together so they can support one another as they grow. Through these plant combinations, several benefits can be expected: 🍀Prevention of pests and plant diseases 🍀Enhanced growth through mutual support between plants 🍀Improved flavor and overall quality of the produce As a cultivation method that relies on nature rather than pesticides, companion planting has long been valued in home gardens and natural farming practices✨ In our family garden, we practice companion planting☺️ This time, I’d like to share a little about eggplants. 🍆 Companion Plants for Eggplants 🍆 Marigolds are wonderful companions for eggplants✨ They naturally help prevent pests and diseases, making them a reliable partner in the garden. For those who wish to grow healthy, delicious eggplants while avoiding the use of pesticides, this is a method I truly recommend 🌼 With bright marigold flowers in bloom, the garden becomes more vibrant, and the time spent growing vegetables feels a little more joyful and fulfilling. 🌱 コンパニオンプランツとは 日本語では 「共栄作物」 とも呼ばれ、相性のよい植物同士を近くに植えることで、互いに助け合いながら成長する園芸の方法です。 このような植物の組み合わせによって、 🍀 害虫や病気の予防 🍀 植物同士の助け合いによる生育促進 🍀 野菜の風味や品質の向上 といった効果が期待できます。 農薬に頼らず、自然の力を活かす栽培方法として、 コンパニオンプランツは昔から家庭菜園や自然栽培の中で 大切にされてきました ✨ うちの畑でも、コンパニオンプランツを実践しています ☺️ 今回は、なすについて少しご紹介します。 🍆 なすのコンパニオンプランツ 🍆 マリーゴールドは、なすにとってとても相性のよい植物です ✨ 害虫や病気を自然に防いでくれる、頼もしい存在です。 農薬を使わずに、元気でおいしいなすを育てたい方には、 ぜひおすすめしたい方法です 🌼 明るいマリーゴールドの花が咲くことで、畑はよりいきいきとした表情になり、野菜を育てる時間そのものが、 少し楽しく、より豊かなものに感じられます。 #コンパニオンプランツ#なす#gardening#eggplant
My Wellness Trip Memory in Nagano, Japan 🇯🇵 Food 🌸 September 2025
A happy breakfast on one gentle morning 🍽☀️ 💚 Nagano’s Blessings Salad Lettuce from Kawakami Village —Naturally sweet, juicy, and perfectly crisp —a beautiful balance of flavors and texture!The cherry tomatoes and cucumbers were harvested from my family’s garden just before breakfast🍅🥒Early in the morning, the garden is filled with birdsong.The sunlight is still soft, and the gentle scent of vegetables and soil lingers in the air. It’s a moment that naturally brings a feeling of happiness.The salad was so delicious. 💚 Butter from Kozu Farm,which I bought when I visited with my mother. The butter was my mother’s top recommendation. I honestly felt it was “the most delicious butter in the world” 😍 I’ve shared more about Kozu Farm in previous posts→ 💚 Bread from a local bakery, Mugikoro.I wanted good bread to enjoy with this butter…and it was a perfect match. 💚Yatsugatake Jersey drinking yogurt from Yatsuren. Ever since I was a child, opening the fridge meant finding “Yatsuren’s Shuppoppo Milk.” A familiar presence, trusted and loved by people in Nagano. 💚 Coffee from St. Ali ☕From Melbourne. A favorite of both my mother and me.During my stay in Japan, we made coffee together each morning,wrapping the house in its comforting aroma.
Simple, yet filled with happiness — why is that? I think it’s because my senses can truly feel,“This is good for my body.”A morning that made me smile and think,“My body is really happy.” 🤭
💚 Nagano’s Blessings Salad 💚 Crisp lettuce from Kawakami Village, Minamisaku District, Nagano — a highland vegetable from Japan’s No.1 lettuce-producing area. ✨ The cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil were harvested from my family’s garden just before breakfast. The cheese is a rich cheddar from my favorite dairy farm, Kozu Farm. Its deep flavor pairs perfectly with the salad. Don’t you feel the freshness coming through even in the photos? 🤭 So juicy, so full of natural flavor — that’s why I didn’t use any dressing this time 😆
👀 How to Choose Fresh and Delicious Cucumbers & Tomatoes 🥒 Cucumbers • Firm with a glossy, deep green color • Covered with small spines that feel slightly prickly to the touch • Small seeds and fewer of them when sliced • Juicy and crisp 🍅 Tomatoes • Firm with a natural shine • Fully ripened to a deep red color • Fresh, green stems that stand upright • A clean, refreshing aroma 🌿 Companion Planting Tomatoes and basil are not only a great match on the plate, but also excellent “companion plants” when grown close together. The aroma of basil helps repel pests such as aphids, while basil absorbs excess moisture from the soil, creating the slightly dry conditions that tomatoes prefer. This environment is said to help tomatoes develop greater sweetness. I’ll write more about companion planting in another post. Nagano is known as Japan’s home of highland vegetables. I truly hope many people get the chance to taste and enjoy these wonderful vegetables ✨
My Wellness Trip Memory in Nagano, Japan 🇯🇵 Food 🌸 September 2025
❤A warm bowl of oden, filled with plenty of ingredients 🍢It gently warmed me through to the core. ❤Nameshi — rice cooked with young daikon leaves thinned from my family’s garden 🌱 Soft in flavor, with a quiet sense of nostalgia. ❤As it was during Ohigan, I also prepared tempura,seasonal vegetables enjoyed with gratitude 🍂 ❤The sake was Junmai Daiginjo 🍶 from Chikumanishiki, a well-known brewery in Saku City, Nagano. Made with 100% Miyamanishiki, a sake rice native to Nagano, with an elegant, fruity aroma and a clean, refined finish ✨
Each dish on the table carried a sense of the season, the land,and the connections between people. This was my last dinner in Japan 🌙
オレンジページ4月17日号に掲載中ですー
