Project to Cultivate "Miracle Cherries" in Oishida Town, Yamagata Launching a project to connect the cultivation of "miraculous cherries" in the town of Oishida, Yamagata

Challenges in securing sales channels and price evaluation - a step toward a sustainable agricultural model

2025.06.12 09:45

株式会社KOTONARI

Monkey Fruits, a select store of domestically produced fruits, is a select shop that delivers not only delicious fruits but also "fruits with a background" with the concept of "making fruits more accessible and more enjoyable" by adding stories of the producer's thoughts and the environment in which the fruits were grown. It is a select store that delivers "fruits with a background" that are not only delicious, but also have a story behind them, with the producer's thoughts and the environment in which they were grown.

山形県大石田町産の佐藤錦

Sato Nishiki from Oishida Town, Yamagata Prefecture

While working together with fruit growers to solve problems, we aim to connect domestic fruit to the next generation, offering an experience of not only tasting, but also learning about and supporting fruit.

MONKEY FRUITS ロゴ

MONKEY FRUITS logo

As a start of this project, we started a crowdfunding campaign on CAMPFIRE on Monday, June 2, 2025 to support Takahashi Farm, a fruit farmer who grows cherries in Oishida-machi, Yamagata Prefecture.

山形県大石田町のさくらんぼ農家を応援するクラウドファンディング

Crowdfunding to support cherry farmers in Oishida-cho, Yamagata Prefecture

Project page

https://camp-fire.jp/projects/850719/view

Project Background

In Oishida-cho, the harvest is delayed due to the unique cold climate, and the cherries are shipped at a time when the market price has dropped. The impetus for this project came from the absurdity of the fact that cherries grown with more cost and labor than other farms are traded at an unreasonable price simply because they are shipped late.

Yamagata cherries will become increasingly rare in the future. Even if we cannot change climate change, we believe that if we can be one of the triggers that change the way people think about consumption and improve the absurdity of product distribution, it will result in producers like Takahashi Farm with their commitment and passion to keep Yamagata cherries alive as long as possible.

■Features

*Possibility of "Yamagata cherries" disappearing from the market in the future

Due to climate change in recent years, harvests have become unstable, and an increasing number of growers have been forced to give up growing cherries or shift cultivation to other areas. As the production area and yield continue to shrink, this project is tackling this trend with a sense of crisis.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "Statistics on Arable Land and Cultivated Area," "Fruit Tree Production and Shipment Statistics

出典：農林水産省「耕地及び作付面積統計」、「果樹生産出荷統計」

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "Statistics on Arable Land and Crop Area," "Fruit Tree Production and Shipment Statistics

Environmental Conditions Suitable for Cherry Cultivation in Oshida Town

Oishida is a mountain town located north of the cherry-growing areas of Higashine, Sagae, and Tendo, and is known for its heavy snowfall, one of the heaviest in the Tohoku region. The area has the best natural conditions for growing cherries, such as temperature differences between day and night and black box soil. We see this area as an area that needs attention in terms of maintaining production in the future.

北村山の一部にだけ分布する「黒ボク土」

Black Bok soil" is distributed only in a part of the Kitamurayama area.

*Mr. Takahashi's sustainable efforts as a grower

Ms. Takahashi, who has been growing grapes for about 30 years, has inherited her late husband's original cultivation methods and continues to produce high-quality fruit. Despite the aging of her family and the rising cost of fertilizers, she continues to maintain quality.

ご主人が遺した肥料調合レシピ

Fertilizer recipe left behind by the deceased husband

*Securing sales channels and price evaluation challenges

In production areas such as Takahashi Farm, where the shipping season is delayed, it is difficult to properly value fruit due to declining market prices and the cooperative's uniform buy-back system. In addition, with the aging of the population, it is difficult for many farmers to expand their sales channels on their own via the Internet, etc., and in reality, wholesale sales to cooperatives make up the majority of their business.

In order to encourage the sustainable cultivation of Yamagata cherries by dedicated domestic producers, we hope that this project will provide an opportunity to learn about the reality of Yamagata cherries and their background, and to rethink the way consumption and distribution are conducted.

Characteristics of cherries grown in Ooishida Town

Due to the high altitude and large temperature difference between day and night, cherries grow slowly in Oshida Town. As a result, the town produces cherries with high sugar content and rich flavor.

Some "Sato Nishiki" cherries, with an average sugar content of 16 to 20 degrees, can reach 23 to 24 degrees at full ripeness, and stand out for their balance of rich sweetness and subtle acidity.

The fruit's abundant water content and the rich juice that spreads with each bite are also major attractions.

About Returns

5,300 yen: [Sato Nishiki M/L mixed, 700g] *Close date: June 20 (Fri.)

7,800 yen : [Superior Sato Nishiki L/2L mixed, packed in roses] 700g *Close date for acceptance: Friday, June 20

7,800 yen : [Superior Red Shuho, 2L, rose-packaged] 500g

10,300 yen: [Superior product: Beni Shuho, 2L, rose-packaged] 700g

10,300 yen: [Beni Shuho/Beni Oh Eating Comparison Pack] (Beni Shuho 100g x 2, Beni Oh 100g x 1)

All the grapes will be picked in the morning, shipped on the same day, and delivered with cool delivery service in a simple box for home use.

Project Outline

Project name: Yamagata's cherries are going extinct!

　　　　　　　　 We want you to eat the miracle cherries of Oishida-cho!

Period ： June 2 (Mon.) - June 30 (Mon.), 2025