Protected local food
Monobe Yuzu
物部ゆず
Fresh yuzu from the Monobe area of Kami city in Kochi, Japan's top source of whole yuzu. The fruit is bright yellow, clean-skinned and keeps well.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 29 June 2020
- Region
- Shikoku
- Official name in Japanese
- 物部ゆず
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 高知県香美市（注）香美市は、平成18年3月1日に物部村、香北町及び土佐山田町が合併してできた行政区画である。
Yuzu sold whole
Most yuzu in Japan ends up as juice, because fruit good enough to sell whole takes far more work. Across Japan only about 18% of yuzu is sold fresh. In Monobe the figure was 69% in 2017. The fruit has few blemishes, looks beautiful and keeps a long time on the shelf, and buyers often order Monobe yuzu by name.
Rain, drainage and cool autumns
Monobe is in Kami city, inland from Kochi city in Kochi. The yearly average temperature is about 15°C, and it rains a lot, but the orchards drain well. More than 90% of the harvest ships as yellow yuzu, and the cool weather after October brings out a bright yellow colour.
How Japan uses yuzu
A strip of yuzu peel lifts a bowl of soup, the juice goes into ponzu, and whole yuzu float in the bath on the winter solstice.
Good to know
- Kochi is Japan's biggest yuzu prefecture. Try yuzu juice, ponzu or yuzu drinks at Kochi's Sunday street market.
- Ryugado Cave and the Anpanman Museum are both in Kami city.
Questions travellers ask
When is yuzu season?
Yellow yuzu is harvested from about October into winter.
What does yuzu taste like?
Sour and very fragrant, somewhere between lemon, mandarin and grapefruit. It is used more for aroma than for eating whole.
Where it comes from
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.