Protected local food
Sakurajima Komikan
桜島小みかん
Very small mandarins grown on Sakurajima, the active volcano facing Kagoshima city. Soft, juicy and well balanced between sweet and tart.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 10 November 2017
- Region
- Kyushu & Okinawa
- Official name in Japanese
- 桜島小みかん
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 鹿児島市桜島横山町、桜島白浜町、桜島二俣町、桜島松浦町、桜島西道町、桜島藤野町、桜島武町、桜島赤生原町、桜島小池町、桜島赤水町、新島町(平成16年10月31日時点における行政区画名としての鹿児島県鹿児島郡桜島町)
Grown on a volcano
Sakurajima is an active volcano in Kagoshima Bay, a short ferry ride from Kagoshima city in Kagoshima. Surrounded by sea, it is warm and sunny all year. Komikan, a mandarin of a different line from the common unshu mandarin, has long been one of the island's key crops.
Small but full of flavour
The fruit is tiny, yet the flesh is soft and juicy with a good balance of sweet and tart, and the peel has a fresh citrus scent. Growers now raise the trees under roofed shelters and control the water, so the fruit comes out an even size.
How to eat it
Peel and eat a few at a time, the way you would clementines. They are a winter fruit, and local shops sell them in bags.
Good to know
- The Sakurajima ferry runs around the clock and takes about 15 minutes. Look for komikan at the island's roadside stations.
- Also from Kagoshima: Kagoshima Jar-Brewed Black Vinegar and Tanegashima Anno Imo sweet potatoes.
Questions travellers ask
How small are they?
Much smaller than a regular mandarin, roughly golf-ball size.
Where are they grown?
On Sakurajima, the volcano island across the bay from Kagoshima city.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.