Protected local food
Wakayama Nunohiki Daikon
わかやま布引だいこん
A green-necked daikon radish from the sandy fields of Nunohiki and nearby districts in Wakayama city. It is evenly thick, with smooth, fine skin.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 31 May 2021
- Region
- Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- わかやま布引だいこん
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 和歌山県和歌山市布引地区、内原地区、紀三井寺地区、毛見地区
Straight and smooth
Nunohiki daikon is an aokubi, or green-necked, daikon. It is about the same thickness from top to bottom, with few root hairs, shallow pores and fine, smooth skin. Market buyers rate it highly and pay well for it.
Soft, sandy soil
It grows in the Nunohiki, Uchihara, Kimiidera and Kemi districts of Wakayama city, Wakayama. The sandy soil is soft, airy and well drained, so the roots grow straight and get oxygen deep down. The Kinokawa River is close by, and there is plenty of groundwater for watering.
Managed together
Since 1999 the local farm co-op, JA Wakayama, has run the variety trials and set the harvest dates, so every grower ships at the right time.
Good to know
- Kimiidera, the temple in the same area, is known for some of the earliest cherry blossoms in the Kansai region.
- Wakayama city is about an hour from Osaka by train, and Wakayama Castle is near the station.
Questions travellers ask
When is it in season?
Daikon is a cool-season crop, at its best from late autumn through winter.
How is daikon eaten?
Grated with grilled fish, simmered in oden, or pickled. The top part is sweeter and the tip is more peppery.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Hirokawa: the tsunami levee built for a hundred generations
- Katsuragi Shugen: where mountain asceticism began
- Living with whales on the Kumano coast
- Nyonin Koya: the temples where women prayed instead of Mount Koya
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Wakanoura: a bay of views that inspired poets
- Yuasa: where Japanese soy sauce began
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.