Personal story CASE3
Opened a cheese factory from the love of the water in Nakasatsunai
Norio Sekibe (75 years old)
Chairman and Executive Director for Tokachino Fromages
Joined Morinaga Nyugyo (present Urahoro Nyugyo) after graduating from high school.
At 53 years of age, became cheese production manager for the new company project.
After retiring, established Tokachino Fromages Co., Ltd.
3-1Can I make a product that would become the regional specialty?
A growing spirit of challenge
in his 50s
I was born in Hakodate, and upon joining Morinaga Nyugyo (present Urahoro Nyugyo), after high school,
I moved to Urahoro and I have lived in Urahoro for 40 years since.
“Tokachi” is ingrained on my body. (LOL)
When I was 53 years old, the town consulted my employer to
“make a product that could become a town specialty.”
As a result, the project team, which included myself,
came up with cheese production.
I volunteered to become a member of the production team.
A new challenge in my 50s started at this point.
While we repeated trial and error,
we went to Hokuren Cheese Research Center in Kunneppu
and Zao Dairy Center in Miyagi Prefecture for training,
and studied by inviting cheese artisan from France for a seminar
in collaboration with other cheese manufacturers in Tokachi.
I called upon other cheese manufacturers, who shared my thoughts,
and used my vacation time to go to France for about 10 days once a year, every year
to visit various cheese manufacturers to learn from them.
These were great learning opportunities for me.
3-2The lure of Nakasatsunai’s water
A sip of Nakasatsunai’s tap water
sent a shock through my body
for its deliciousness
I learned the joy of cheese making immediately after I became involved in the project,
and decided to open my own cheese factory after retirement.
I first thought about the ideal location for cheese making.
I was shocked by deliciousness of the water served in a restaurant in Nakasatsunai that I happened to walk in.
I was even more shocked to hear that it was tap water.
Upon research, I learned that there are many places in Nakasatsunai,
where underground water from Hidaka Mountains flow out.
These natural springs are water sources for Obihiro and Ikeda.
I was convinced that “the cows must produce healthy and delicious milk
because they are drinking such delicious water,”
and decided to build the factory in Nakasatsunai.
Obtaining financial resources was one of the greatest obstacles.
I applied for the mid- to elderly age category of Entrepreneur Incentive Project sponsored by Hokkaido at the time.
I successfully obtained a new business loan from the local credit union,
and with the money from the sale of my home in Urahoro,
I opened the factory in 2000. I began making cheese.
3-3Tokachi’s potential that is comparable to France
A realization from numerous trips to France
The amazingness of Tokachi for cheese
I still make time to go visit France.
After many trips, I have come to love it enough to want to live in a French countryside.
In particular, the scenery and climate of Normandy region is amazing.
In Japan, from Hokkaido to Okinawa, the majority of the dairy cattle breed is Holstein.
In France, however,
each region makes cheese with different breed of cows,
showing the scope and diversity of dairy farming.
While the major breed in Tokachi is Holstein,
it is one of the greatest land of dairy farms in Japan.
Many dairy farms are making great milk.
Currently, there are nearly 30 cheese making facilities in Tokachi.
About 10 years ago, when we started the training trips to France, we heard that
in France, each city has 1 cheese manufacturer.
Since there are 30 cheese manufacturers in 19 areas in Tokachi,
cheese making is being conducted at higher density than France.
About 5% of natural cheese is produced in Tokachi.
I believe Tokachi has a potential comparable to France.
3-4Because of the help from the region and friends
For a cheese making unique to this region
with producer friends from Nakasatsunai, Tokachi
Since I do not own a dairy farm, I make my cheeses with purchased milk.
Normally, a milk tanker collects raw milk from 4-5 farms
to make a delivery to a factory.
I only wanted to use raw milk from Hiraoka Dairy Farm in Nakasatsunai,
as such, we asked to have the milk collected from Hiraoka Dairy Farm first
and delivered to our factory, before going to subsequent farms for collections.
This was only possible through local cooperation.
There are, however, limited-time only cheeses that are made with other distinctive milks.
For example, “Fresh Grass Camembert” is made with milk from cows that graze on fresh grass
at Obihiro Agricultural High School during summer.
Furthermore, “Ezono Camembert” is made with milk from Arakawa Dairy Farm
in Makubetsu town Churui, which is managed by the father of Hiromu Arakawa,
the author of “Silver Spoon” manga series.
This was made possible because I have been friends with the father for a long time.
I have many producer friends, each with unique ideology,
in Nakasatsunai and other parts of Tokachi.
If given the opportunity,
I hope to keep spreading the charm of Tokachi through food together.
