From the coast of Kochi Prefecture, the road to Tosa Kitagawa Noen winds into the hills, following routes originally carved out to carry lumber down to the sea. These days, the virgin cedar forests that once covered the Shikoku hinterland have been logged out and the main cash crop for this area is yuzu.
This small, aromatic citrus fruit, prized for the fragrant zest from its emerald-green peel as much as for its juice, is grown in such large quantities in Kochi that the prefecture accounts for more than 50 percent of all Japan's yuzu production.
Tosa Kitagawa Noen, the largest of the plantations in this district, is also one of the few that produces yuzu for export. The farm's proprietor, Masaya Tadokoro, is used to greeting visitors, even celebrity guests such as Hidetoshi Nakata.
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