On Fri, June 7, Hokusei North America’s CEO Taro Tomita will speak during a brewing industry seminar to be held in conjunction with the Hood to Fuji Oregon-Japan collaboration beer festival. Held a day before the actual festival, the seminar will be attended by a number of professionals from the Japanese beer industry, including brewers, importers, retailers, beer bar owners, [...]
In April, Hokusei North America began working with Oregon Fruit Products (Salem, Ore.) to begin shipping fruit puree to Japan. The aseptic puree shipped was for specifically processed fermentation purposes, and will be used in a number of craft beers offered at the "Hood to Fuji" Oregon-Japan beer festival being held on June 8 ~ 9 in Tokyo. Given Oregon's [...]
Late last month, Hokusei's CEO Taro Tomita was featured on FM Toyama, a radio station in Oregon's sister state, Toyama. During the radio interview, Taro provided a brief overview of Hokusei's operations within Japan and around the world. Taro also shared his philosophy of "connecting the world through a sense of place" -- sharing the creative richness found in local [...]
Japan is enjoying a longer than usual Golden Week holiday this year with an unprecedented 10 days off from work. Golden Week is made possible because four national holidays fall within days of each other in late April and early May. This year however, also included the imperial transition on April 30th and May 1st. The 30th marked the end [...]
As a sign of its commitment to the Oregon-Japan trade market, Hokusei Products in Japan sent staff to Oregon to meet with the local Hokusei North America team. During the week of April 22, Hokusei Products' staff will travel to Portland, the Willamette Valley, and Central Oregon to visit a number of partner organizations, including the Portland Japanese Garden, Oregon [...]
On April 15 (Mon), the Portland Japanese Garden and the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ) will host an cultural bridge-building event at FCCJ's Tokyo location. The event will include key address Steve Bloom, the Portland Japanese Garden's Chief Executive Officer. After the key address, Mr. Bloom will be joined in a panel discussion by Kengo Kuma, world-renowned architect and [...]
Just as in Japan, Portland is experiencing an explosion of color with the blooming of cheery blossoms throughout the city. Wandering through the Portland's neighborhoods, one is treated to an amazing show of blossoms ranging from dark pink to completely white. The final act of the show takes places when breezes start to blow creating a "raining petal" effect. One [...]
Earlier this month, executive staff from Hokusei Products in Japan (Hokusei North America’s parent company) visited Oregon to participate in a wide number of meetings and site visits. Among the highlights of the visit was a series of meetings and get-togethers with staff from the Portland Japanese Garden . A number of discussions were held to prepare for the Portland [...]
Portland boasts a number of Japanese cherry trees, which typically beautifully bloom during the month of March. These trees can be found along the Willamette River in Tom McCall Park, drawing in sightseers and picnickers every Spring. In addition, there are of course amazing cherry trees at the Portland Japanese Garden (PJG). On March 24 (Sun) from 11AM to 2PM, JASO [...]
On this day in 1910, Momofuku Ando was born. He passed away in 2007 at the age of 96 but his legacy lives on and has spread throughout the world. That is because he invented instant ramen in 1958 and the company he founded, Nissin Food Products, debuted Cup Noodles in Japan in 1971. Mr. Ando can be credited with [...]