Rice Entertainments Co. promotes the attractions of rural Japan domestically and overseas through video content and in-person events that combine Japan's world-renowned rice and its regional cuisine and culture.
Rice Entertainments created the Komeru Project — whose name plays on kome (rice) and komeru (loosely, to put one's feelings into) — to let the world know the blessings of nature in Japan and the hopes of its farmers. The project combines the hopes of ATSUMI, a serial entrepreneur who travels across Japan savoring its nature, eating its food and building relationships with business operators, and Megumi, an actress who operates a rice flour pancake cafe in the Sea of Japan coastal city of Kanazawa, known as a "smaller Kyoto." Megumi produces videos and photos for the project.
The Komeru Project attaches importance to giving participants hands-on experiences and a deep sense of what rural Japan has to offer, not just showing them its attractions.
2024.02.22(THU) - 02.23(FRI)
A sightseeing tour to appreciate Yaizu's food and traditional culture.
Participants will be shown an original video by director Taichi Kimura that documents the town of Yaizu, local fishmonger Sasue Maeda and the chefs who fell for the fish he offers.
The climax of the tour is an incredible meal prepared by skilled chefs of the "Sasue Family" using Maeda's fish.
The meal will include a special wine — the same brand served at the Cannes Film Festival — made at a monastery in Cannes, a sister city of Shizuoka.
We are thrilled to invite you to this event, which we have worked so hard to prepare over the past year.
We will announce further details as they are decided.
Screening of documentary on the Sasue Maeda Fish Shop
Collaborative dishes made by the Sasue Family
Pairings by Vinos Yamazaki Co.'s Shizuoka main branch
Traditional Shizuoka handicraft appreciation
Dashi sommelier experience
Enjoying Shizuoka’s nature in relation to Mount Fuji Day
KOMERU Project in Onomichi
December 23, 2023
The Hiroshima prefectural cities of Onomichi and Fukuyama boast great scenery of the sea and islands in Setouchi, a coastal region surrounding the Seto Inland Sea, and a long history that has nurtured the region's rich culture. This article introduces the Onomichi Komeru Gourmet & Culture Tour, which took me to sites related to mind-filling Zen and French cuisine a la shōjin ryōri Buddhist vegetarian cuisine, blessed with rich nature.
The main destination of the tour, to which I headed while enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Seto Inland Sea after starting from Onomichi, was the Shinshoji Zen Museum and Gardens, a Zen temple situated in the mountains of Fukuyama. Zen has gradually become known widely in Japan and overseas. In this temple, visitors can appreciate Japan's Zen Buddhism through all five senses, not just experiencing it through, for example, hand-copying of scriptures.
Experience the essence of Japan's fish culture, which now attracts interest from around the world.
The idea for RICE began when Representative MEGUMI, who is particular about rice, and Mr. ATSUMI (director of RICE), who has deep relationships with food-related businesses throughout Japan, met and decided to "create local vitality in Japan". The idea of "creating local vitality in Japan" was born out of the meeting between Mr. ATSUMI and Mr. MEGUMI, who both have strengths in "entertainment", "rice flour", and "wonderful food products from all over Japan". By combining these strengths, RICE will enliven the various regions of Japan.
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