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From July 22 (Tue) to 27 (Sun), we held “Hokkaido Kelp Week,” a six-day event introducing kelp’s culinary culture and history, in order to address the ongoing decline in kelp production. At the venue, we held an event where visitors could experience fresh kelp, creating an opportunity to develop an interest in kelp among visitors to the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo.
Hokkaido Kelp Week Opening Act
On Tuesday, July 22, the opening event for “Hokkaido Kelp Week” aired a message from Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki, followed by a talk session featuring leading kelp researcher Noriyoshi Yotsukura, Professor at the Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, and Tomoko Yamaguchi, Director-General of the Growth Industry Bureau, Forestry and Marine Environment Bureau, Fisheries and Forestry Department, Hokkaido Prefectural Government. The event was moderated by Tatsuya Takenaka of The Hokkaido Shimbun Press, author of the “Climate Change: The Day Kombu Dashi Runs Out” series. He discussed with the speakers issues such as declining kombu harvests in Hokkaido, countermeasures, and the future potential of kombu. Throughout the talk session, he emphasized that kombu is not just a food ingredient but a valuable resource for society.
Touch Live Kombu
Following the opening act, an experiential lecture was held, allowing attendees to interact with live kombu. In the first half of the lecture, Hiroki Ebata, special lecturer at the Fukui University Center for the Promotion of Higher Education and director of the Hokkaido Kombu Research Association, explained the ecology of kombu and introduced the kombu culinary culture of the Hokuriku region, deepening the audience’s interest in kombu. In the second half of the event, the audience experienced the texture, smell, and weight of raw kombu.
The Challenge of Seaweed Bed Restoration
On Wednesday, July 23, three talk sessions were held under the theme “The Challenge of Seaweed Bed Restoration.”
The first event, themed “Fishermen x Local Government x Private Sector: From Seaweed Bed Restoration to the Regional Future,” was moderated by Wataru Ando of KAISO BANK, which is working to achieve carbon neutrality and expand and promote nature positivity. Fisheries representatives from Nagasaki and Oita prefectures, who are also promoting the project, shared information about the current state of seaweed bed decline and countermeasures.
The second event, themed “Mashike Town’s Fisheries Revival and Seaweed Bed Restoration Initiative,” featured a joint seaweed bed development project using steel slag conducted by the Mashike Fisheries Cooperative and Nippon Steel Corporation, and explained the background and efforts behind obtaining J. Blue Credit® certification.
The third event, themed “A Blessing for the Future: The History and Present of Kelp in Shikabe and Mori, and the Challenge of Creating a Sustainable Ocean,” featured Masahiko Morita, mayor of Shikabe Town in Hokkaido, and Kosuke Okajima, mayor of Mori Town, who presented their respective towns’ efforts to restore the ocean. In the second half of the event, the two discussed how consuming local seafood supports the local fishing industry and urged people to eat more seafood.
The Future of Japanese Cuisine and Konbu Culture
On Thursday, July 24, presentations and discussions were held on the future of Japanese cuisine and konbu culture in Hokkaido.
In the first part of the event, Professor Junkazu Yusa of Asahikawa City University introduced a konbu-themed tourism program titled “Konbu Tourism.” In the second half, he joined a discussion with Junichi Doi, president of Konbu Doi, a long-established Osaka wholesaler, to discuss the uniqueness of Osaka’s konbu dashi culture and the crisis facing the konbu fishing industry that supports it.
In the second part of the event, a workshop on konbu dashi was held under the theme “Easy! Delicious! The Secret of Konbu Dashi.” Mr. Katsuyoshi Suita, Vice President of the Japan Kelp Association, gave a lecture on kelp, and three of the Association’s kelp ambassadors demonstrated how to make dashi, clearly conveying knowledge about kelp dashi.
The third part of the event featured a talk session on “What we can do now to preserve kelp food culture for the future.” Mr. Tokijiro Ikegami, the eighth-generation owner of Ogura-ya, a long-established kelp retailer in Osaka, introduced the history and food culture of kelp. Mr. Ikegami also participated in a live cross-talk with a Hokkaido fishery official, exploring a future where kelp consumption and production areas are connected.
Hakodate True Kelp Day
On Friday, July 25, an event was held featuring “Hakodate True Kelp,” the pride of Hakodate City, Hokkaido, Japan’s largest kelp producer. The event began with a ceremony in which Saraya Yusuke, CEO of Saraya Co., Ltd., which made a corporate hometown tax donation to Hakodate City, presented a donation list to Hakodate Mayor Oizumi Jun, who then presented him with a letter of appreciation and a commemorative gift. The event then moved into a talk session with Oizumi and Saraya Yusuke, in which they shared their thoughts on the restoration of kelp resources and a sustainable future.
The second half of the program featured lectures on the themes of “Kombu: A treasure of the sea that connects Osaka/Kansai with Hakodate/Hokkaido,” “Recovering disappearing sea forests: The challenge of connecting Hakodate’s true kelp to the future,” “Toward sustainable production of ma-konbu: Understanding and utilizing its capabilities,” and “The appeal and potential of kelp: Aiming to create a new food culture.” In these lectures, the speakers not only informed the public of the critical situation facing Hakodate’s true kelp, but also conveyed their strong desire to spread awareness of the appeal of kelp and ensure that kelp’s food culture continues into the future.
Ocean and Kelp Forest Day
Saturday, July 26th, was “Ocean and Kelp Forest Day,” featuring children’s workshops and talk sessions with ocean and kelp experts.
The “Learn About Kelp! Ocean Clay Workshop” featured popular TV personality “Clay Sister” Hitomi Okada as instructor, and included a quiz about the ocean and kelp, as well as a parent-child clay workshop using ocean-friendly clay. Children invited to the event, as well as children from three kindergartens in Hokkaido who participated online, had the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the ocean.
The following event, the “High School Student Seaweed Tech Presentation for the Future,” featured kelp-loving high school students presenting their kelp-themed research and ideas and exchanging opinions with a diverse panel of judges from the kelp industry.
The final session, titled “Special Session on the Ocean and Kelp Forest Project: Considering the Future of Kelp,” featured experts from a variety of fields, including industry, government, and academia, discussing issues facing Hokkaido’s kelp-producing regions, such as coastal denudation and ocean changes, and considering actions to protect the future of the ocean and kelp.
Kelp Week Commemorative Event in Sapporo
On Sunday, July 27, the final day of “Hokkaido Kelp Week,” we broadcast a live broadcast of the “Hokkaido Kelp Day 2025 Special Edition,” held in Sapporo.
The first part of the event began with a video message from Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki, followed by a commentary from Sapporo by Hokkaido University Professor Noriyoshi Yotsukura, who serves as Chairman of the Hokkaido Kelp Research Association, on the current state of kelp in Hokkaido.
In the second part of the event, Masakazu Terai, Manager of the Ingredients Research Group at Fujicco Co., Ltd., took the stage and held an online talk session with Koichi Hoshi and Yotsukura, kelp fishermen and seasoning developers from Hiroo, Hokkaido, about the utilization of kelp and the future of kelp consumption.
In the third part of the event, there was an experiential lecture where participants could touch live kelp. Kazunori Watanabe and Naohiro Yamagishi, comedians from Fukui Prefecture who make up the comedy duo “Nabe-chan Yama-chan,” encouraged the children in the audience to try it out, while Hiroki Ebata, Special Lecturer at the University of Fukui’s Center for the Promotion of Higher Education, explained the ecology and food culture of kelp. With many children able to interact with kelp, “Hokkaido Konbu Week” came to a successful close.
▼The event is available to watch on the official BLUE OCEAN DOME YouTube channel. Please take a look.
【#076】Hokkaido Kelp Week Opening Act (ZERI JAPAN/Hokkaido Shimbun Press)
【#077】Touching Live Kelp (Hokkaido Shimbun Press/NPO Hokkaido Kelp Research Association)
【#078】The Challenge of Seaweed Bed Restoration (ZERI JAPAN/Hokkaido Shimbun Press/Seaweed Bank Consortium)
【#079】The Future of Japanese Cuisine and Kelp Culture (ZERI JAPAN/Hokkaido Shimbun Press)
【#080】Hakodate True Kelp Day (ZERI JAPAN/Hokkaido Shimbun Press/Hakodate Mariculture Project)
【#081】Sea and Kelp Forest Day (ZERI JAPAN/Sea and Kelp Forest Project (WMI Inc.))
【#082】Kelp Week Commemorative Event in Sapporo (ZERI JAPAN/Hokkaido Shimbun Press/NPO Hokkaido Kelp Research Association)