[Event Report] Thinking About the Future of Japanese Food: YUKIYA Hosts "Pesticide-Free, Living Rice Field Planting Experience 2026" in Saku City, Nagano! A Day to Touch Mud and Learn About Future Food.

YUKIYA's Rice Planting Experience 2026

YUKIYA Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Saitama Prefecture, hereinafter "YUKIYA"), which operates the direct-from-producer sales of organic fertilizer agricultural products "YUKIYA," held a "Rice Planting Experience Event" for general participants on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at its own farm "YUKIYA Co., Ltd. Rice Field" in Saku City, Nagano Prefecture.

The day was blessed with clear skies, and families and participants interested in food safety gathered to take on the challenge of hand-planting in the midst of modern mechanization. Together with producer Mr. Ichikawa, they shared a special time feeling the texture of mud and the life teeming in the rice fields.

Background

In an era when the ordinary "food" is being lost, choosing rice means choosing the future of Japan.

Declining food self-sufficiency, severe climate change, and the aging of farmers with a shortage of successors. The foundation of the "food" we eat every day is now facing an unprecedented crisis.

Since its founding in 2001, YUKIYA has supported the "living rice field" farming method that does not rely on pesticides or herbicides, delivering its value to consumers' tables. Since last year, the company has owned its own rice fields and stood at the production site to reaffirm their importance.

This event was planned with the desire to "share the real feel of mud and the richness of life that cannot be conveyed through a screen with those who eat, and to create an opportunity to think about the future of food by understanding the reality of the food situation."

Highlights of "YUKIYA's Rice Planting Experience 2026"

### Learning the Symbiosis of Living Creatures and Rice Farming from Producer Mr. Ichikawa From Mr. Ichikawa, a producer who has long practiced pesticide-free, organic fertilizer rice farming, participants learned not just how to plant seedlings, but how the diverse creatures that gather in the rice fields help make rice delicious.

### The Sensory Sharpening "Hand Planting" Experience Participants stepped into the mud barefoot and carefully planted each seedling by hand. Children who were initially afraid to step into the mud were seen smiling and covered in mud by the end, giving them a real sense of the difficulty and joy of food production.

### Sharing the Growing Process with a Fixed Camera, Harvesting with Your Own Hands in Autumn A fixed camera was installed in the rice field where everyone planted together. The real story of the seedlings gradually growing and the landscape changing using natural power without pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers will be delivered periodically through the YUKIYA website.

Images of YUKIYA Rice Planting Experience 2026 ① Images of YUKIYA Rice Planting Experience 2026 ②

Autumn "Rice Harvesting Experience 2026" Decided!

The seedlings planted by yourself will turn into golden rice ears in autumn. YUKIYA has decided to hold a "Rice Harvesting Experience" at the same rice field to share the joy of rice growth.

We will expand the community that protects Japan's rice fields and stops the future food crisis by joining hands between producers and consumers.

～ Outline of YUKIYA's Rice Harvesting Experience 2026 (Scheduled) ～ - Period: Late September to early October 2026 - Venue: Shimohirao, Saku City, Nagano Prefecture (the rice field planted this time) Details will be announced on the official YUKIYA website and other channels when decided.

About YUKIYA

Founded in 2001. Inspired by a meeting with a farmer in Sugito Town, Saitama Prefecture, the company has worked to spread pesticide-free, organic fertilizer rice farming (Aminoto farming method). Since 2009, it has operated the direct-from-producer sales "YUKIYA." Since 2025, it has started rice farming on its own farm, proposing a "food cycle" connecting production, distribution, and consumption.

### Company Overview - Company Name: YUKIYA Co., Ltd. - Established: 2001 - Representative Director: Koji Oda - Address: 3-1-5 Nishiohwa, Kuki City, Saitama Prefecture 340-0206 - Official Website: https://www.coreforce.jp - Company Website: https://y-yuki.com/