Okinawa, Japan
February 2025
Our February 2025 trip to Japan offered some of the most vivid contrasts we have ever experienced. One day we were at Yubari Onsen in Okayama Prefecture, sitting with one of our producers in a riverside natural onsen as snowflakes fell all around us. The very next day we flew to the warm tropical Okinawan archipelago to see how sugar is made.
After flying for less than three hours from Osaka, we landed on Ishigaki island, the fourth largest in the archipelago. There we met up with Wada-san of Wadaman and Murakami-san of Murakami Syouten, from whom we source what we believe is the most unique sugar in the world. But Ishigaki was just our jumping-off point – a place to sleep, eat, and catch a ferry to our real destination: Hateruma island.
This trip had been a long time in coming. Way back in late 2017, in a meeting at Murakami-san’s offices in Osaka, we had tasted samples from all eight Okinawa islands that produce sugar. The sugar produced on Hateruma was our favorite by a wide margin. IYKYK – if you have tasted it, you know. The depth of flavor, the savoriness, the minerality…everything makes it an outstanding and unique ingredient.
Traveling to Hateruma isn’t easy, especially for those of us prone to motion sickness, as a one-hour-plus ferry ride was our mode of transport. Murakami-san even advised us to build an extra day into our itinerary in case the seas were rough and the ferry didn’t run. Luckily for us, the seas were calm and we were able to grab the early morning ferry.
With bright sun and puffy tropical clouds, the ride was stunningly beautiful. As we arrived at the very small port on Hateruma, we were greeted by Managing Director Kiyoya Kintake of Hateruma Sugar Company. After piling into a small minivan, we made the very short drive to their seaside factory, overlooking crystal blue water.
The view from the factory
Upstairs in their conference room, Kintake-san walked us through every detail of his company’s sugar. It was perhaps the most in-depth, technical explanation of a product, its production, and market that we have ever received from one of our producers.
First, we learned about the history of sugar on Hateruma. Sugarcane has been grown on the island for about 100 years, but for much of that time it was more of an afterthought. The island’s main industry was katsuobushi, supported by abundant skipjack tuna in the surrounding waters. When the katsuo fishing declined, the islanders turned to sugar to fill the gap.
Hateruma Sugar Company was founded in 1961, with the current plant being built only 11 years ago. Today, it can process up to 130 metric tons of raw sugar cane per day. About 200 hectares (just under 500 acres) of the island are planted with sugarcane. While there were once 195 farmers at peak production, today there are just 65 farmers. The 2024–2025 harvest was strong, with yields expected to reach around 13,000 metric tons, about a 20% increase year over year.
GROWING SUGAR
For sugar, it takes well over a year from field to bag.
On Hateruma they plant twice a year – in the summer and in the spring. This helps spread the risk of disease and typhoons.
Summer planting takes place from August through October and is harvested a year plus later in December through March.
Spring planting is a bit more complicated. Planted from March to May, it is first harvested the following March to April. Because the cane is only one year old, this initial harvest is very small. During this first harvest, the farmers leave the roots and a bit of the above-ground stalk intact. This regrows into what is called the Kabudashi crop. Kabu means “clump of roots” and dashi refers to something that emerges from something else (in this case, the new stalk growing from the clump of roots). The Kabudashi crop is harvested the following January and February.
Close-up of sugarcane's segments
Sugarcane is not grown from seed. Instead, farmers plant cut sections of cane from a prior crop. Like bamboo, sugarcane grows in segments. To plant it, they cut pieces of sugarcane so that you have one full segment and a half segment on either end, then place those pieces directly into the ground.
On Hateruma, cane from the summer harvest is used for spring planting, and the spring planting’s first harvest supports the next summer planting. Many moving parts in the cycle.
Currently, about 85% of the sugarcane is harvested by hand. However, that is beginning to change, as the local agricultural association has purchased a mechanical harvester and has plans to acquire another one.
PROCESSING SUGAR
During harvest season, from December through April, the processing plant runs nearly 24 hours a day. Outside of those months, it sits completely silent.
Once harvested, the cut sugarcane is brought to the processing facility and piled high before moving quickly into production. From start to finish, the entire process takes just 10–12 hours. The cane is first loaded into a multi-step machine that washes and cuts it, followed by the crushing machine that extracts the juice and removes the pressed cane.
The pile of harvested sugarcane ready for processing
The sugarcane is pressed
The extracted juice is then heated, and calcium is added to clarify it and control the pH. Sediment is removed, the juice is filtered, and then pumped through a series of tanks operating at progressively lower pressures. This allows for lower boiling points, preserving flavor. The pH is carefully maintained between 7.1 and 7.2, which helps with texture and flavor consistency.
The first concentration room
The next step is the second concentration, which is the real magic of the process. At Hateruma Sugar Company, this is done under manual supervision. The process involves rapidly heating the juice briefly to nearly 130°C (about 266°F) to develop its signature flavor. Only two people at the factory know how to do this, working nearly nonstop throughout the five-month harvest. Color and aroma are checked at this stage as well. Hateruma is one of only two islands in Okinawa that still maintains this manual roasting phase.
The second concentration room
In the final stages, the thickened liquid moves into a kneading process inside a long screw hopper, where it begins to crystallize. Then the sugar is cooled and packed. Tombstone-shaped boxes move along a conveyor belt to a packing machine that adds sugar in 12 layers. Workers tamp it down between layers. After multiple rounds, the resulting 30kg box is shipped out to companies like Murakami Syouten.
The packing room
THE ISLAND’S TERROIR
After our visit to the factory, we were driven around the tiny island (just 5 square miles) to see the sugarcane fields. We had been told that the island’s terroir plays a critical role in the flavor of Hateruma’s sugar, but here we saw it firsthand.
We stopped on a small road next to a sugarcane field about a half mile from the shore and walked into the field. The ground was scattered with chunks of coral. The calcium from the coral, along with naturally occurring phosphorus in the soil, contributes to the sugar’s distinctive character.
Coral found in soil
On the ferry ride back to Ishigaki, we reflected on the day. The coral-rich soil, the state-of-the-art processing plant, and the final hands-on concentration phase come together to produce a sugar unlike any we have tasted.
DAY 2
Because our trip to Hateruma wasn’t delayed by weather, we unexpectedly had an extra full day on Ishigaki. We decided to make the most of it.
First, we took a short ferry ride to nearby Taketomi Island to walk around, dip our feet into the incredibly blue ocean, have lunch, and try some brown sugar and purple sweet potato soft cream. We then returned to Ishigaki, where Wada-san had booked us some fun little three-wheeled cars to explore the island.
Taketomi Island ferry and beach
While zipping around, we stopped at a tiny sea salt factory to try our hands at making yakishio (grilled salt). We met our “salt sensei” in a secluded jungle clearing just outside the factory. We filled jars with seawater from the beach, strained it into heatproof bowls over charcoal grills, and stirred as it slowly boiled away. Eventually, only crystals of yakishio remained. Fascinatingly, each of our salts tasted different.
Making yakishio (grilled salt)
We left feeling that Okinawa is truly a very special place – distinct from mainland Japan yet deeply connected to it. Naturally, we leaned into the local food culture: taco rice, Spam in all its forms, goya champuru, rafute, umibudo, sata andagi, jimami dofu, and more.
Delicious Okinawan food finds
INTERESTING TIDBIT ABOUT OKINAWA:
In Japan, people drive on the left side of the road. For a period, in Okinawa, they drove on the right, like in the United States. On July 30, 1978, they officially switched back to driving on the left. It was a major logistical effort, with volunteers lining the streets to remind drivers of the change. In true Japanese fashion, the transition was carried out smoothly and efficiently. There’s even a monument commemorating the day.
The 730 Monument and Intersection in Ishigaki
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