Miyama Soba and Millet

In Miyama, soba fields double as landscape: farmers planted buckwheat in vacant rice paddies to keep the scenery from going bare as the population declined in the late 20th century. The crop rewards them with white flowers through mid-September and a harvest in October. The Kitamura restaurant by the Kayabuki no Sato village serves hand-cut noodles made from locally grown buckwheat. Millet, another traditional grain here, appears in kibimochi, a lightly sweet confection made by blending millet flour with glutinous rice, available at local cafes and shops throughout the area.