The cycle of life connecting the forest and the sea: "The story of Picea Glehnga tea woven on a day of grain rain" - A conversation with Tatsuya Ueii (Shizenshita) and Ami (Gofujuuu) @ L'Esperance (Sapporo)

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Sunday, April 20th is the day of "Grain Rain" in the 24th solar term. Grain Rain is said to "fall rain to nourish the grains," and is the season when soft, warm rain falls to moisten the fields. On that day, too, a blessed rain fell lightly, as if to moisten the new spring buds...

Tea Party "A Conversation with Ueii Tatsuya (Shizenshita) & Ami (Gofujuuame)"

A tea ceremony fitting for Grain Rain Day was held at the vegan restaurant L'Espérance in Maruyama, Sapporo.

This tea party will feature a conversation between Ami (owner of Gofujuu), who developed the aperitif tea, and Kamii Tatsuya (representative of Shizenshita), who provided the tea ingredients (red spruce from the forests of Hokuryu Town), while enjoying the delicious cuisine of L'Esperance.

The theme is "Forest Tea"!

This special aperitif tea was developed and planned by Ami (owner of Gofujuuame) as a special aperitif for L'Esperance, which celebrated its 4th anniversary in April.

The raw material for this tea is the leaves of the red spruce trees grown by Tatsuya Uei, who runs a sustainable forest management practice with a high level of environmental conservation in Hokuryu Town!

A wonderful connection made by the red spruce trees growing in the forests of Hokuryu Town!

A conversation between Ami and Tatsuya Kamii

• Ami opened her shop, Gofujuuame, in Minami-ku, Sapporo five years ago.
• Tatsuya Kamii moved to Hokuryu Town five years ago (April 2020) and started "self-logging forestry" in the town's forests.

The birth of Picea Glehnii tea

🍵 Ami-san

"When Hakusan, which serves vegan food, was thinking about future changes, the idea for a new tea was born.
It is important to us where we get our plants from.

This time, a trusted friend who works as a lumberjack in the forestry industry introduced me to Mr. Uei, who runs a self-cutting forestry business in Hokuryu Town. Through this connection, I was able to make tea using the leaves of the trees that Mr. Uei carefully protects.

We connect that tea to Hakusan's cooking and have everyone eat it, so we work with an awareness of the entire cycle of food."

Self-cutting forestry: a circular and sustainable forestry

🌲 Kamii-san

"I got involved in forestry because I've loved nature since I was a child, and I thought it would be nice to have a forest in my garden, and I dreamed of living near a forest. I started forestry with the simple idea that I'd like to work in the forest.

I didn't want to see living things become extinct due to the destruction of forests, so I was attracted to self-logging forestry, a circular and sustainable forestry method.

When I think of forests, I think the foundation is soil. There is the sea, there is soil, and on that soil, grass grows, there are insects and other living things, trees grow, and humans can live.

Ordinary forestry is thought of as an industrial or manufacturing industry, where trees are cut down and soil is eroded, making landslides more likely to occur.

It is said that it takes more than 100 years for the top layer of soil to form. I dislike the current forestry mindset of 'only me now', so I practice self-cutting forestry, keeping in mind the forests of 100 years from now."

☕️ Ami-san

"Mr. Uwai and I are of the same generation. I am truly happy to have become friends with someone who is working hard in the forestry industry. This is the second time we have met, the last time being the first time we met. Even when we first met, we shared the same thoughts and resonated with each other.

Mr. Kamii has been researching how to make the most of his forest through trial and error for about five years, the same period as me.

Nowadays, human-centered thinking is mainstream, and society and river development are being carried out for human convenience. It feels like the environment is becoming difficult for the creatures that live there. Forests, rivers, and oceans are all connected."

🌲 Kamii-san

"If you live a self-centered life without considering the overall cycle in the long term, the natural flow will begin to collapse, and ultimately it will be you who suffers."

Video of a visit to Kamii's forest in Hokuryu Town on March 10th

• Ami, Hakusan, and Yuumi visited together

🌲 Kamii-san

"We have received forest materials before, but it was a surprise because it's rare for someone to suddenly visit the mountains. It was extremely unusual for someone to visit a mountain with snow still remaining on it with the desire to 'see the site'.

Looking back, we once provided materials to SHIRO, a cosmetics company in Sunagawa, and the company president personally visited the mountain at that time.

The Picea glehnii tree used for the tea this time is still young, about 30 years old. Its leaves are soft and full of vitality.

The forest is a completely isolated space, so we were able to have some very deep conversations. Ami and her friends tasted the leaves and the snow on the pine needles, enjoying the forest space in a free and easy way."

☕️ Ami-san

"After eating the forest leaves, the children enjoyed the forest to their heart's content, saying things like, 'This is delicious,' 'These leaves have a different taste,' 'It tastes sweet,' 'It's sour,' 'It has a spicy, ginger-like stimulating taste,' and 'It has a refreshing scent.'

The snow that had accumulated on the pine needles was so pure that if you melted it and added it to tea, it would taste different.

Each plant essence contains its own unique energy, so each one has a different flavor."

"Omusubi" made with the thought that all living things are connected

Ami was provided with spring water collected from Minami-ku, Sapporo, where she lives, and rice balls cooked with that spring water.

☕️ Ami-san

"Today is Grain Rain Day, a blessed rain, a natural rain, which nourishes us. Thanks to the rain and wind, we are living in peace and safety.

Depending on how you look at things, they are not just good or bad for human convenience, but everything has meaning and is necessary. Everyone has a different role to play, and they all complement each other. I believe that the Earth and the universe exist because not only humans but all living things are connected in cycles.

It is with this feeling in mind that I make these rice balls. I believe it is important for everyone to play their part and to come together as one. Rice balls, tea, and tea ceremonies are all imbued with this same shared feeling."

☕️ Ami-san

"This rice ball is made from rice grown in a rice field at the foot of Mt. Sapporo, where spring water flows. It is Nanatsuboshi rice, grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

Shirayama-san asked me to make some sweets, but I felt that the best way to let people know about me would be through rice balls, so I made some.

The key point here is the salt from the sea, "Rausu Salt." In fact, the forest and the sea are good friends."

Everyone was impressed, saying things like, "It has a sweet and gentle taste!" and "It's so delicious!"

Changing the world through small everyday actions

🌲 Kamii-san

"Leaves fall in the forest, insects eat them, and then fish eat the insects that gather on the leaves, and the fish droppings are carried to the sea, where plankton gather, and this plankton turns into highly nutritious water that flows into the ocean, making it rich in nutrients."

☕️ Ami-san

"Without plankton in the ocean, fish would not be healthy. There are creatures that eat that plankton, and all life cycles continue.

Now, seaweed species such as kelp, wakame, and nori are facing a critical situation. It is said that harvests have decreased by about 40% over the past 10 years. One of the reasons for this is that the state of the oceans and rivers is poor, preventing plankton from growing. The same is true for the state of forests.

Research has shown that synthetic detergents and laundry detergents are flowing into rivers and oceans, polluting the water we use daily, preventing plankton from growing.

However, with hope, an experiment was conducted on a remote island in Munakata City, Fukuoka Prefecture, in which additive-free soap was used for bathing and laundry in order to prevent pollution of the sea and rivers by domestic wastewater.The results showed that the water quality improved within a few years, and the types and quantities of microorganisms and plankton increased.

Until now, when I looked at the social and world situations, I only saw pain, sadness, and despair. However, I have come to realize that if we can make small changes in our daily lives and raise our voices, the world can truly change. This is where I find hope. I believe that not giving in to despair leads to hope.

There are now an increasing number of young people of Kamii's generation and the like who want to take part in activities with the same kind of enthusiasm.

I think it's important for everyone to join hands, regardless of generation. I think everyone here today is doing something, or has something that resonates with them.

Rather than blaming yourself for what you can't do, I think the first step is to find out what you can do and gradually increase that. The rest is just a matter of knowing."

🌲 Kamii-san

"That's right. Most people don't know about it, so I would like them to first study it and learn about it."

Cherish the cycle of all life

☕️ Ami-san

"Rather than just knowing and believing one thing, it's important to look at things from various angles. There are many tools available to learn from, and you can even access foreign media through online translation. I think it's really important to consider what you want to do from various perspectives."

Please take a moment to smell the red spruce leaves on your tables. The leaves are so soft and lovely! Uehi-san brought some particularly soft branches from the forest in Hokuryu Town.

This time, the red spruce trees to be used for tea were sent to me around February. Normally, I would inspect the trees with my own eyes and collect the leaves, but Uwai-san observes the condition of the plants and selects them before collecting them, so I trusted him and left it to him.

I can see the condition of the leaves, so I really felt that Kamii had sent me a plant that he had truly cherished.

When we collect leaves, we are also receiving the life of that plant. I sympathize with how Uwai values the life of plants. We receive the lives of not only plants but also insects and other living things in nature, and use them to sustain our own lives.

I want to cherish the cycle of all life in the tea I make and other products I make. I always value the perspective of who grows the plants, how they grow them, and what their feelings are when they are harvested. I want to be mindful of various aspects, not just the superficial aspects, such as the invisible feelings that go into them."

Identifying and Cutting Each Tree in the Forest

🌲 Kamii-san

"Self-logging forestry begins with building a path in the forest that will last for 100 years. We start in a place where you can't see anything around and the bamboo grass is about as tall as you are, and we patiently and carefully build a sturdy path that will not break. We maintain it little by little.

I feel that the best trees are those that have been growing for a long time. They have the strength to survive, so they drop seeds, and the baby trees grow into fine trees three years later. It's so cute, and it's those moments when I feel happy and realize that I made the right decision.

If you bring trees from outside and plant them, various problems will arise, such as them becoming diseased or being eaten by mice and not growing.

Even when cutting down trees, we don't cut them all at once, but instead leave the strongest trees and cut down the ones next to them. We carefully select and cut down each tree in the forest, which is extremely time-consuming, but we are conscious of leaving behind good trees and inevitably enriching the forest.

Without thick trees, owls cannot live, so we are conscious of leaving as many thick and sturdy trees as possible when we work in forestry."

Chef Hakusan Masaru's cuisine

Aperitif tea: Red spruce tea

☕️ Ami-san

"Since this tea is served before meals, we have created a subtle aroma and gentle flavor so that it does not overpower the food."

Spruce tea is rare, and when I tried it before, I felt it instantly blend into my body, with a fresh, clean taste. Adding a pinch of salt gives it a soup-like umami flavor."

A glass of "Spine Tea" is served as an aperitif, and is also used as second- and third-grade tea in the course menu, such as in the stock for sauces.

The taste of tea changes subtly depending on how it is brewed and your mood that day. You can feel the change in taste every time you drink it, so I hope everyone will enjoy it in their own way."

"When you add salt, it tastes rich and nutritious, like soup. It's delicious!" exclaimed the impressed participants as they slowly savored the tea.

A dish of California carrots: A dish inspired by a walk through the forest

🍸 Chef Hakusan

"When you mix in various ingredients, including mountain flowers, it gives off a yellow peach flavor and a variety of other aromas."

This dish features vibrant colors of carrots, radishes, peaches, and edible flowers, and the aroma will soothe your soul, while the gentle flavor will fill your body!!!

Crab topping to resemble a river

🍸 Chef Hakusan

"It's a dish that feels like it's flowing from the forest into the river."

The dish, arranged in a spring roll wrapper, features vegetables such as dried daikon radish, maitake mushrooms, and celery, which create a mysterious harmony of flavors that resonate with each other, creating a fantasy dish that seems to float gently in a river of vibrant green sauce!!!

The two crabs playing on top of the cream are so cute!

Image of the sea

🍸 Chef Hakusan

"These dishes are inspired by sea fish."

This dish evokes the ocean world with a sauce made from couscous and turnip leaves, a green avocado puree, and fresh seasonal asparagus, topped with a monaka fish!

Cookies made from ancient wheat and charcoal, shaped like fish bones

I was surprised by the Monaka fish bone cookies!!

🍸 Chef Hakusan

"It's a course meal that tells the story of going from the forest to the river, from the river to the sea, and then back to the forest."

Dessert

This super cute bear monaka sandwich with tapioca ice cream and its butt facing you is so cute ❤️

The sweet and sour taste and slightly bitter taste of the kumquats bring the whole dish together, satisfying both body and mind!!!

A slightly twisted bear with its back facing you, tapioca ice cream monaka, and kumquat jam.

Ancient wheat muffins

Hope Muffin

Japanese mint tea: A soft and gentle tasting tea

• Peppermint tea combined with pesticide-free roasted green tea from Shiga Prefecture
• Tea brewed using Hakusan's subatomic water

A wonderful tea party woven together by people whose souls resonate with one another, including "Ami-san," the creator of tea, "lumberjack Uei Tatsuya," the parent of the ingredients, and artistic cuisine creator chef "Chef Hakusan Masaru of L'Esperance"!!!

With boundless love, gratitude and prayer, we share precious moments with people who pay attention to the cycle of life in all living things, and who care for and cherish the small things in their daily lives...

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Photos (91 photos) of the Tea Ceremony @ L'Esperance "A conversation between Uehi of Shizenka and Ami of Gofujuuame" are here >>

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◇ Photography, editing, and website management: Noboru Terauchi Writer: Ikuko Terauchi