NEW WEBSITE SOON!
We are currently working on a new website. We plan to launch the new HP within the next few weeks.
In the meanwhile, for information about Hasekura2.0’s activities in 2015, please check the attached pdf file or email us at:
ただいま新ホームページを作成中です。完成までしばらくお待ちください。
２０１５年度の活動については添付のファイルをご覧ください。お問い合わせは下記のメールアドレスまでお願いいたします.
Estamos preparando nuestra nueva página web y estará lista en las próximas semanas.
Para información sobre las actividades previstas en 2015 les remitimos al documento en pdf adjunto. Para más información por favor envíen un correo electrónico a:
contact@hasekuraprogram.com
PRESENTING THE HASEKURA2.0 PROGRAM AT THE JAPAN FOUNDATION IN TOKYO
2014.11.08: Today from 14h will be presenting the results of our first year of activities at the Japan Foundation in Tokyo (Yotsuya 3 chome). If you are interested in knowing what we do and what will be doing next year, please feel free to come by!
本日、１４時から日本国際交流基金で「支倉プログラム」の報告会が開催されます。お近くの方々は是非お越し下さいませ！
https://www.facebook.com/events/533654580103361/?pnref=story
Hasekura2.0Program 4th mission: Art Crafts and Design
Between July 3 and August 31, Barcelona’s emblematic Palau Robert will host “The path to Tohoku: Nature, Tradition and Innovation”, an exhibition showing crafts and design from this Japanese region. The event will serve to celebrate 400 years of bilateral relations with Japan
In Hasekura2.0Program we are already gearing up for our 4th mission, focused on art crafts and design from Tohoku region. One of the highlights will be an exhibition running from the beginning of July to the end of August at the Palau Robert, in the center of Barcelona. The exhibit “The Way to Tohoku: Nature, Tradition and Innovation” will feature items and products from Tohoku area that combine tradition and innovation in the field of design and creation. Divided into three sections, it will show traditional art forms developed over several generations based on the needs of everyday life and in harmony with nature. There will also be new pieces developed in the context of a social movement pushed by new generations of young Japanese.
Our aim is to show active trends in post-tsunami Japan, and thus share a new vision that might be a way of confronting the crises the world faces today. In addition, from June 30 to July 6 Hasekura2.0 will bring to Barcelona artisans, designers and entrepreneurs who will take part in workshops and conferences in collaboration with FAD (Festival of All Design) and FabLab, which in the first week of July will hold the 10th International Conference of global network of FabLabs (Fab10).
The workshops will be an open forum for Japanese craftsmen to explain their work and present products and materials to an international audience. It will also be a chance to reinvent, redesign or adapt Japanese products with market potential to contemporary international tastes. 
Like the previous three missions (focused on Responsible Tourism, Smart Cities and Gastronomy, respectively), this is an official project of the Dual Year Spain-Japan. The 4th mission and exhibition is possible thanks to the finantial support of The Japan Foundation and the collaboration of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Consulate General of Japan in Barcelona.
Washoku@Alimentaria 2014: flavours of Japanese cuisine
Washoku@Alimentaria 2014, Japan Special Programme at Barcelona’s Alimentaria exhibition, held its second and final day on April 1st with a series of presentations, tastings and panel discussions on consumer trends and culinary projects from Japan.
Tofu, miso and seaweeds: these basic ingredients of Japanese cuisine were analyzed in a session with Reiko Yamada, owner of “Salon de R” cooking school, and Ichiro Kubota , planning director at the Japanese Reconstruction Agency. The latter gave an overview of some of the most typical products of Tohoku’s rich gastronomy, while Yamada explained how to get the best from tofu, miso and seaweeds, three ingredients with an increasing popularity worldwide.
Producer/consumer relationship was the main topic in a round table on CSA (Community Supported Agriculture ), Slow Food and new trends in production and local consumption. During the conversation, the president of Kesennuma Slow Food Association and the Chamber of Commerce of Kesennuma, Akihiko Sugawara, detailed how the relative isolation of Tohoku has preserved not only his natural products, but the whole culture associated with food. According to Sugawara, the relationship between consumers and producers is a shared responsibility, and to strengthen this relationship is essential for both parts.
Meanwhile, Hiroyuki Takahashi, president of Tohoku Kaikon NPO (“Cultivating Tohoku”) and chief editor of the magazine Tohoku Taberu Tsushin (Gastronomic Information from Tohoku), stressed the importance of creating new communication channels between producers and consumers, in order to build a community that shares the same values.
In the same round table participated Italian Dino Borri, who conveyed his experience in Eataly project, and Guillem Miralles, coordinator of “Xarxa Productes de la Terra”, who analyzed the benefits of this network of local food producers.
The round table was followed by “Go Japan!”, an interesting panel on the situation in Tohoku and the business opportunities in Japan. Makoto Kitamura, deputy director general of the Japanese Reconstruction Agency, detailed the measures applied to accelerate the reconstruction of Tohoku, while putting emphasis on the strict inspections performed on
foods produced in that region to ensure its safety and reliability. Also participating were José María Cervera, international director of the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona, and José Ricardo Mañueco, responsible for Promotion and Institutional Relations at Japan External Trade Organization ( JETRO) .
Sake, Japanese drink par excellence, starred the next session, in which participants were able to learn how to enjoy this millenarian spirit full of history. Jisei Isawa, 12th generation brewer and general vicedirector for the Katsuyama Brewery, explained the ways and style of the new sake. Katsuyama Brewery was the supplier to the noble Date clan to which belonged Date Masamune (the samurai who organized the Keicho mission to Spain back in 1613).
It was an exceptional tasting, where guests enjoyed three different sakes of Katsuyama.
At the same meeting took part Antoni Campins -author of “Sake, liquid silk”- and Pilar Cavero, sommelier of El Celler de Can Roca and Best Sommelier of Spain 2013. Both of them offered more details on features and ways of tasting this spirit.
Japan Special Programme at Alimentaria was closed with a conference by young businessman Kenji Suzuki, who explained his innovative project Iwaki Kome Burger: mini-burgers made from rice which he already successfully sells in the United States. Suzuki is also the founder and CEO of Yoyakeichiba (Sunrise Marke ) food court in Iwaki, his hometown, where he seeks to stimulate trade and support local producers.
“Eu-wa-fu”: A Conversation between Carme Ruscalleda and Keisuke Matsushima
Barcelona, 31st March.- A conversation between Carme Ruscalleda and Keisuke Matsushima marked the beginning of Japan Special Programme in Alimentaria 2014 fair. The event took place on a special date for the Catalan chef: April 1st marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of his restaurant in Tokyo (Sant Pau), awarded with two Michelin stars.
During the dialogue, moderated by the expert in gastronomy Annette Abstoss, Ruscalleda -the only woman that has six stars in the Michelin Guide- explained that at first the idea of opening a restaurant in Japan seemed somewhat far-fetched, but when they visited the country they “fall in love” with it.
Matsushima, owner of the restaurant in Nice that bears his name, talked about “fusion” and explained that he sees it as “an international marriage” that creates something “new and innovative”. However, he prefers to avoid the word “fusion” and use “creation” instead. According to him, the mixture of traditional products and new techniques can produce “something great”.
Washoku@Alimentaria2014 : The third mission of Hasekura2.0Program begins
Barcelona, March 31st.- The third mission of Hasekura2.0Program started today at Alimentaria International Food and Drinks Exhibition. This year, the fair has a special program related to Japan and his cuisine – washoku – with the flavors, dishes, ingredients and culinary traditions as protagonists.
The group of Japanese experts from the food sector toured the fair before the opening of the Japan Special Program, which includes a talk between Catalan chef Carme Ruscalleda, the only woman awarded with six stars from the Michelin Guide, and Keisuke Matsushima, one of the very few Japanese chefs with a Michelin Star awarded restaurant in France.
On Tuesday, Alimentaria’s public will also have the opportunity to attend a monographic session on the uses and application of tofu, miso and seaweed, as well as a round table that will discuss new trends in local production and consumption in Japan. The program will be closed by a panel on business opportunities in Japan for SMEs, a round table about how to enjoy sake and a talk on food entrepreneurship during the current economical crisis.
After being welcomed by the responsibles of Alimentaria 2014, the Japanese delegation made a guided tour of the fair, which in this edition hosts over 3,800 exhibiting companies. During the visit they tasted different wines and made a short stop at the “Olive Oil Bar”, where they had the opportunity to taste several Spanish olive oils .
Refined, healthy and balanced, “washoku” cuisine was recognized last year as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The organization highlighted that washoku is associated with an essential spirit of respect for nature that is closely related to the sustainable use of natural resources.
Hasekura2.0Program has organized this event in collaboration with Alimentaria 2014. Between June 2013 and July 2014 Japan and Spain celebrate a Dual Year commemorating the 400th anniversary of the beginning of relations between the two countries.
To view the profiles of the participants click here
“Washoku@Alimentaria2014” at the centre of Hasekura2.0 Third Mission
The 3rd Hasekura2.0 Mission will shortly take place in Barcelona. After Responsible Tourism (1st Mission) and Smart Communities (2nd Mission), this time the Japanese participants will share their experience with other international professionals on the topic of Gastronomy and Sustainable Consumption.
Focused around the celebration of Alimentaria 2014 International Food and Drinks Exhibition, a group of experts from the food sector will present us socially and environmentally sustainable, innovative projects that are currently being implemented in the North-East region of Japan hit by the tsunami of 2011.
During their week-long stay in Spain, the Japanese delegation will also have the opportunity to visit wine producers, fish markets, etc and to participate in a workshops and networking events.
For more information, please check the full program here.
Hasekura2.0 2nd mission:”Smart Cities and Sustainable Communities” in Barcelona and Madrid from November 18th 2013.
The Second Mission of the HASEKURA2.0PROGRAM welcomes to Spain young entrepreneurs and experts active in the Tohoku area to discuss, with their International peers, about the future of Smart City-Smart Communities, the role of technology in solving crucial social issues such as regional depopulation, the ageing of society and the role of social entrepreneurship in shaping a people rather than profit-based society worldwide. It will be taking place from November 18th to 22th 2013.
Barcelona, is de facto a worldwide model of community-business and local government managed smart city.
There are various workshops and presentations planned during the 6 days of the program which counts on the collaboration of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Barcelona Activa, the Sant Cugat City Council, among others. Participants from Japan will be joining the Smart City Expo (SCEW13) Barcelona.
For the detailed program please refer to this page.
Hasekura2.0 First Mission landed in Barcelona today
Members of the 1st Hasekura2.0 Mission on Responsible Tourism arrived today in Barcelona. During the next few days they will attend the 7th International Conference on Responsible Tourism and participate in workshops and seminars with local prestigious institutions, such as the Barcelona City Council Business Promotion Bureau (Barcelona Activa), Barcelona Tourism Board , the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB-UPC), CETT Tourism University, Diputació de Barcelona and Lonxanet Foundation for sustainable fishing.
The program also includes a field trip to the responsible tourism destinations of L’Estartit and Torroella de Montgrí (Costa Brava) and a visit to the small village of Fayón (Aragón). Even if the agenda is very tight, participants will have some free time to enjoy Barcelona’s atmosphere, delicious cuisine and sunny weather ”
¡Benvinguts!”
Hasekura 2.0 Program 