Mikan Noen (Tangerine Orchard)

Mikan are those delicious and easy to peel Japanese tangerines that we see in markets this time of year. One of my ealiest memories of Japan is buying small mesh bags of mikan on train platforms to eat while traveling.

While in the Fukuoka area one of my wife's nephews took me to his mikan orchard to harvest and eat the freshest mikan ever.

Nephew Kazuyo showing me how to harvest mikan in his 40-tree noen (orchard).

The best mikan are grown on a hillside where the sun hits with just the right angle and the wind is off the salt water so the trees are treated to a salt breeze to help flavor the oranges.

Behind Kazuyo in the picture, above, is a biwa (loquat) tree (bush). The season for biwa is  late spring here in the Fukuoka area so we couldn't have any fresh fruit.

A mikan tree full of fruit.

The mikan season in this part of Japan starts in mid-October so the fruit was just getting to the pickable stage when we were there. Even green colored fruits are tasty but they are even better when they turn fully orange.

Where the orchard is located is pretty steep terrain.  There is either fencing or steep walls on all sides to keep out the wild pigs which have become numerous in the past 20-30 years. The entrance is up a steep path with a sturdy gate to keep those pesky pigs away from the fruit trees. They can't climb the trees but will butt against them to knock down the fruit if they get into the orchard.

Fisherman nephew Takeshi working outside his skill level. In the center of the noen is a propane powered bird and wild pig chaser. The propane feeds into a hollow T-shaped tube connected to a striker. Every few minutes the striker ignites the propane and produces a loud noise reminiscent of a shotgun blast.