The Takadai Meadows area was settled in the first decades of the 20th century by pioneers from Honshu and was so named because it is a plateau.

(The local township, Konbu, got its name from the bunches of seaweed the settlers used to mark the land while other local areas were named after the former Honshu homes of settlers, for example nearby Fukui. )

The plateau land was hand hewn from the forest and some 13 families settled the area. Families had an average of 6-8 children, so the area supported at least 100 people. As settlement was before widespread mechanisation farmers made use of various animals – horse drawn ploughs, milk cows and goats for clearing the growth.

Farming on Takadai was well established until major agricultural policy changes beginning in the 1960s. The Japanese Government decided that local rice production was insufficient to feed the growing population and in 1962 attempted to boost production by boosting the profits of producers by increasing rice prices.

The unintended result was a collapse in rice prices. Artificially high rice prices combined with changing tastes and the availability of new food imports from the west meant Japanese started to eat less rice, preferring bread and other imported food instead. Prices for rice dropped from 18,000 per 60 kg to 12,000 per 60 kg. This mistake was compounded when the government sought to restore prices by decreasing production of rice and support rural vilalges by introducing a subsidy to discontinue rice planting and let land lie fallow.

At the peak of the subsidy racket, growers (ungrowers?) in Takadai and elsewhere in Japan could receive ¥80,000 per 1,000m2 (¥800,000 per hectare) to let land lie fallow. Large areas of rice paddies were abandoned as the subsidy did not allow for planting alternative crops. Another unintended side-effect was the fallow land became unsuitable for other crops as rice paddies need a clay subsurface to retain water, and water logged fallow paddies do not easily regenerate but remain leached of nutrients, minerals and organic matter.

By the time the Japanese real estate bubble came round in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Takadai farmers were ready to take the high prices being offered by developers and leave the land entirely. Large Japanese engineering firm Chiyoda Corp wanted to try its hand at golf course development and bought out all of the farmers on Takadai for a reputed US$70,000,000, making the landowners cash millionaires many times over.

Chiyoda planned to build a ubiquitous golf course on the Takadai land with condominiums, tennis courts and nature resort based on an Austrian model. But the bubble burst and the land remained undeveloped, remaining locked up since 1992. Rumours abounded in the local community as to what is happening there. Some believing it was a secret government property, perhaps a mountain vegetable resort for senior members of the state.

In the years that followed, the undeveloped resort land was sold several times eventually being bought by RidgeRunner Real Estate, Architectural Design & Development (RAD KK), a Japanese-Australian property company.

RidgeRunner had become interested in all-year tourism development in Niseko and also agri-tourism as the result of participating in a comprehensive study looking at the impact of the an overseas-led property boom in the Niseko ski area. The outcome of the study, conducted by Niseko Property Press, was that Niseko tourism could only be sustained if the area made a paradigm shift from snow to destination resort.

The study revealed that rather than skiing, the main reason domestic tourists visited to Niseko was to have lunch. The second most important reason was having dinner. It was also clear that a year-round tourism would be far more sustainable for the area that snow-focused visitation only. RidgeRunner’s interest in agri-tourism was further shaped by the successes of the slow food movement, growing Japanese interest in organic foods, and data showing growing tourists preferences for healthy and sustainable holidays.

As a result, the company bought the Takadai land with partners and plans to create Japan’s largest organic farm based around a system of natural farming, with the ideal aim to reach a loose state of perma-culture.

While being committed to organics the owners are not luddites and understand that it is a hungry world so we will be using modern machinery and techniques. A resource inventory of Takadai after its purchase showed that the property is home to native species of Kiwi Fruit (hardy kiwis), Yama Budou (mountain grapes), feral blackberries, abundant seasonal mountain vegetables and an estimated 400 species fungus. As a new native food source is discovered farm manager Dennis Van Den Brink has been marking it on a resource map.

The owners are considering a boutique hotel with a gourmet restaurant based on the philosophy of local food for local consumption. Although loathe to use the term ‘sustainable development’ as every developer is painting their inappropriate development green, the owners want to use solar, geothermal and low impact technologies where practical. Given the latitude of Hokkaido the owners feel that green houses heated with hot spring water could be viable all year round and could possibly feed skiers appetite for strawberries in February.

Partners in the venture are from West Australia and compared Niseko to the Margaret River of the 1980s, which was at the time a one-trick-pony tourism destination (surfing) but with a little planning became an incredibly successful wine-tourism region. Takadai will have vineyards as a result. They are beautiful to look at, and even if the wine they produce isn’t palatable it can  be sold as vinegar.

A chance meeting with well known wine maker in Japan Bruce Gutlove convinced us that we could actually produce good wine. He was so enamored with Hokkaido grapes that he had been buying them and producing a very pleasant wine, and had purchased land in Hokkaido to put his money where his mouth was about the area.

The goal for the farm in 2008 is research and getting a complete understanding of the land’s potential. A trial sample of 800 vines has been planted on a perfect north-south oriented slope. They have taken well. Other trials of crops include a pip-fruit orchard, berries and summer vegetables. Land has also been cleared for trials of different organic fertilizers, organic bio degradable mulch and planting of cover and nitrogen fixing crops. We’re moving slowly as we do not want to do damage the land or available resources while we get up to speed.