How did you start the project?
The story began when I, the owner of "Ginza Kazuya", a small Japanese confectionery store, met yuzu farmers in Ome in 2012. They had to dispose most of their yuzu since it did not sell due to the economic downturn. "Sawai Yuzu" used to be a royal warrant of appointment to the kind during the Edo period. Its aroma is extraordinary and adored by the king of Edo. In order to protect this treasure, I decided to work with yuzu farmers in Tama and produce Japanese confectionery with yuzu. Our first product was "Yuzu Monaka" which was tasted first by the farmers. I was really happy to see one of the farmers, an old grandma with a bent back from years of farming, smile and tell me how delicious the sweets were. I was also very moved by the history of "Sawai yuzu" proudly told by Mr. Fujisaku Arai, the eldest yuzu farmer. During this tasting event, I decided to purchase all Sawai Yuzu harvested that year.

Kazuaki Tsuchiya, a "forest producer" based in a 150-year-old house in Ome's Mt. Mitake, is one of those who supported this project in order to protect the agriculture and specialty products in the local community. Yuzu has been processed by members at "Tama Kusamura no Kai", non-profit organization that assists handicapped individuals in achieving the greatest degree of independence and community integration. This project has also been supported by local athletes and volunteers for Earthquake Disaster in Eastern Japan.

960 kg of yuzu was purchased in the first year of the project launch. After a few rounds of trial and error, we created two Japanese confectionery featuring yuzu: "Yuzu Monaka" and "Yuzu Warabimochi". Handicapped members at Kusamura no Kai sliced each yuzu one by one by hand to make the confectionery. These products are full of dreams and hopes of everyone involved in this project, such as the farmers and handicapped individuals. We were able to sell our products at department stores as well.
The following year was the best year for yuzu in terms of harvest volume. In 2013 the harvest increased to 4.2 tons - these were processed all by hand. It was a never-ending procedure but we were able to process them all in the end and produced many sweets to sell.
We have developed the infrastructure for "Tokyo Tama World Project" based on the challenges and solutions we have had so far. 5.4 tons of yuzu were purchased in 2015 as we started buying yuzu from another farmer, one who produces "Bonbori Yuzu" in Akiruno. Aside from Yuzu confectionery, we released new products such as "Yuzu Ponzu", "Yuzu Shamo Curry", "Yuzu Soda" and "Yuzu deli" in conjunction with local companies that joined the project. Not to mention, yuzu has health and beauty benefits. We will continue to produce high quality yuzu products.

Brand logo for Tokyo Tama World Project derives from the first Hiragana character of Yuzu - "ゆ".
ゆ as yuzu
ゆ as yujyo (friendship)
ゆ as yuuki (courage)
ゆ as yume (dream)

Beyond Disability, Race and Borders - We are one.

We launched Tokyo Tama World Project with the hope of making people happy through this confectionary. We interviewed people who are directly involved with the project and those who strive to achieve goals in their own way. Their attitudes towards work and life are inspiring, and we are proud of introducing these Tama citizens to the world.

Ginza Kazuya is a tiny confectionary store. The former Japanese chef strives to produce his original Japanese confectionary by bringing out the flavor of ingredients. 'Tama Yuzu Monaka' and 'Tama Yuzu Warabi' turn out to be the products that carries everyone's dream and thoughts throughout the world. Our hope is to build a future where everyone works together with a smile despite all the differences that we have, such as language, skin color and culture.
We believe that this is the first step to achieve that goal.