"Utsunomiya Gyoza Festival" Held

The second "Utsunomiya Gyoza Festival in Yokohama" (Organized by Shimotsuke Shimbun, Co-sponsored by Utsunomiya Gyoza Association) was held at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse from April 17th to 19th. Fifteen shops from the Utsunomiya Gyoza Association, which has about 80 member shops, set up stalls selling their signature gyoza. Approximately 160,000 people visited over the three days.

Takahiro Izawa, Section Chief of the Sales Department at Shimotsuke Shimbun's Tokyo Branch, stated: "We planned this event to let many people in the greater Tokyo area actually taste Utsunomiya gyoza, hoping they would visit the city during the Golden Week holidays or summer vacation. For 15 years, Utsunomiya City ranked first in Japan for per-household gyoza purchases according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' Household Expenditure Survey. However, in 2011 after the Great East Japan Earthquake, it fell to second place due to reputational damage and shortages of raw materials. Stakeholders united to reclaim the top spot, and successfully regained the number one position in the 2013 survey. As a local newspaper, we want to continue supporting regional revitalization through gyoza." Akihiro Suzuki, Secretary General of the Utsunomiya Gyoza Association, passionately stated, "We were initially concerned about Yokohama because of its Chinatown, but Utsunomiya gyoza is being welcomed as something unique to Utsunomiya. The opening of the Ueno-Tokyo Line in March has made Utsunomiya much more accessible. We hope people will come for day trips and enjoy the unique flavors at various restaurants." Since 2013, the city has competed with Hamamatsu City over gyoza consumption volume, but now the focus is on spreading the unique deliciousness of Utsunomiya gyoza nationwide, rather than obsessing over rankings.

Tokiya Ken, Manager of the Sales Department at Kirin Marketing's Tochigi Branch, one of the sponsors, stated: "Our company and the Shimotsuke Shimbun have long supported local food and sports organizations together. However, the closure of the Kirin Beer Tochigi Plant in autumn 2010 and the subsequent slump in Utsunomiya gyoza consumption in 2011 led both companies to share a common desire: to revitalize the spirit of customers in Tochigi and Utsunomiya. This shared vision has driven us to implement various initiatives within Tochigi Prefecture. Taking the reclaiming of the top spot in gyoza consumption as an opportunity, we also aim to energize people outside Tochigi Prefecture. To that end, we supported last year's Kitakyushu National Gyoza Summit and the Utsunomiya Gyoza Festival in Yokohama. The strong collaboration between our local Tochigi team and our Tokyo branch has led to these results. Kirin Ichiban Shibori and Utsunomiya Gyoza are a perfect match. Going forward, we want people outside Tochigi Prefecture to enjoy Utsunomiya Gyoza and Kirin Ichiban Shibori too, spreading that feeling of "delightful! delicious!" nationwide," he expressed enthusiastically.