Toshihiro: Our signature product is The Olive Oil, which you just tried in the last aromatic experience. However, we don’t just make body oils, but many different kinds of beauty and health products as well.
Tadakatsu: Olives give much more than just their seeds. The leaves and branches of the tree also offer different benefits. Take our Olive Oil Extract, for example. This is a health drink made using olive leaves, which have twice as much polyphenol as the seeds. This is the first olive oil product to be recognized as an FCC, or food with functional claims, product, and designated health food.
Toshihiro: Olives themselves are naturally very clean, but this is due to the anti-bacterial properties in the leaves. We focused on these attributes when making this product, but it took us over five years to develop it.
Tadakatsu: The Yagyu family is a “farming family that wears a white coat.” We not only grow olives, but we are also the only olive-focused researchers on the island with an Olive Research Laboratory. While the research laboratory is not here on the grounds, we conduct olive research there on a daily basis.
Tadakatsu: Hopefully one day we can host the International Olive Symposium or the Olive Oil World Congress here on Shodoshima.
Toshihiro: I want to make Shodoshima the Silicon Valley of olives. That’s why it's so important for us to share the discoveries we make here on a daily basis. The olives of Shodoshima are the most famous in all of Japan. We represent the country in this field. From this small island, we want to continue to show the world the amazing potential of olives.
Tadakatsu: That is what we are hoping to convey with our products. We have all kinds of products on display here, plus more.
Toshihiro: There is no right or wrong with olives, but there is a right and wrong in the way that you process them. Handpicking the olives individually definitely plays a role in their value. But anyway, do you see a bench nearby? If you take a seat on it, you will be able to look out at the Seto Inland Sea. We hope you can enjoy a moment here while drinking your olive tea and taking in the scenery.
