“Hands in the Soil, Hearts in Blue: Our Indigo & Farm Retreat”
We were so happy to go on this tour together with friends from Miyagi and Iwate. On our first day, we visited Ms. Miku’s farm. We learned about the fascinating world of indigo plants and enjoyed delicious homemade onigiri (rice balls) for lunch before heading into the fields.
During the harvest, we carefully cut off only the mature leaves—leaving the young baby leaves so they could keep growing strong for future dyeing.
After gathering our fresh harvest, we started the first technique: Hammer Dyeing. We placed fresh leaves under a cloth towel and gently tapped them with a wooden hammer until the leaf shapes and blue-green color were printed onto the fabric. You really have to stay focused—or you might accidentally hit your own fingers like I did!
In the evening, we stayed at Sun Sun Lodge for a mouth-watering local dinner. Afterwards, we gathered on the grounds in front of the lodge to play with hand-held sparkler fireworks under the stars.
On the second day, we visited the greenhouse where indigo leaves are dried. We rubbed the dried leaves between our palms to crush them, preparing the perfect organic material for traditional vat dyeing.
Then came the absolute highlight of the trip: we blended the leaves, added a bit of “magic powder,” and prepared our natural dye bath! We tied our towels with ribbons and marbles to create custom patterns, submerged them into the rich indigo liquid, and then brought them out into the air to oxidize for 15 minutes. We repeated this dip-and-oxidize process 5 to 6 times until the deep blue ocean color appeared.
Finally, we removed all the ribbons and marbles and rinsed our towels in the crystal-clear local river. Seeing everyone’s one-of-a-kind masterpieces hanging side-by-side on the clotheslines, floating gently in the breeze… It was a truly magical sight.
“During this tour, we tried so many new things and made lifelong friends. Seeing everyone’s big smiles while doing indigo dyeing was the best part of all. We hope everyone comes to Minamisanriku to enjoy a cozy, heartwarming day and fall in love with this charming town.”
