In the former Kasuga village of Ibigawa-cho in the Seino region of Gifu Prefecture, there is a culture that has been deeply rooted in daily life since ancient times of protecting one's health by brewing and drinking medicinal herbs. Three people from Gifu Prefecture have incorporated this medicinal herb culture into their craft cola, "Gifu Cola," and are working to spread it throughout the country.

Gifu Cola's project leader, Osamu Katayama, is also the representative of the organic food specialty store "t natural base." When he was training in Tokyo, he was asked about his hometown, but he realized that many people didn't know about Gifu, and even though he wanted to introduce Gifu, he couldn't think of any famous local products that would help people get to know the city. This experience made Katayama think, "I want to create a souvenir that conveys Gifu," and later led to the creation of Gifu Cola.

In 2018, when Katayama returned to his hometown of Gifu, he encountered craft cola. At that time, he also discovered his friend's restaurant, Kitchen Marco, which serves dishes using medicinal herbs from Gifu.
"If you combine Gifu's medicinal herbs with craft cola, you can create something interesting. I thought it would make a souvenir that is uniquely Gifu," says Katayama with a serious look in his eyes.
Later, Katayama became connected with Yonai Tomonori and Katayama, who are the same age and work with medicinal herbs in the former Kasuga village in Gifu.

Medicinal herb culture is unique to Gifu

About 300 years ago, Oda Nobunaga, following the teachings of Portuguese missionaries, developed a medicinal herb garden on Mt. Ibuki, which includes the former Kasuga village in Ibigawa-cho, Gifu Prefecture, and cultivated about 280 kinds of medicinal herbs. The Kasuga region, home to Gifu Cola, is known as a "treasure trove of medicinal herbs," and each household drinks their own blend of "Hyakusocha" tea on a regular basis, floating it in the bathtub to relieve fatigue, and it is deeply rooted in daily life as a way to maintain health.

Katayama, who makes people happy through food, Yonai, who grows medicinal herbs in Kasuga, and Izumino, who came to Ibigawa Town as a local revitalization volunteer, all shared their vision.
Izumino, who left Gifu for university and went to Vietnam after graduation, where he lived for a while. "I felt that the Vietnamese way of life, where they use things that are close at hand to stay healthy, is similar to the way people used to live in Kasuga. They combine familiar medicinal herbs with meat and fish dishes. It felt like herbs. And I think people who live away from Gifu have experienced the frustration of not being able to talk about their hometown when people from outside the prefecture ask them about Gifu," says Izumino, who is originally from Gifu City.
The Gifu Cola Project was born when three people of the same generation who shared the experience of living away from Gifu, a shared love for medicinal herb culture, and a desire to promote Gifu came together.

Protecting and promoting Gifu through Gifu Cola

The three began the project in their last year in their 20s. The COVID-19 pandemic caused people to refrain from going out and restaurants closed one after another. Taking on a new challenge amid the COVID-19 pandemic was a constant struggle, but it turned out to be a good time to carefully plan the project and spend time producing medicinal herbs.

"The ingredients used to make Gifu Cola are different from the cola that most people are familiar with. Gifu Cola is made by boiling down herbs, citrus fruits, and spices. We are particular about the selection of ingredients, and while herbs may give the impression of being bitter and difficult to drink, we have adjusted the balance so that even children can drink it," Katayama says with a smile as he explains about Gifu Cola.
The completed Gifu Cola was sold through crowdfunding, where an unspecified number of people who agreed with the idea and story provided funds. While promoting Gifu's medicinal herb culture, we also wanted to protect the region, so we held local information sessions and tasting events to use the returns from crowdfunding for environmental conservation in the region.
I continued to convey my thoughts in order to gain the support of the people of Kasuga.

By creating Gifu Cola, a healthy medicinal drink packed with the treasures, culture, and specialties of Gifu, we want to take a step toward raising awareness of the culture that has been rooted in Gifu for a long time. People who have left their hometowns. People from Gifu in Tokyo. There must be many people who feel like they have nothing. I hope that people who feel the same way as us will know that there are souvenirs like this.


The three started a new project in 2022.
This project aims to create recycled products using waste from herbs, spices, citrus fruits, etc. that is generated during the production of Gifu Cola.

As the first step, we have created a craft gin called "IBUKI GiN" in collaboration with Nakatsugawa Distillery, a distillery in Gifu Prefecture, using cola residue.

The name of Mt. Ibuki, which straddles Gifu and Shiga, is used in the product name as it is a Gifu specialty. A portion of the sales will be used to connect the important Satoyama culture to future generations in order to create a circulation in Gifu.
As the second step, they have completed "Tamaki Beer", a collaborative product with Gifu Beer Brewery, which has a shop in Gifu City.

The project by these three people has sparked a new cycle and led to new connections. The circle of recommendations that Gifu people can be proud of will continue to grow.

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Gifu Cola

Website: https://www.gifucola.com/

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