Wine

Japan started growing vines after World War II and now produce good quality grape wines, both red and white, in Kofu, the central mountain area of the mainland, and in Tokachi in Hokkaido, the northernmost island. The output is very small due to the extremely limited land availability. The popularity of wine has grown so enormously in recent times, with a 50 per cent increase each year during the 1990s, that Japanese wines, together with imports from all over the world, are just meeting the domestic demands. Consequently very little Japanese wine is exported abroad.