Etsuo Asano is Japan's undisputed rock star of specialty vegetable farming.
The 65-year-old Chiba native, who's been tilling the same land that's been in his family for over 100 years since he was 17, supplies vegetables to some of Tokyo's top eateries, such as Ristorante Hiro Centro in Marunouchi and the Michelin 3-star rated Quintessence in Shirokanedai. His chicory radicchio is said to rival the best produced in Europe, and his rucola (or rocket) is now legendary among Tokyo's gourmet elite. Today, more than 130 restaurants across Japan buy his produce.
On the day I meet him he wears a dark brown velour, collared shirt tucked smartly into faded blue jeans that bear witness to his earth-intensive trade. He also dons an army-green conductor's hat with a rhinestone encrusted patch of the word "Fresh." Though small in stature, broad-chested Asano appears as if he could move a horse. His deeply tanned hands move quickly, confidently.