Tokyo's Aoyama shopping district, home to numerous luxury brand stores, hosts an open-air farmers market every weekend, finding favor with customers increasingly conscious about what they eat.

"Vegetables here taste just like those grown in my hometown in the countryside," said 40-year-old Yuka Kubota, who comes to the market from Shibuya Ward once a week to buy vegetables directly from farmers.

"I can buy organic food here with a sense of security because I can see producers' faces," Kubota said. "Here, I can also learn about recipes for rare vegetables."