"Soba" made with grain grown in rice paddies damaged by a magnitude-6 earthquake in Nagano Prefecture, went on sale Monday.
The Fukko brand of buckwheat noodles is pronounced the same way as "fukko," which means restoration, but the kanji mean "luck" and "happiness." This is to show gratitude to those who supported the village's recovery from the quake, which struck March 12.
About 20 percent of the rice paddies in the village were cracked by the quake, which prevented rice from being grown this year.
The farmers grew buckwheat instead to keep their fields cultivated and harvested the grain in October.
Each 200-gram package of noodles sells for ¥300.
