Wild boar leather is said to breathe well and resist chafing. It is used in Date, Fukushima Prefecture, to make products like babies' first walking shoes because it is soft and fits well.
In the leather workshop at Dateshi Noringyo Shinko Kosha (Date Agriculture and Forestry Promotion Public Corp.) in the city's Ryozen district, one can hear the comforting sound of rubbing leather parts. Workers are carefully stitching the parts together and nailing on the metal parts using presses.
Its business of selling wild boar leather products under the brand name Ino Date is gradually catching on, with the main products, including key fobs and babies' walking shoes, proving so popular that production can't keep up with demand. The products are sold at the local inn Ryozen Kosaikan, Hobara Station on the Abukuma Express Line, and Ubuka no Sato — a public bath in the town of Kori in the prefecture.