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A restaurant in a Tokyo office building owned by Tamachi Building Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI), is offering a new menu featuring freshly picked organic vegetables grown at the restaurant. The vegetables are cultivated without pesticides or other agricultural chemicals in solar-powered "vegetable mini-factories."
The endeavor, which is just one of the MHI group's many corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, aims to contribute to the environment and the wellbeing of the community. The mini-factory units make possible on-site cultivation and consumption of safe and healthful fresh vegetables. Tamachi Building is promoting the use of similar systems by other tenants in the rental office buildings it owns and manages.
The restaurant serving freshly picked vegetables is located on the B1 level of the company's Daiichi Tamachi Building located in front of JR Tamachi Station in central Tokyo. The facility is operated by NewTokyo Restaurant Co Ltd, a major Tokyo-based restaurant chain, and serves lunch and dinner. The freshly picked vegetables appear mainly in such dinner items as salads, lettuce-wrapped shumai dumplings, and baby greens and prosciutto pizza.
Two vegetable mini-factory units have been installed at the restaurant. Each day about 60 heads of leaf lettuce (roughly 6 kg) can be harvested, along with about 1,500 heads (2 kg) of baby greens. The vegetable-growing systems are powered by electricity from an MHI solar generation system installed on the roof of the building last year. This system can generate about 4 kWh, which is equal to the electricity consumption of an average household.
Tamachi Building installed the vegetable mini-factories in January. Working in tandem, the company and NewTokyo Restaurant carried out test plantings until a stable yield was achieved and developed new menu items that would showcase the freshly picked vegetables. At the same time, tasting sessions were held so that restaurant patrons could compare the flavor of vegetables harvested at the restaurant with that of vegetables grown outdoors. The two companies also tested the drawing power of a healthful menu featuring freshly picked vegetables and launched a PR campaign.
© JCN Newswire
8 Comments
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gyroman
The name of the restaurant would have been helpful !
cleo
Vegetables grown using solar power?
Err...isn't solar power a pretty basic component of growing vegetables? (and flowers, and grains, and weeds....)
mrsynik
That's called Photosynthesis.
Also, what restaurant in Tamachi has that much space. A name would be useful.
sf2k
from another site
"The restaurant serving freshly picked vegetables is located on the B1 level of the company's Daiichi Tamachi Building located in front of JR Tamachi station in central Tokyo. The facility is operated by NewTokyo Restaurant Co., Ltd., a major Tokyo-based restaurant chain, and serves lunch and dinner. The freshly picked vegetables appear mainly in such dinner items as salads, lettuce-wrapped shumai dumplings, and baby greens and prosciutto pizza."
sf2k
mrsynik
it would be about the available roof space that has a green roof. Green roofing should be a growing trend in Tokyo considering the land area. I hope this is a continuing trend (go on, make a pun)
sf2k
oh I missed the edit. ah well, you get the idea
nip&tuck
Converting sunlight to electricity and back to light for plants is up there with some of the dumbest things I have ever heard!
Solar panels are damned pricey! Just put a greenhouse or garden on the roof!
tmarie
No pesticides but with all the pollution in Tokyo, just how "organic" is it?