Otaki Elementary and Middle School

The school festival, field day, and other big days students look forward to

As part of Otaki Elementary School's integrated studies program, special joint classes are held for students in grades three to six. They can choose from such opportunities for firsthand learning as woodworking using locally grown timber and hiking around the village of Otaki. Another option is cooking local cuisine. On the menu for the day is hoha maki, or "magnolia-leaf wraps," made using leaves from trees that grow naturally throughout the village.

The participants--eight who were born and grew up in Otaki and several exchange students from Australia--are intently making rice cakes, mixing boiling water to rice and wheat flour and kneading the mixture. After wrapping the mixture around bean jam and shaping it into dumplings, each piece is covered with a magnolia leaf. After steaming the dumplings for about 20 minutes, they're ready to be eaten.

The magnolia leaves give an aromatic touch to the mouth-watering treat. A fourth-grade boy says, "We always make these at home, so I'm used to it. But I'd like to get better at cooking." Next time, the class plans to make sushi using char and rainbow trout caught from a nearby river.