Rising vegetable prices are forcing urban Japanese to start growing their own food.
The price of cabbage recently made local headlines when it jumped by nearly $6.50 in Tokyo. That’s about the same as an hour’s wages.
Kazuki Nakata, a 37-year-old home gardener, says he started growing his own vegetables a long time ago, but it’s only now that he’s truly appreciated it.
Nakata began growing vegetables in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. At first, it was just a hobby.
Nakata quit his job at an electronics store in 2023 to focus on the 47 types of vegetables he now grows all over his home. He has everything from lettuce and onions to daikon radishes, which thrive in empty plastic bottles, drink cans, and even the basket on his bike.
