With a bamboo thicket prominent in Japan, the Ouma area in Kokuraminami-ku boasts 1500 hectares, and is known all over the country as one of the great bamboo shoot-producing areas.

The Ouma bamboo shoots gathered here are of high quality, and command a very high price on the market.

Used in first-rate traditional Japanese ryotei in Kyoto and Osaka, where bamboo shoot cuisine is popular, and often found in special designated orders, the Ouma brand is quite popular.

The source of that popularity is its lack of bitterness and soft texture.

Restaurants where you can enjoy bamboo shoot sashimi, tempura, dishes seasoned with Japanese pepper, nitsuke (bamboo shoots boiled in soy sauce-based soup), takikomi gohan (rice cooked with bamboo shoot slices) are plentiful, and there are places where you can experience for yourself the digging up of bamboo shoots.