Every claim, traceable.

Setoda Eco Lemon® is certified by Hiroshima Prefecture as a specially cultivated agricultural product and is not treated with fungicide or wax.

“Specially cultivated” produce is grown with chemically synthesised pesticides and chemical fertiliser cut to half or less of the usual local practice. Setoda Eco Lemon® has held Hiroshima Prefecture's certification since 2008.

In fiscal 2026, 120 farming households are growing Setoda Eco Lemon®.

For the 2025 crop, 374 households shipped lemons through the Setoda packing house (Setoda Eco Lemon® 122, standard Hiroshima Lemon 288, greenhouse lemons 6).

The growers work to GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) principles.

Japan harvested 9,668 tonnes of lemons in the 2023 crop: Hiroshima 4,659 t (48%), Ehime 1,977 t (20%), Wakayama 969 t (10%), Miyazaki 446 t (5%), Kumamoto 338 t (3%) and Mie 305 t (3%).

Setoda town harvested 1,864 tonnes in the 2023 crop: 19% of Japan's total and 40% of Hiroshima's.

Harvest volumes from 2015 to 2024.

As a guide, open-field green lemons are sold from October to December and yellow lemons from January to May.

Open-field lemons flower in mid-May and are harvested from October to the following April. Picked early they are green lemons; left on the tree they turn yellow. Green lemons offer aroma and a clean acidity; as they yellow, the juice increases and the acidity mellows.

Harvest of specially cultivated Eco Lemons ends on 30 April.

Greenhouse cultivation makes it possible to ship green lemons in summer, when Japanese lemons are otherwise scarce.

Lemons picked in January and February are individually wrapped in freshness-preserving film (P-Plus), held in cold storage and shipped in summer. Specially cultivated Eco Lemons are used for storage.

Setoda's citrus is grown on Ikuchijima and Kōnejima, two islands in the Setonaikai National Park. Ikuchijima is 28 km around and Kōnejima 12 km; together they cover 32.45 km². Half the land is steep slope, and most of the soil is well-drained granite.

The climate is mild and relatively dry, with an annual mean temperature of 15.5°C and annual rainfall of 1,058.8 mm.

Setoda began expanding lemon growing in 1927, with the Tarumi district, known as “Lemon Valley”, at its centre. By 1963 production had reached about 900 tonnes.

When lemon imports were liberalised in 1964, Japanese lemons were hit hard and many orchards were lost. As interest in domestic lemons returned, a campaign asking every household to plant one are (100 m²) of lemons helped the growing area recover.

JA Hiroshima describes Setoda as “the birthplace of Japanese-grown lemons”.

The growers' group Setoda Eco Lemon Group received the Emperor's Cup in the horticulture category at the 62nd Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Festival (fiscal 2023; presented on 23 November 2023).

In 2003 the growers received an Award of Excellence at the 8th Environmentally Friendly Agriculture Promotion Contest. An optical-sensor grading line was installed at the packing house in 2000 and renewed in 2010.

Lemons grown inside moulds so that each slice comes out as a heart or a star. Both names are registered trademarks of JA Hiroshima.

A wide range of processed products is made with Setoda Eco Lemon®.

Guide sales periods for mikan, Hassaku, navel orange, Shiranuhi, Harumi, Kiyomi, Anseikan, Setoka, Harehime, Haruka, Reikō, Natsumi and more.

The 13 restaurants and hotels listed were using Setoda lemons as of 5 October 2026.

On 5 October 2026, Masami Oginuma of J-Catalyst accompanied a group from Ginza's restaurant association to a lemon orchard in Setoda, where they picked lemons, and to JA Hiroshima.

Dates of fairs and limited-time menus in 2024–2025.

Hiroshima Prefecture harvests more lemons than any other prefecture in Japan: 48% of the national total in the 2023 crop.

The culinary ideas on this site are suggestions from our editors.