Make-Up In Oku-Mikawa

Much of the worlds’ top brand women’s makeup foundation is made from minerals taken from the earth in Aichi Prefecture.

The main raw ingredient for make-up foundation is sericite, a fine-grained mica mineral, and some of the finest sericite is found deep inside the mountains of the Oku-Mikawa region of eastern Aichi Prefecture.

Oku-Mikawa is famous for being the site of the Battle of Nagashino, and the Senmaida terraced rice fields, and the very popular Yuya onsen hot springs (where I had wild boar for lunch!) amongst many other great features. Now it’s becoming famous for
Beauty Tourism.

Senmaida terraced rice fields.

Nagashino battlefield re-enactment event

Yuya Onsen lunch; Botan-nabe, boiled wild boar!

I had the chance to go down one of the mines recently to see where the best foundation minerals are found, and afterwards, we visited the old abandoned Nokiyama school house on the outskirts of Toeicho, in Aichi Prefecture. The schoolhouse is now a café and beauty tourism experience center, where you can blend your own original foundation from local, 100% natural ingredients.

While the women in our group made their own blend of foundation, the guys made bath bombs from various natural ingredients, minerals, salts and honey.

Making the foundation, starting with sericite.

Bath Bombs, made using natural salts, minerals, colors and honey.

For interesting things to see and do, Aichi has some pretty good foundations!!

The website is here, but Japanese only,…

naori なおり

Writer
Chris Glenn

Chris Glenn is a bilingual radio DJ, TV presenter, producer, narrator, MC, copywriter, author and columnist, and Japanese historian, specializing in samurai castles, battles, armor and weapons. He is an inbound tourism advisor, and is often called upon as a lecturer and speaker on Japanese history and topics. He was born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1968, and has spent over half his life in Japan, most of that time in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. Chris is dedicated to promoting and preserving Japans’ long history, deep culture, traditions, arts and crafts.