Tōhoku region
Tōhoku was traditionally considered the granary of Japan because it supplied Sendai and the Tokyo-Yokohama market with rice and other farming commodities. Tōhoku provided 20 percent of the nation's rice crop. The climate, however, is harsher than in other parts of Honshū due to the stronger effect of the Siberian High, and permits only one crop a year on paddy fields.
Rausu, Hokkaido
Rausu is primarily a fishing town. One third of residents are supported by the fishing industry. The main intake by the fishing industry consists of "kichiji" rockfish (Sebastolobus macrochir), Alaska Pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), "konbu" kelp, salmon, squid, and sea urchin. Particularly famous is Rausu "konbu" (Rausu kelp). There is no other place in Japan to harvest sea urchin from winter to summer other than Rausu.
As for agriculture, in southern Rausu there is some dairy farming, but no land suitable for growing rice, produce, or other large scale agriculture. The lumber industry does not have much of a presence either (as it does in the rest of Hokkaido). 70% of the town's land is lush mountain forest, but it is mostly a part of the Shiretoko National Park.