Unforgettable moments in the village of Shinjo

My last stop in Japan was in Okayama Prefecture.

What brought me to this prefecture was a meeting I had last June in Nice (France)  at the World Perfume Congress with Ms Noriko Kondo, founder of the company Hinoki Lab. She was promoting her hinoki essential oils that she distills in Shinjo, a small village in Okayama Prefecture.

Hinoki is a slow-growing tree in the cypress family that is found only in Japan, China, and Taiwan. Ms Kondo’s three organic essential oils—hinoki wood, hinoki scales, and hinoki twigs—immediately transported me. I’d never smelled anything like that before!

While the essential oil of hinoki wood gives off beautiful woody, camphorated notes and a certain mysticism, that of hinoki scales is characterized by fruity and lemony facets and that of hinoki branches would be a sort of olfactory bridge between hinoki wood and scales.

In June, when I first met Ms Kondo, I informed her of my upcoming trip to Japan and she naturally invited me to visit her.

We met up in Okayama and traveled together to the village of Shinjo, where its distillery is located.

I loved the place at first sight. It was surrounded by a beautiful and well-kept forest. But perhaps what impressed me the most were the people I met*.

Sharing my experience in the perfume industry with Noriko and her husband was very enriching professionally and humanly. I fully recognized myself in the social and environmental values that underpin HinokiLab. It is not just about selling another quality product to the world but about implementing an ethic, a philosophy and a beautiful family business story that we want to be a part of.

Visiting this place, meeting the people who are behind these incredible essential oils was an unforgettable experience. I can't wait to work on a perfume that would evoke these memorable moments spent in the village of Shinjo.

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* I would like to especially thank Shinro Kuroda as well as Tacaquito Usui, Miyuki Yamamoto and their lovely son.