Honey is Mother Nature’s gift of gold. But in a world where urbanisation is fast taking over the natural world, our hard working honey bees are facing threats bigger than ever before.

When it comes to urban living, Tokyo is the world's largest metropolitan area; and with little green space available amongst the jungle of concrete, you may be surprised to hear how one NPO is successfully raising honey bees right in the center of the city.

The Ginza Honey Bee Project, which started in 2006, aims to connect people with nature and lead society to a more sustainable future. Since its establishment, the Ginza Honey Bee Project has connected more than 18,000 people in the community through apiary tours and honey-extracting experiences.

A pioneer of urban beekeeping, the project works alongside honeybees to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems within modern environments. At the same time, the project provides environmental education to both children and adults, tackles local issues, promotes urban development and increases green spaces amongst the concrete.

Now the Ginza Honey Bee Project is ready to share the fruits of their labor with you, in the form of environmentally friendly honey produced from the nectar of flowers from Hibiya Park, Hama Rikyu and the Imperial Palace.

Made using nectar from the plants of the Imperial household, the honey from the Ginza Honey Bee Project is really and truly a golden treasure that will make mouths water.

Ginza Sakura Honey 銀座さくら蜜

Price: 8,640 yen
The nectar used to produce this honey was collected by the honeybees back in spring during the sakura season. That means this honey is the earliest honey to have been produced in Japan this year, having been first collected on the 6th of April.

A fragrant honey, you can almost feel the cherry blossoms blooming in your mouth with every spoonful.

Ginza Hyakkamitsu Multifloral Honey 銀座百花蜜

Price: 5,400 yen
First collected on May 29th, this honey is made using the nectar from a multitude of trees that represent the early summer, such as the horse chestnut tree, and the tulip trees that surround the imperial palace.

It has a rich floral taste, and is a versatile honey that can be used for a toast spread, as a sweetener for yoghurt or as a flavouring for tea.

Tokyo Sakura Honey 東京さくら蜜

Price: 4,860 yen
Using nectar first collected on the 7th of April, this honey condensed flavoured honey was produced at the apiary near Tokyo Station.

Tokyo Hyakkamitsu Multifloral Honey 東京百花蜜

Price: 3,456 yen
Just like the Ginza Hyakkamitsu Multifloral Honey, this honey is made using the nectar from a number of plants and trees that begin to bloom around the start of summer. Collected from plants located around the Imperial Palace, Kita-no-maru Park and Kasumigaseki, this nectar was then developed into honey in an Apiary near Tokyo Station.

Each jar comes with 180 grams of honey, and are available to purchase online both individually or as a set of four for 22,356 yen. Alternatively, you can also purchase a Ginza Honey set for 14,040 yen, or a Tokyo Honey set for 8, 316 yen.


By - Connie Sceaphierde.