In October 2005 a forum was held in Furano about building a curry brand for the town. Hiro Nakata, then editing Hokkaido Jalan, proposed an omurice-and-curry dish built strictly on local ingredients. In March the following year it was announced, with six rules attached.

The rules read like a specification. The rice must be from Furano and something must be done with it. The egg should as a matter of principle be from Furano, and a flag is planted in the middle of the finished dish. Cheese or butter or wine from Furano goes in somewhere.

The vegetables, the meat, and even the fukujinzuke are to be from Furano or at least from Hokkaido. A side dish made from local ingredients is served alongside, together with Furano milk. And there is a price ceiling, which has been revised more than once since.

It began with eight restaurants. A council to promote it was set up in 2009, moving the running of the thing to the shops themselves, and the number of participating places grew from there. What interests me is the flag. Five of the rules are about where food comes from. One is about putting a small marker in the center of the plate so that anyone looking at it knows which town they are in.