While there is not much information regarding the Himo Togarashi within the U.S., it is known that the Togarashi pepper plant originates in Japan and is considered to be a traditional vegetable of the Nara Prefecture. The Nara Prefecture is located in the Kansai region of Japan and is known to be one of the oldest regions to date. Nara Japan grows and produces rice, tea, eggplants, other vegetables…and of course Himo Togarashi peppers! Himo 紐 in Japanese translates to “string” while Togarashi 唐辛子 translates to “chili pepper“. These peppers grow to be about 4-6 inches in length and hang downwards from their stems like strings. They also resemble strings due to their skinny appearance, with a diameter averaging only about .25”.

Himo Togarshi is a specialty green pepper that is a Yamato dento yasai, which means it has been selected as a Nara perfecture traditional vegetable. The pepper grows 4-6" long and up to .25" in diameter (less than the diameter of a pencil). The peppers hang down on the plant and look like strings or himo in Japanese.