When Takeya Kaburaki took ownership of the Auberge de la Pente Abrupte, in the town of Sainte-Paule in Quebec's Gaspésie region, he knew he wanted to master maple syrup production from top to bottom.
That meant learning how maple syrup gets from the thousands of maple trees outside his newly acquired Quebec sugar shack all the way to stores in his native Japan.
Kaburaki specializes in importing Quebec-made products to Japan, from smoked salmon to honey.
The most popular import, though, is maple syrup.
Since then, Kabuchan International has sold more than two million bottles of maple syrup in the country.
To take advantage of the burgeoning market, the businessman — who was inducted into the Ordre National du Québec last year, in recognition of his work with the Quebec government's delegation in Japan and his promotion of Quebec culture there — recently bought the inn.
It counts a dozen guest rooms, a restaurant and a meeting room, in addition to more than 20,000 maple trees outside.
Kaburaki says he plans to organize regular trips for Japanese tourists to get a chance to visit Quebec to see the maple syrup-making process for themselves.
His inspiration, he said, are Japan's own persimmon farms (also known as kaki), in the Nagano region, where customers go to watch the fruit be transformed into various products.
"We don't simply want to sell a product, but market it by keeping in mind its cultural context," he says, about making Quebec maple syrup appealing to Japanese visitors.
"Maple syrup is not just about maple — it's also Quebec culture."
5.4M pounds of maple syrup — in 2017 alone
Canada exported 5.4 million pounds of maple syrup to Japan in 2017, amounting to about $20 million.
Japan has long been the second biggest market for Canadian maple products, behind only the U.S.
However, since 2014, Japan has fallen to the third spot, after Germany increased its Canadian maple imports.
Before Canadian maple syrup ever reached Japan, the most widely used, sweet condiment was honey, said Kaburaki. Japanese customers quickly got used to maple syrup, though, he says.
"They love the flavour and the tradition associated with it. It's a natural product, and it has benefits for your health."
Every year, the store sells 10 million maple biscuits, says manager Yoshito Mori.
"It reminds me of the taste of the crepes my mother used to make when I was young," Mori said.
Radio-Canada's Philippe Grenier reported from Japan on a 2017-2018 media fellowship from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.