Undeterred by major setbacks that recently befell the famed Kishu ume , or plums grown in Wakayama Prefecture, umeboshi pickled plum makers are working on developing new products using hail-damaged ume. Wakayama has been the biggest ume-producing prefecture in Japan for 60 consecutive years. Last year, however, the prefecture was hit with a record-low ume harvest due to the warm winter and hail damage.