The Izu Wasabi Visitor Center is a facility established to disseminate various information about Izu wasabi and to facilitate interaction with the local community. The center clearly communicates the history of wasabi cultivation in Izu, the reasons for producing high-quality wasabi, and the key points of the “Traditional Cultivation of Shizuoka Water Wasabi” recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, using videos and graphic panels. It also provides information on the rules and precautions for visiting the wasabi fields. Since the wasabi fields do not have toilets or waste disposal facilities and are not fully equipped for tourism, visitors are asked to be considerate. Additionally, the center is considering offering taste comparison experiences for those who have never tried fresh wasabi or who want to experience the difference between it and the wasabi paste commonly used. Please come and experience the authentic aroma, color, and refreshing spiciness of real fresh wasabi.
Kakuda Seicha, nestled in the forests of Oku-Yame, is a tea producer that manages the entire process from cultivation to manufacturing and sales. In this program, you can learn about Oku-Yame tea using all five senses. Initially, you’ll learn about the tea leaf processing steps through a video. Then, you’ll taste seven unique single-origin teas and create your own original blend of green tea. While green tea is usually blended to ensure consistent taste and quality, single-origin tea allows you to experience the unique taste (terroir) of a single farm and variety. Enjoy the wide range of aromas, flavors, and tastes.
This half-day program allows you to easily enjoy and experience the food culture of the satoyama (rural forested area). It includes a “Satoyama Lunch” where you can taste the seasonal harvests such as bamboo shoots in spring, tomatoes and bitter gourd in summer, and taro, mandarins, kiwi, and strawberries from autumn to winter. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to make “handmade konnyaku,” a hospitality dish representative of Oku-Yame, using traditional methods that are gradually being lost. Through this konnyaku-making experience, you can immerse yourself in the richness of Oku-Yame.
At “Pooh-san’s Strawberry Farm,” you can enjoy a variety of strawberries, including the popular and sweet “Amaou” brand known for its large size. The farm uses multi-tiered elevated cultivation, making it accessible and enjoyable even for small children. Additionally, the pathways are covered with sheets, allowing for wheelchair access and ensuring that footwear remains clean. The farm is open annually from January to early May.
Strawberries grow in greenhouses that are bathed in sunlight in the warm climate of Tahara City on the Atsumi Peninsula. From January to mid-May, you can pick juicy and sweet strawberries at Nikken Farm.
You will learn how to make and eat sushi at Gourmet College, where students will acquire knowledge directly from a sushi chef. The sushi toppings are Ondo oysters and fresh white fish from the Seto Inland Sea, a unique experience available exclusively in Ondo.
Yamanouchi is one of the leading producers of fruit in Nagano Prefecture. The clear streams from the Shiga Kogen Highlands and the difference in temperature between the day and night produce sweet and delicious fruit. Depending on the season, you can pick a variety of fruits such as cherries, blueberries, grapes, and apples at farms in the town. You can experience fruit-picking in Yamanouchi at authentic farmhouses, so you can enjoy the freshest market-ready fruits.
In Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, a town known for its Sukagawa soba (buckwheat noodles), visitors can experience soba noodle-making at soba restaurants and guest houses in the town. The experience begins with grinding locally-grown buckwheat on a millstone. Using the leaves of a type of burdock called oyamabokuchi to thicken the noodles, soba is made in an authentic, old-fashioned way.
With water trickling down from the Hotaka Mountains and a cool climate with high night-day temperature variation, the Hakuma area is well-suited to buckwheat production, and is a major producer within the “buckwheat country” of Nagano. Many lodgings and soba restaurants in the Hakuba area offer experiences making soba noodles produced from this buckwheat. Experiences are approachable even for those with no experience, and participants can try their freshly made soba on the spot. Popular with families and students.
Kanzarashi are traditional sweets made by cooling boiled small dumplings in spring water. In Shimabara City, you can try your hand at making kanzarashi. Refined rice flour, called kanzarashi flour, is kneaded to form round dumplings, boiled, and then soaked in running water to finish. After immersing them in running water, the kanzarashi have a mild texture that goes well with sweet syrup. Try your hand at making your very own kanzarashi.
![Enjoy early spring in Atsumi by picking strawberries! [Nikken Farm]](https://savorjp.info/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/aichi_tahara_0810_6-350x230.jpeg)
