Hot hot wasabi …

Travelling in a camper van can be problematic, things are basic and it will never be a luxury experience and there will be issues around showers etc. But the upside is you meet people, you can go off the beaten track and you create less ‘corporate’ experiences.

We arrived at the michi quite late, a good spot next to a field of sunflowers and a backdrop of mountains on both sides. We are fast seeing a different side of life in Japan through our stops in Michis.

Going to sleep that night we had a firm plan for the next day.

First on our list was to go to the wasabi farm.

Ok….. So not everyone’s idea of fun but it was a free experience and truly great! We have been really keen to try to vary what we see and do and most importantly be open to new experiences, no matter how oddball they seem.
The Daio Wasabi Farm is in rural Azumino City near Matsomoto and is one of Japan’s largest wasabi farms and believe it or not a very popular tourist destination. We arrived really early, just after 9 and as we were leaving the car park was full and the coach park was pretty full too.

The company have taken this working farm and attractively developed it for tourists with walking trails between the fields and other features. Added to that they have milked every possible angle of the wasabi, but not in a way I could take offence to.

Added to that the place also takes on a spiritual feel as within the farm stands the Daio Shrine, which enshrines the spirit of an ancient local hero, Hachimen Daio, after which the farm has been named and who is considered the farm’s protector.

Wasabi prefers cool, shady conditions. It generally requires a climate with an air temperature between 8°C (46°F) and 20 °C (70°F), and prefers high humidity in summer. Since it is quite intolerant of direct sunlight, wasabi is typically grown under shade cloth. As far as the eye could see the black canopies covered the “river’. It’s also said that the water here is the purest of pure which is why wasabi thrives here.

7

We found a cave in the shrine area where if you made an offering it would bring good luck.

We put in 1 yen as it’s the thought that counts so now who knows what riches await us.

Going through the whole experience, looking at the processing plant, the museum etc it was time to hit the shops of which there were many. What was great was you could also have a sample – so we did of most things. I liked the wasabi cream cake and seaweed flavoured with wasabi.

They really had gone to town on all things wasabi, wasabi caramels, wasabi snacks, wasabi pretty much everything!

Cafes and restaurants also were sticking firmly to the wasabi theme, with wasabi flavoured drinks and ice cream etc. All the while advertising the health benefits of the wasabi.

There was also the chance to buy unadulterated wasabi with the largest wasabi fetching a hefty price tag of 2000 yen. In fact, wasabi is “deemed by most experts to be the most difficult plant in the world to grow commercially hence the price tag.

Because of the price when you go to places like Yo Sushi the actual amount of wasabi in it is generally no more than 1%-so really it’s a pretty big misnomer!