Authentic Japanese Wasabi & Venison dish

From February 10 to March 10, Kawazu town holds the annual event of the Sakura festival. Once you visit here, viewing sakura is yeah, but to have a local specialty is also good.

Arrived at a riverside for another spot for sakura viewing.

By the riverside, there is a store selling local specialties as souvenirs. of course, you can eat some of them in the store.

In the picture above red object is a boiled crab. the crab is called "Zugani" in this region. 

ズガニ(Zugani)/Japanese mitten crab is a typical and traditional one of the local specialties in this area. this crab has been caught nearby the Kawazu river since ancient times. the crab bas have been well-known in Japan because of their delicious flavor.

Speaking of a crab, this Japanese mitten crab is congener and heterogeneous as the famous Shanghai crab in China.

Have you ever seen authentic wasabi in Japan?  if "No", the picture above is the real one.

The bottle of beverage is "わさび焼酎(wasabi shochu)/Distilled Japanese spirits with authentic wasabi".

Needless to say, you can drink it here.

At this time, I ordered locally sourced venison tartare and beer.

When I was about to eat it, the store master brought a fresh grained authentic wasabi.

I enjoyed both of the unusual foods which you never eat in the Tokyo area. that was so nice.

My local food adventure in this region will still be continued to the next(^o^)

A local specialty in Kawazu-zakura town

Let me tell you about some of the local specialties in this town and one of the traditional cultures in Japan.

I was on the way to see the original Kawazu-sakura tree.

And noticed an unattended store was standing alongside the road.

It seemed like selling some vegetables and Japanese oranges.

The payment is not monitored and therefore it is based on trust.

Then, I arrived at the destination where the original Kawazu-sakura tree existed.

In front of the tree, there was a juice stand selling locally harvested oranges in this region.

They have several kinds of Japanese oranges which can be used for freshly squeezed juice.

I went with "Aoshima mikan orange" for squeezed fresh juice. The Aoshima mikan orange(青島みかん)is one of the famous oranges in Shizuoka prefecture Japan. Especially its sugar content of 13 degrees Brix is higher than other Japanese oranges. The flavor is mild, sweet, and flavorful, I loved it(^o^)

After enjoying the juice, I moved to a riverside for viewing Kawazu-sakura and searching for another local specialty.

I found again an unattended store.

Is there this kind of store in your country? For our Japanese this is just common. not unusual. An unattended store in Japan is entrenched in mutual trust. I strongly believe that this is one part of  Japanese culture.

To be continued to next local specialties.

2017 February 15, Sakura report from Kawazu town, Shizuoka prefecture Japan

When it comes to SAKURA in Japan, many people would think that It's blooming in April. however, an early bloomer of sakura exists in several regions in Japan. 

Especially, Kawazu town in Shizuoka prefecture is well-known as the birthplace of the early bloomer.

The early bloomer, "Kawazu sakura"(河津桜) commonly started blooming in late January to March.

I visited the place to see how beautiful it is. I hope my posts would help your plans to visit Japan(^o^)

 To the destination, it takes approximately 3 hours from Tokyo station. The picture above is an inside of the car of the Izukyu-shimoda line(伊豆急下田線)

Arrived at kawazu station(河津駅), the venue for the kawazu sakura viewing.

As you get out of the station, you'll see the first kawazu sakura tree like this.

In this region, there are several spots for viewing. at this time, I headed to the place where the original kawazu sakura tree existed.

On the way to the destination, you'll see some kawazu zakura anywhere.

The signboard says "200 meters ahead for the original kawazu sakura tree".

Arrived at the destination. about after 10 minute walk from kawazu station.

河津桜/Prunus lannesiana. cv. Kawazu-sakura, the original tree was discovered by katsumi iida(飯田勝美氏) in 1955. since the tree had existed in kawazu town, it had been named "Kawazu-sakura" in 1974.

The original tree is well worth seeing. Don't miss it if you visited this town(^o^)


河津桜の原木
https://goo.gl/maps/Sw87fHCWrGP2