Today we went to a wasabi farm located in Azumino, Japan.
To provide a little background on the city, Azumino is placed near the Japanese Alps. Wishing the city, there are a variety of museums and galleries (Chihiro Art Museum: focal point of children book illustrations; Rokuzan Art Museum: focal point on early 20th century sculpture just to name a few places) for both townspeople and tourists to enjoy! There is also a town Onsen hot spring just northwest of the city that anyone can visit.
With train ride and a walk through the beautiful countryside, we were there. The walk was a little dreadful from the scorching heat but the view of the countryside and the wide open fields filled with rice paddies and little cottages, it made me want to carry on just so I could see more of it. This walk was also very comforting in the sense that right before the open field, there were these suburban style homes that reminded me of my hometown and my family and it made my heart swell up with so much joy.
The farm was founded in 1915 and ever since then has developed a rich history. The restaurants and shops are unique in their own way in terms of everything being wasabi themed! For example: wasabi croquettes (pictured below) and even wasabi ice cream.
Wasabi is grown in fields that look similar to rice paddies except they are covered with a tarp to prevent direct sunlight.
Towards the end of the path, there were two shrines that represented good fortune. Each one of us walked through the cave were the shine was located and made a prayer in front of the shrine before walking out.
After the farm, we walked back to the train station where we headed back to the hotel and waited for dinner. For dinner, we had a variety of options to chose from and had the rest of the night off and a lot of us decide to rest up seeing as we had a very long day the following day.
So far, this trip has allowed me to try things that I’d never think about trying under different circumstances. Once again, we were able to indulge ourselves in a culture other than our own and everyday has proven to open our eyes to new horizons.
Xoxo, Nova Moffitt
Hospitality and tourism management
Japan Lived Experience 2019 