Day 88 Wasabieee! Harley Riders on Strawberry Beach Line
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You know what wasabi is by now. Not horse radish. It’s that hot, green stuff next to your sushi that gets to your nose when you eat too much. One time a friend told me about the story of what he did with this hot Japanese delicacy. He made a big ice cream scoop shaped wasabi and served it to his friend as a prank, saying that it was green tea ice cream. Men. You can guess the rest. Though unbelievably painful that must have been, I admit that I too, got a good laugh out of this story.
Although normally what you would see in a sushi restaurant is made of the powdered form of wasabi, this is what the plant actually looks like. It is grated when eaten. Wasabi root requires being grown in a great volume of very clean water, and for this reason, it cannot be grown just anywhere and everywhere. Shizuoka as well as Nagano are known for its production, and I stopped by one of the wasabi companies en route. They showed the process of various wasabi products such as wasabi pickles, using the stems above the roots. There was also a “wasabi experience room” where visitors could enter a small room filled with the hot wasabi component in the air. It nearly made my eyes pop out with tears!
OK, enough about the hot stuff. Let’s talk sweet things. These marshmallow-like fluffy gooey stuff is called Abekawa mochi, sprinkled with sweetened soy powder. Abekawa is the name of a river in the region where I was cycling. I remembered having this in school lunches occasionally in elementary school.
Hydrangea kept making me smile as I cycled along Shizuoka.
Look at this sign. “Strawberry Beach Line” was the name of this road! That is by far the best street name I’ve ever heard in my life. This Shizuoka region is actually known for strawberry production, and along the left side of this street were many strawberry seller houses. It was just after the season and I couldn’t buy any, but you know I would have.
Cycling from the town of Yoshida, I was heading to Fuji City. Yes, as in the famous Mt Fuji. Along the Pacific coast, a herd of Harley riders were at a stop, fiddling with a camera. As I came by, one of them asked if I would take a photo for them. Then they asked me to get in the picture too. I had no idea what they were doing behind me at the time. Who would have thought that Harley riders acted this cute. I cannot imagine the macho American Harley riders with tattoos and beard posing behind a cyclist on a pink bike. Well, ladies and gents, here you have it – the sweet side of motorcycle riders in Japan on Strawberry Beach Line.
This post is also available in: Japanese
About the Author: Sachi
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