Daio Wasabi Farm

One of the highlights of the trip was the Daio Wasabi Farm.  We stayed the night in Matsumoto at a ryokan run by an old man, his wife, and their daughter.  The daughter picked us up from the train station and on the way, she told us about a wasabi farm in the nearby town of Azumino.  We had planned to go to Nara the next day, but then decided to call an audible and venture over.

The way to Azumino is a gorgeous 30 minute train ride through the Japanese Alps, with the mountains stretching from one side of the windows to the other.  The town itself has its own quirks.  It has a healthy density of shrines for a small sleepy town.  There's also the Spoon Art Cafe.  I don't even know how to tell you about it.  I'd have to explain in person.

The Daio Wasbi Farm is a reminder of how enthusiastic the Japanese can be of whatever it is they do.  Even if it's farming roots.  Everything is relentlessly wasabi-themed.  There's wasabi beer, wasabi ice cream, wasabi burgers, and barely any food that doesn't have wasabi in it.  In the gift shop are plush wasabi toys, wasabi keychains, and wasabi snacks.  If you don't like wasabi, what are you doing on a wasabi farm, anyway?

The rest of the farm was a very nice walk with cherry blossoms in full bloom.  You get to see wasabi in various stages of growth, from seedling to full plant, with workers tending row by row.  The plants apparently thrive in the crystal clear water flowing from the nearby mountains, and before planting, the workers walk around with flamethrowers to sterilize the gravel.

At the end of the day, we got on a train to Kyoto, glad we had discovered this little town hiding in the mountains.  It was probably more fun than getting attacked by deer.