Strawberry Season

Strawberry season beginning in Japan! You can visit farms and take home as many as you can in a short time. It is one of the most popular fruits in Japan and they are grown with a lot of attention. Strawberries are featured in many films, books, paintings etc. They are very much a part of the culture. Many people like to have them with a special condensed milk. Very much a part of childhood in Japan. There are many fun recipes including strawberry sandwiches.

We have many variety’s, some of the most famous ones with cute names are: Tochigi Prefecture for a variety called Tochi Otome (which means “Tochigi Maiden”), a relatively small, sweet and fragrant variety, while Fukuoka Prefecture, which is second in strawberry production after Tochigi, has the Amao (“Sweet King”), with enormous, sweet berries that are four to five times the size of other varieties. Strawberry producers vie fiercely for the claim to the sweetest, most fragrant variety, some with imaginative names such as Beni Hoppe (“Red Cheeks”), Hatsukoi no Kaori (“The Scent of First Love,” which is a striking white berry) and Bijin-hime (“Beautiful Princess”).

Premium strawberries are a popular gift and can be quite expensive for perfect strawberries that are so perfect they sometimes look fake. If you are visiting Tokyo please try the strawberries including the famous White Strawberry that is only found in Japan.