Strawberry Day!

Last week, during the Japanese Golden Week, i went strawberry Picking in Awaji, which is an island off Osaka.

The japanese language, doesn't have a word for "Darling" or "Dear" but, believe it or not, they have a very specific word for "Strawberry Picking" that you might find in the dictionary.

The Japanese word is "苺狩り" (いちごがり) pronounced "ichigo-gari". The interesting thing, is that the dictionary definition says "an outing to a strawberry farm - to pick strawberries". So, it's not just a word, but a well known activity ;).

Breaking down the word for ichigo-gari we get "苺" (ichigo) which means "strawberry", and we get "狩り" (gari) which means... "Hunt". Wow that sure was funny... Ichigo Hunting...

But, as soon as i got there, there we go, the strawberry plants!

You cannot see it in the picture, but about half way there is a rope with a sign saying "Don't trespass this Rope". It means, you can pick only on this side and not the nice red and juicy strawberries on the other side. Well, after about 30 minutes, they removed the rope and moved it a little farther. I think they want to control areas where strawberries are picked.

But, if adults could not cross the rope, someone could. I got really serious competition out there, and believe me, really hungry as well... so, let's the strawberry hunt begin!

After 15 minutes, i got my first basket full of strawberries. After a while, i finished them all. The rule is simple: you pay 1,500 yen (18 swiss francs) and can pick as many as you can eat. You are not allowed to take them home, but it's an "All you can heat strawberry" entrance...

I managed to eat about 1 basket and half. I think should have been about 1.5 kg strawberries... in about 1 hour and half... they were really good and sweet :p... only downside of this adventure... i spent the next two days with some digestive problems. I think maybe was the water i washed them with...or just...too many strawberries in one time ...but anyhow...i survived it ;) and it was really worth it!

...and...I even made a little new friend :)