Blossoms, wasabi, dolls & strawberries

My lovely friend Naomi arranged a wonderful "girls" weekend away on the Izu Peninsula in March. The heavy rain and wind did not dampen our spirits and we enjoyed our two days filled with beautiful scenery, hot baths, plum & cherry blossoms, food & art.


We left early Saturday morning and drove south to the eastern part of Shizuoka prefecture. Passing to the east of Mt Fuji we meandered through misty mountains to Mt Amagi and through the Amagi Toge Pass. Our first stop was the Tsukigase Plum Tree Park where we strolled amongst beautiful plum blossoms. The Plum Festival was in full swing!

It was then on to Joren-no-taki Waterfall on Mount Amagi, a very beautiful waterfall that tumbles powerfully down a 25m drop and feeds the Kano river along which wasabi farms thrive. The cold clear water and shady conditions are ideal for the wasabi to grow. Fresh wasabi, or Japanese horseradish, is the perfect accompaniment to sushi. It is most commonly served in paste form but freshly grated wasabi is so much better. In fact it is wonderful to eat with soft serve ice cream. A great combination of flavours!