Girly Trip (In Search of the Purple Gem) - Can You Even Eat That?!

Today, this middle-aged guy went on a "girly" trip!

On the north side of Mt. Ontake, a 3,000-meter-class sacred peak in Nagano Prefecture, lies Kaida Plateau
, where the "purple gem" I'm looking for can be found.

Today, I went on a leisurely trip around Kaida Plateau and the "Fukushima-juku" post town on the Nakasendo trail.

**

Everyone, do you like "fruit picking"?

That's right, today is not a "Girly" trip, but a "berry-picking" trip. (^^♪ I've done all sorts of "picking" before, starting with apples, then strawberries, peaches, pears, grapes, mandarin oranges, melons, cherries, and even tomatoes & shiitake mushrooms!! But...

The glorious number one spot goes to!! (Drumroll... ta-da!)

"Blueberries!"

Why blueberries, you ask?

First of all, they are small. For my family, who are light eaters, an apple-sized fruit is a fatal blow—one bite and it's all over. I don't want to get full just from "picking"; I want to be able to walk around and eat other things, right?

Aren't "cherries" small too? No, no, those guys have "pits." Even though they are low trees, you have to climb a stepladder, then climb down to spit out the pits... it lacks a sense of flow, and the tempo is bad.

Also, blueberries are relatively expensive and spoil quickly, so you don't often see them at the supermarket. Maybe it's because I can enjoy that little sense of something special.

Well, I just simply like the taste... (In the end, that's what it comes down to.)

Every time I eat raw blueberries, I think:

“Blueberry gum tastes just like this!”

I apologize to the blueberry farmers for such a rude comparison. But I really think that blueberry gum is incredibly well-made. There is no other gum that reproduces the flavor this accurately! (Bam!)

And the reason I keep coming back here to the Kaida Highlands is,

First of all, the scenery!!

In this refreshing landscape, forgetting my daily grumbles and focusing intently on picking fruit refreshes both my heart and mind.

Next, the variety of blueberries is abundant!

Some are sweet and perfect for eating raw, some have a nice tartness that makes them delicious for jam, some are round, some are flat... comparing the flavors is also part of the fun.

And then, there's no time limit and you can come and go as you please! (Like some kind of bar...)

The top photo was taken inside the farm, and it's perfectly fine to spread out a packed lunch under those large trees (they aren't chestnut trees). It's also okay to slip out to a nearby soba noodle shop.

Having introduced all this to get you excited, I'm sorry to say that the season is almost over this year! (I'm a slow writer, sorry I couldn't introduce this in a timely manner.)
Just in case, if you want to know the latest information, please search for KAIDA FARM...

It's not a pachinko parlor's prize box—these are berry boxes (3 boxes), my haul for today (about 3kg).

What am I going to use all this for? For jam, for cooking... it's a... se... cret... I'll introduce it separately when it appears on the dinner table.

***

There are many recommended detours after the hunt, but this year I headed out to the town of "Fukushima-juku" (Kiso-Fukushima). If you have the chance, I'd like to visit during the "Minashi Shrine Annual Festival" (Mikoshi-makuri).

It seems it was canceled this year, but what's interesting about this festival is that the portable shrine (mikoshi) is brand new.

"Why?"

At the end of the festival, they roll the shrine over and break it to pieces!!

When I saw it last year, the sight of the un-tanned, "pure white" shrine being carried under the scorching summer sun felt quite out of place.
It felt like a fair maiden with fair skin who forgot her parasol, saying, "Oh, my, it's so hot, oh dear..."
Something like that.

Just like the Sengu ceremony, it seems the gods in Ise move houses periodically. Maybe it's like, "Well, we'll prepare a new car for the gods every year, it's a new car!" (If anyone knows, please tell me.)

On the day of the festival, food stalls appear on the main street (the old Nakasendo road), and it gets lively. Conversations with the locals are also interesting. (Just be careful about parking on the day of the festival...)

And, above all, the real thrill of traveling: buying local sake!

The blueberry jam I made right away and my prize, the "Nanawarai" sake.

Also, the goat cheese, which is the only thing left since I forgot to take a picture. This is cheese from a rare goat farm (Maukarani Farm) located a bit southeast of Kiso-Fukushima. I got some fresh chevre cheese and the white mold cheese in the photo!

**

From here on, I'll talk about the sake (Nanawarai) I got.

It's a beautiful sake, and the aroma is just as expected. No, as an unpasteurized, undiluted junmai sake, it's even better than expected, with a gentle, clear ginjo aroma drifting from it.
The taste is also gentler than one might imagine from the name "undiluted sake." And, as a junmai, the flavor of the rice spreads softly in the mouth. The slight emphasis on sweetness is perhaps typical of undiluted sake.
I think sweet snacks go well with this sake. Like seaweed tsukudani or clam shigureni. I made jam with the blueberries I got this time and mixed it with the fresh goat cheese to make a snack. It was the best!

Brand: Nanawarai Junmai Muroka Genshu
Alcohol content: 17-18%
Miyamanishiki rice
Rice polishing ratio: 55%
Sake meter value: ±0
Acidity: 1.8
Rating: ★★★★
Sweetness 3, Acidity 3, Bitterness 2, Umami 4, Aroma 4
Price: 1,375 yen, Cost performance: ◎

<Postscript> Here is some information for your reference...

Blueberry: KAIDA FARM
Sake: Nanawarai Sake Brewery
Cheese: Maukarani Goat Farm

(The End)