Angle of the water is actually a water shield which is known as “Junsai” in Japanese. It is a green plant in the water lily family growing in the ponds. Japanese people usually use Junsai to cook various kinds of food such as Miso soup and Nabe. Today we went all the way to Mitane Town in Akita Prefecture, looking out of the window there were so many rice field terracing along the way, and finally we reached the place where we will pick-up the Junsai. It is a breath-taking scenery. A clear pond full of countless green Junsai with a beautiful blue sky. Especially when we get down on the boat, sail into the middle and feel as if we are a part of this beautiful nature. The place was owned by Shitoda san. He was a very friendly farmer here. He taught us how to sail the boat, how to choose and pick up Junsai. It was a fun and interesting experience a tourist could expect to learn a local’s life.
Learning how to row the boat
To ride a boat, first of all we chose the boat one each person. Then make sure that the boat is tied with the stick on the ground by a rope so when you step into the boat, it won’t float away. Step one of your legs in after that and try to find a balance point on the boat then put another leg in. Sit on the seat provided with your two legs in the front and now you are ready to take off by unleashing the rope from the stick.Driving a boat is not hard at all. On the boat you can find a long thick wooden stick which we will use it as a paddle; however the interesting part is that we will not sail it like a normal canoe boat but instead using our two hands holding the stick and stab down Into the water in front of the boat as the pond is not deep so the stick can reach the ground underwater. Then you push the stick frontwards, the boat will move to the front. If you want to turn the boat to the left or right just stab the stick to the opposite direction.
Junsai picking
The Unfurled Junsai we can see floating on the water are too old to eat. The Junsai we will pick up is a baby Junsai whose leaves are still closed. The perfect way to choose the Junsai is that we will try to find a bunch that consists of medium baby Junsai, small baby Junsai and a tiny red-purple flower bud. Shitoda san told us that the younger Junsai is, the better the taste.Since our arrival at the farm. We received a warm welcome from Shitoda san, the local farmer. He is a very funny guy with a friendly smile always on his face. Even though he cannot speak English, we could not feel any language barriers at all. Shitoda san introduced us about Junsai and the poster of the upcoming Junsai picking-up world championship which will be held in July. He demonstrated us the proper way to get on the boat, drive it and showing us how to choose the Junsai. While we were picking up Junsai, he came over to help correct our selection of Junsai. At the end he packed the Junsai into plastic bags for us to take home. We all were impressed by his kindness and hope to meet him again.
Eating a Junsai
Junsai is known to be a high class food in Japan. The price of Junsai in big cities like Kyoto is very expensive due to the logistic difficulty to transport fresh Junsai from the farm to the restaurant in a far distance. Fortunately, in Akita we have many Junsai farms so we can enjoy a nice taste of Junsai at an affordable price. In fact Junsai itself doesn’t really have any taste but its texture is very interesting. The leaves are covered in clear mucilage which gives us the feeling of jelly when eaten. Normally they are served with sauce or soup in order to add the taste. This time we tried it with tasty fried eggs and dipped them with Mentsuyu sauce. The taste is so special that I myself have never tasted something like this in Thai dishes before. Now Junsai becomes one of my favorite Japanese food already.
