ASAI BLUEBERRY FARM, WAKAYAMA, JAPAN

浅井ブルーベリー農園 . 블루베리 농장 . 浅井蓝莓农场

 

From Yuasa, Mom drove for 20mins to the Asai Blueberry Farm 浅井農園, which was located somewhere in the mountains.

 

Through the mountain tunnel

Exit into this small road when you see the purple banner

Straight down this path to the farm

Saw these fruits along the way ... can you guess what fruit it is?

Kiwi!

We met the farmer at his house, and he was busy packing blueberries for delivery. He gave each of us a plastic container and brought us to the blueberry area.

 

The farmer's house

The whole place was covered in a blue netting to prevent birds from eating the berries

There were 13 varieties of blueberries here

Grandma and Mom had lots of fun picking and eating the blueberries, but I stopped halfway because it had started to drizzle a bit again, and there were lots of spiders!


The farmer said this variety of blueberries was the best now

Aren't they pretty? 

 

The berries I ate were nice and sweet

Grandma ate the most!

What we got to bring home

We spent about 1 hour picking the blueberries, and then we went back to the farmer's house to rest and have tea. Mom said we had to hurry back to the city soon in case there was a traffic jam.

 

Price of blueberries sold

 

 

Mom's Notes

• I spent quite a bit of time trying to get directions from the farm owner as the farm did not have a mapcode, so the actual driving time could have been shorter. The nearest landmark with a mapcode is the Kuriyamaen 栗山園, and once there, the sign for Asai Farm can be seen

• Useful to download this Wakayama Driving Guide into the tablet as there are map codes that can be keyed into the car navigation system
• Find the nearest space available to park the car ... there might be parking at the farm but I wasn't keen to drive through a narrow road again
• Do also check out the Wakayama Fruit Harvesting Calendar and Fruit Farms Map
• This is a family-run farm so they are not equipped to host tourists, e.g. no English brochures, so explanations on how to select good blueberries were done in Japanese. The owner shared that he had received a few Thai and Taiwanese visitors in the past and we were the first Singaporean visitors!
• For the price paid per person, you can eat as much berries as you want, and stay as long as you want, plus get to bring home one box per person with as much blueberries as you can fill
• I love bringing Marcus for such visits as it encourages him to try new food and fruits, being a picky eater as he is, plus they are educational and experiential

 

     Address:    和歌山県有田郡 広川町南金屋512

     Tel:           0737-62-3873
     Directions: Click here (by car only)
                      Or, take a taxi from Yuasa Station for about 1000円

     Opening Hours: Daily 10am - 6pm, from Jun 1 till early Aug
     Fees:                Adult 1,000円 / Child 4-12 years 600円 / Free for children below 4
                             Unlimited fruit picking + 1 box to take home

KADOCHO SOY SAUCE, YUASA, JAPAN

湯浅町の角長 . 유아사 마을의 각장 . 汤浅镇的角長

 

From Kuroshio Market, Mom drove for about 20 mins and reached the small town of Yuasa 湯浅. Mom spent some time finding the famous soy sauce factory Kadocho 角長 while I had a nap in the car.

 

As soon as we got out of the car, we could smell the soy sauce!

 

Mom said she had to drive very very slowly as the roads were very narrow

The small retail outlet

Grandma bought a bottle of soy sauce for cooking for 520円

The factory next door

The shop keeper suggested that we also visit the warehouse diagonally across, and see the tools that craftsmen used to make soy sauce 100 years ago.

 

 

 

Mom's Notes

• The main interest in this small town is the heritage soy sauce factories that Yuasa is famous for - this CNN feature is a good read
• It was a very short visit, and Kadocho's location in the culturally preserved area meant we could cover both highlights. However, Marushin Yuasa Soy Sauce Factory 丸新工場 might be a better option if the intent is to have an actual plant tour, which Kadocho does not offer (Marushin seems more tourist friendly, although it is away from the Yuasa main town area)
• I was sweating bullets driving in the narrow lanes, and at one point, I had to let a truck pass through by moving as close to the side as possible, at the risk of scratching the car or crashing the car mirror!
• Free parking is available down the road from Kadocho; ask for directions
• There is no tourist information centre here, so thank goodness for car navigation
• Refer to this map for the temples and orange farms in this town

  

     Address:    〒643-0004　和歌山県有田郡湯浅町湯浅7
     Tel:           0737-62-2035
     Directions: Click here
     Opening Hours: Daily 9am - 5pm

KUROSHIO MARKET, WAKAYAMA, JAPAN

黒潮市場 . 구로시오 시장 . 黑潮市场

 

It's a rainy day today.

We rented a car from Nippon Rent-A-Car for the day, and Mom said it's funny how it rained every time she rented a car overseas.

 

 

     Address:    〒640-8203 和歌山県和歌山市東蔵前丁 3-1

     Tel:           073-431-8828
     Directions: Click here
     Opening Hours: Daily 8am - 7pm (closed on New Year's Day)

 

And we are off to the Wakayama Marina City 和歌山マリーナシティ, to visit the Kuroshio Market 黒潮市場 and the Kinokuni Fruits Village 紀ノ国フルーツ村 today!

 

Grandma took this photo as we crossed this big bridge

The place has a different feel from Wakayama city

We arrived early, and had to wait for the market to open.

Because we were near the sea, it was chilly and windy.

 

Porto Europa ポルトヨーロッパ theme park on the left, Kuroshio Market on the right

This lane sold fresh seafood, the lane beside sold
cooked food, and the section behind was mainly gift items

 

Wakayama is also famous for its preserved plums 梅

 

I enjoyed watching the Tuna Cutting Demonstration, and this was my first time seeing a tuna fish so close.

 

 

Demonstration at 11am, 12:30pm, and 3pm

Mom said we should have lunch here in case it was difficult to find another lunch place elsewhere. We sat outside, and the cold wind made my noodles turn cold really fast.

 

Buy our meal first ...

Then head outside to eat

Maguro ramen 800円, Ebiten udon 800円

Ootoro 1000円

After lunch, we visited the Kinokuni Fruits Village next door.

 

There's our rental car!

 

Mom's Notes

• While it's comparatively easier to drive outside the city, assisted by the English-speaking car navigation system, I experienced some challenges even in a small place like Wakayama - trying to understand highway signs, unexpected large amount of highway toll fees paid, very narrow roads in small historic towns, and extremely strict parking regulations
• The Wakayama branch of Nippon Rent-A-Car does not have an English speaking staff, and my Japanese vocabulary does not extend towards understanding parking regulations and rental jargons... I just assumed the universal standards apply! Otherwise, it was easy to reserve a car, the rental rates are comparably lower than Singapore, and the car condition was pretty good
• Essentially, the reason we rented a car was because of accessibility and train timings that made it challenging for us to cover several places in a day. Moreover, my estimated cost for 3 people taking public transport is almost the same as the total car rental expenses
• Overall, the market was a disappointment and was much smaller than I had expected, and I would not have visited just to witness the tuna cutting demonstration
• Furthermore, the noodles sold there were relatively awful... tempura was fried beforehand and hence, was soft and not crispy when served
• I gave Porto Europa a complete miss when I was planning the itinerary ... didn't think it made sense to visit an European-themed theme park in Japan. It was good thing too since it was raining that day
• Useful to download this Wakayama Driving Guide into the tablet as there are map codes provided that you can simply key into the car navigation system

   

     Address:    〒641-0014 和歌山県和歌山市毛見1527番地

     Tel:           073-448-0300
     Directions: Click here

     Opening Hours: Daily 10am - 6pm (calendar)
     Parking:            1-hour free parking for retail purchases above 1000円
                             2-hour free parking for F&B purchases
                             (enquire at the information booth inside the market)