Today, Ryoko, her cousin Sachiko-san, and I went to the bamboo forest to the East of the farm and harvested bamboo shoots or "Takenoko". Ryoko demonstrated the procedure using a special spade called a "Daruma Kuwa". Essentially you dig down about a foot and then chop the takenoko off at the root. This is then taken and the core is cooked and eaten. I noticed that the fresh cut bamboo smelled exactly like corn when you are husking an ear; which makes sense considering both bamboo and corn are monocotyledons. As I was working on the fourth shoot, the spade's head came off, I had to replace it and the wedge that holds it to the beechwood handle. It was hard work, but fun and interesting as well. Here are some images for you to enjoy. . .
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| Forest with Bamboo Trees |
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| Daruma Kuwa |
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| Takenoko |
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