Fresh wasabi

A couple of weeks ago we saw fresh wasabi at the grocery store, which is surprisingly rare in Japan. So, obviously, we snatched it up. It was a second past its prime which in Japan meant it was on sale. What a funny looking little root.

First you peel it:

Then you grate it:

We ate it with tempura. Japanese food isn't very spicy at all so it's nice that they use wasabi. There's a wasabi farm near Matsumoto that we hope to visit so we can see how it grows. So far we've had it in tons of snacks and even ice cream. Fresh is the best though.