REPORT

If you’re looking to catch up with the friends you spent the winter skiing with, there’s no better place than the “Takenoko Matsuri” (Bamboo Shoot Festival)! Today, I met a group of visitors from Kyoto, Shizuoka, Saitama, and Nagano (pictured) who told me, “We always read your reports! We originally met at the ski resort, and this is the first time we’ve all gotten together since winter. Everything at the food stalls is made with seasonal ingredients, so you really can’t go wrong. In fact, we’ve been enjoying a few drinks since about 1:00 this afternoon! (lol)”
[Nozawa Onsen Village]

The “takenoko” celebrated at the festival is nemagari-dake, a type of bamboo shoot that grows wild in the mountains of Shinshu and is one of the region’s best-loved wild edible plants. It has very little bitterness and is prized for its subtle sweetness and crisp texture. With fifteen stalls serving a wide variety of nemagari-dake dishes, I started with the local classic: takenoko-jiru (pictured, JPY400), a hearty Shinshu miso soup made with nemagari-dake and canned boiled mackerel.
[Nozawa Onsen Village]

After warming up with a bowl of takenoko-jiru, I ordered the grilled offal and bamboo shoots (pictured, JPY800). The rich, savory flavor of the meat paired surprisingly well with the light, crunchy texture of the nemagari-dake. I enjoyed it together with a Saba Miso Takenoko Musubi (JPY350). Bamboo shoots also featured in an impressive variety of other dishes at the event, including fritters, curry, yakisoba, and Chinese-style cuisine.
[Nozawa Onsen Village]

The Takenoko Matsuri runs for ten days, from 6/12 (Fri.) through 6/21 (Sun.), and takes place each evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the alley behind Kawarayu. On 6/13 (Sat.), long lines had already formed shortly after 6:00 p.m. for the festival’s “Takenoko Coupons,” which cost JPY2,000 but can be redeemed for JPY2,200 worth of food and drinks. (To be continued in “Takenoko Matsuri, Vol. 2.”)
[Nozawa Onsen Village]

　　
[Nozawa Onsen Opening Information]
*Period … 6/13 (Sat.) － 6/21 (Sun.), 7/18 (Sat.) － 10/25 (Sun.) *8/25 (Tue.) – 9/17 (Thu.) Closed on Tue., Wed., and Thu.
*Hours … Nagasaka Gondla (9:00 －)
*Fees … Nagasaka Gondla Roundtrip / Adults JPY2,500, Under 15 y/o JPY1,500, preschool children free

*To Visitors Requesting Original Data of Our Photographs

reported by Snownavi