Basho tree (Musa basjoo) is a banana tree found in Japan.  The banana fruit is small and inedible.  The big leaves of this tree is used to wrap food as well as weaving the fibers into fabric called Bashofu.

Dekopon is a variety of mandarin orange that are seedless and sweet.  It has a unique shape because of its large size and protuding bump on the top.  Dekopon is a hybrid between Kiyomi and ponkan. They are really good and the season is from December to February.

Happy New Year

Aragijima

Shimizu, Wakayama

Merry Christmas. We all got together for a Christmas party and exchanged gifts. I love the Christmas tree!

The tunnel in and out of town.

This is one of my favourite spots in Shimizu for a nice bike ride!

Persimmons grow everywhere in Shimizu. This is a photo of Hoshigaki (sun dried persimmons). Hoshigaki can take a month or more to dry but it makes the persimmons very rich and sweet.

Alot of people came to town. The Shimizu taiko team performed for the opening ceremony.  It was cold so the towns people provided us with hot coffee and tea. I also had homemade wild boar miso soup. So good!

come check out the view

The solar power lights will be on from December 2, 2017-February 4, 2018