Thanks to a mild climate and a clean natural environment, Shizuoka prefecture offer a wealth of fresh products from the sea and mountains, making it a treasurehouse of healthy, delicious food.
Ocha(green tea)
The cultivation of green tea plants on heights and hillsides that have good drainage is a flourishing business.
Mikan(mandarin oranges)
Shizuoka's mikan are grown on sunny slopes, such as the north shore of Lake Hamanako in the west and along the coast of Suruga Bay in the east. The harvest ranks among the largest in the nation.
Strawberries
This seasonal delicacy is available throughout Shizuoka, where spring comes a little earlier than elsewhere in the country. The strawberry-picking season lasts from January to May. The famous "stone wall strawberries" of Kunozan are grown on stone walls.
Melons
More musk melons are produced in Shizuoka than anywhere else in Japan. The succulent, high-quality melons, the prince of fruits, are raised in hothouses along the Ota River in Fukuroi and in Iwata.
Biwa(Loquats)
This fruit has a distinctive thick skin and fresh, sweet juice. It is grown in Yui on the northwest shore of Suruga Bay and in Toi in western Izu. The unusual white biwa raised in Toi is aldso used to make wine.
Wasabi(horseradish)
A specialty of the region since the Edo period, wasabi is suited for cultivation in Shizuoka because of the prefecture's abundance of spring water. A must with sushi, whose populaity as a healthy kind of food has risen in recent years, wasabi is grown in the Amagi mountains on Izu peninsula and in the river basin upstream on Abekawa River. Wasabi-zuke, finely chopped horseradish steeped in sake lees, makes a delightful present to take home as a memento of Shizuoka.
Sakura ebi("cherry" shrimps)
Suruga Bay is the only place in the world where these small(4-5 cm.) shrimp can be found. No matter how they are eaten-raw, dried or boiled-sakura ebi are delicious. The sight of them drying out-of-doors during the fishing season in the towns of Kambara and Yoi is stunning; they look like a gigantic red carpet.
Other products from the sea
In addition to tuna and bonito from Yaizu and eel from Lake Hamanako, the wonderful variety of fresh seafood that can be enjoyed in Shizuoka includes Ise ebi, which resemble lobsters, takaashi-gani (giant Japanese crab), abalone, horse mackerel, sardines, aji (mackerel) and ayu (sweetfish).
