Intern Report: Event in Asakura

On Saturday 9^th of April, Groundwork Fukuoka held for the third time a spring event in the Miyazono district of Asakura Kurokawa. The meaning behind this event is to bring people from the local and urban area together by harvesting, cooking and eating wild edible plants together.

The city is about a 1 hour car ride away from Fukuoka, so we left the city quite early in the morning. We arrived about 9:00 am at the event´s place to prepare and set everything in place before the first people arrived. We all were really looking forward to this event because the sun was already smiling at us which showed promising to be a beautiful, sunny and warm day.

At around 10.00 am about 30 people in total gathered to participate in today’s activities. After welcoming everybody we separated into two groups to do different tasks. The first group was leaving to look for wild edible plants around the local area. The second group stayed at the venue and was helping, under the guidance of the professional cooking coordinator Ai Kanetaka, to prepare the Italian dishes.

I took part in Group A to explore the countryside in Japan. We collected wild edible plants like such as bamboo shoots, cod, parsley, aralia, bracken, butterbur and more. It was interesting to see how rich of wild edible plants the Japanese countryside is. After returning back we handed over our harvest and prepared everything for lunch. Since the sun was shining we sat outside to enjoy the warm weather.

Around 1:30 the food was ready and we ate together. Group B prepared several different dishes with wild boar and dear and as well with the wild edible plants Group A harvested. I tried as many as possible and I have to say that the food was very delicious. During lunch everybody enjoyed the meal and was proud of the work we accomplished together. At around 3:00 pm we started cleaning up the place. Due to the help of each other we were done pretty fast and were back in Fukuoka around 6:00 pm.

The day was quite long and exhausting and I felt immediately asleep when I got back home. Nevertheless, it was an awesome experience I was able to make and I had a really great time by exploring the countryside and talking to the people.

Written by Marcel

Enjoy and eat wild edible spring vegetables in Asakura Kurokawa!

Spring has arrived! Plenty of wild edible vegetables such as bamboo shoots, cod, parsley, aralia, bracken, butterbur, etc. start budding on the hills and fields. We look forward to exchange experiences with local people in the Miyazono district of Asakura Kurokawa via picking and cooking wild vegetables together. Under the guidance of the local people we will explore the beautiful countryside. Also in the third realization of this event, we will make again Italian dishes like wild boar and dear with the harvested plants with the food coordinator Kanetaka Aishi. Please feel free to join us

• Time:                                Saturday 9^th of April  2016 (even by light rain)
• Entrance fee:
  • Adult 2000 ¥ (including meal)
  • Junior High School Student or lower 1000 ¥ (including meal)
  • Children below 3 years are free of charge
• Meeting place:              Miyazono contact center (Asakura City Kurokawa 1144)
• Clothing:                        Please wear long sleeves, long pants and comfortable shoes                                         (Suitable clothes for outdoor activities in the nature)
• Schedule:
  • 9:45       Gathering at the local meeting place
  • 10:00     Opening
    •                 searching and digging for wild vegetable and bamboo shoots
    •                 preparation for lunch
  • 12:30     Lunch
  • 14:00     End of event (after cleaning up)