Daio Wasabi Farm

Daio Wasabi Farm

by Wen Japan

The Daio Wasabi Farm is near Matsumoto (about 25 mins drive from the city). It's one of Japan's largest wasabi farms. Taking a quick trip from Matsumoto after seeing the Matsumoto castle was a great stop to see how wasabi is grown.

Here you can freely walked around the farm and sample all the different wasabi related products such as wasabi ice cream, wasabi croquette, wasabi lollipop, etc.

Wasabi plants growing in a fresh running stream. The wasabi is grown under black tarps to protect it from the sun and the crop is watered by spring water. It takes 2 years for the wasabi to mature.

Matsumoto Castle

Matsumoto Castle

by Wen Japan

The Matsumoto castle is a National Treasure of Japan, which is one of the only twelve remaining original castles in Japan.

Massive stone walls and a moat filled with carp and swans.

The castle was built in 1504. It has been perfectly preserved and is in excellent condition. 

You need to change into slippers to walk through the castle. The wooden structure has very steep stairs and very low ceilings, making climbing up and down a bit challenging.

The views are wonderful over the city and the surrounding mountains.