Cherry Picking

Yesterday we woke up to a pretty gloomy day, but there was no chance for rain in the forecast so we decided to get outside and take advantage of the dry day. After a little research, I discovered that some of Japan's most well known cherry farms are only about an hour by train from Sapporo, so we headed off to check one out.

In a rare instance where we weren't rushing around like crazy to avoid missing our train, we actually had time to stop and document the station a bit! As you can see, it pretty much looks like any other train station around the world.

Seasoned train traveler:

When we arrived at the Niki station we were so grateful that our friend Yoko, the wife of Jason's host at the university, had helped us with some of the arrangements for the day. Along with lots of translational help with the farm's website, she also called ahead and arranged for the their shuttle van to pick us up from the train station. The minute we stepped off the train, we found it ready and waiting for us! So much better than the 40 minute walk from the station we had planned to do.

On the way to the farm we passed acres and acres of farm land. Primarily cherry orchards, but also vineyards and tomato plants. Despite the cloudy day, the scenery was beautiful. The orchard we visited was set up high on the side of a mountain:

Due to the gloomy weather, we nearly had the entire place to ourselves. Fiona still hasn't stopped talking about all the ladders she got to climb! I think she probably climbed every ladder in the orchard at least twice.

When all was said and done we ate about as much as we picked and left with our one kg of cherries for the low, low price of $20 (not including the admission fee). It was good entertainment though, so no complaints.

After working up an appetite in the orchard, we went inside to inquire about lunch. Turns out it was an easy decision - they only had one lunch option available and we were excited because it was something we'd been wanting to try. We ordered up one jingisukan and were ushered into the most beautiful dining area under the grapevines.

To explain the dining setup, I should take a step back and explain the dish jingisukan. It is a Japanese grilled dish typically consisting of lamb or mutton. The name of the dish is rumored to have come from the way Mongolian soldiers used to cook their lamb - by placing the meat on the top of their helmets and placing their helmets over an open fire. The dish was thus named after the Mongolian warlord Genghis Khan. Considering the convex metal skillet used in the dish's cooking, the story behind the name seems feasible:

We were set up with a hot skillet, a plate of veggies (bean sprouts, cabbage, peppers, carrots, onion, and squash), and a dish of raw, thinly sliced lamb strips in a cherry marinade and turned loose. Luckily, I had read a bit about jingisukan prior to this so I had a rough idea of what to do. Because the meat is very thinly sliced and the skillet very hot, it can burn very easily, so the veggies go first to make a bit of a bed for the meat to cook on.

Someone was very excited to get to do some cooking over an open flame. Between the ladders and the access to fire, she pretty much thought she'd won the lottery!

Once the food was finally cooked, it was absolutely delicious! I had only ordered enough for one because when I showed Fiona what I was getting she looked at it very dubiously and declined. Well, once she got a taste of my lamb, she was singing a very different tune. To quote the first words out of her mouth after she finished a bite, "Mommy, I think we're going to need to order another one of these!"

There was one other group at the farm while we were there. They were eating a couple of benches down from us and seemed to be having some sort of party complete with what appeared to be a gift exchange of sorts. Just as we were finishing up our lunch, this guy approached Fiona, did a bunch of very fast talking, and thrust a gift bag at her. She opened it up to find a cute little stuffed sheep. I guess he didn't want his gift from the exchange? While I'm still a little perplexed with how she ended up with it, she's over the moon to have a stuffed animal in Japan!

With our stomachs nearly full, we grabbed some cherry ice cream and went to wander the rose garden while we waited for the shuttle to the train. Let me tell you, they can grow some beautiful (amazingly scented) roses here!

The cherry flavored ice cream got a thumbs up from Fiona and a thumbs down from Mommy...

The shuttle dropped us off at the train station with about 15 minutes to kill. What do you do in a deserted, rural train station while waiting on the train? Crank the tunes and bust a move, obviously! 

And no complaints about the views from the train on the way home either!

Okay, that's all for tonight, but stay tuned for a post about today's adventures because Yoko took us to an AMAZING agriculturally themed park today and we had an absolute blast!!