Japanese Fruit

Did you know that there are different fruits for different regions of the world? If you'd asked me 10 years ago, I would have said no. I used to think there were just apples, oranges, bananas, berries, and melons. I think it was the starfruit or pomegranate that tipped me off to the diversity of the world's fruits.

Here are a few new ones I've discovered while living in Japan!

Sumomo

Miniature nectarines. Same great taste, slightly less mess.

Akebi

Not too sure... I've seen fallen ones on mountain paths, but never tried it.

Biwa

They taste a lot like pears, but with big seeds in the middle.

Persimmons

Like sweet, orange tomatoes. I've never bought one, but have eaten dozens and dozens of them from people's gardens. A good, mild fruit!

Alternatively, you can dry them for a sweet, candylike taste. This pic is a bit extreme, but you don't have to go far to see a house with cords of these hanging up outside in the fall.

Lichi

This is a popular flavor in Asia, but I'm not sure if people eat the fruit here.

This Salt and Lichi drink would have rocked my socks off if I'd been wearing any.

Yamaboushi

Mountain hats. They're a tart sort of berry with edible spikes.

Yamamomo

Mountain peaches. During a hike, some old ladies beckoned us over to try them on a wild tree. Good taste, but there was a big seed in the middle.

And of course, I can't live in Tokushima without proudly telling you of our famous fruit:

Sudachi

Small citrus fruit. You can squeeze it on anything - chicken, rice, ice cream, alcohol. 

Meet Sudachi-kun, our prefectural mascot!

There are tons of other citrus fruits, especially in Shikoku where I live. Yuzu, mikan, buntan, decopon, amanatsumikan, etc. And yet with all this abundance of citrus, we still import our oranges from the good ole USA.