Bento Food Tours(5)

Ehime Mikan Picking, Marmalade Making is a wonderful opportunity to interact directly with a Shikoku mikan farming family and meet some of the welcoming folks living in the Yawatahama region of Ehime. About an hour by train southwest of Matsuyama, the experience includes the chance to pick and eat a variety of citrus fruits the region is famous for. The terraced orchard provided spectacular views of the ocean and small islands separating Shikoku from Kyushu. Under sunny skies, our hosts spread a tarp and mats on the orchard floor and we dined on a most delicious obento lunch box featuring regional specialties. These included a tempura of shrimp and vegetables, fried chicken with mikan juice and mikan rice balls. Following the harvest and lunch, we were chauffeured to a spotless commercial kitchen operated by the Yawatahama Ward office. There, the kind ladies of the community guided us through the marmalade making process and we bottled multiple jars using Haruka variety mikans. We were also invited to try other varieties created by some of the gold medal winners from last November's Dalemain World Marmalade Awards and Festival. Our product was entered in the "homemade division" for the next festival. Loaded up with our marmalade and several bags of fresh fruit, our hosts returned us to the train station. With the increasing popularity of Japan as a tourist destination, this is a special opportunity to get off the beaten path and away from the crowds to see the real Japan.

We had one of the best guides ever, she was lots of fun and incredibly knowledgable. We saw several places with lots of cherry blossoms (sakura), I think we must have been lucky to go in peak time! We went to lots of little shops along the way and ate as we walked through the street. We tried lots of local food stopping at her favorite shops. Clearly our guide just loves Tokyo and definitely made sure that she passed on her enthusiasm. She gave us plenty of good ideas of things to do ourside of the tour, recommending activities etc as well. She also did a great job looking after our interests and food preferences as well as food allergies.

Awesome experience. We were able to get to know an area of Tokyo that's not too touristy which was really nice. We ate lots of local food while getting to know things about what it's like in daily life in Tokyo. We also got told useful tips about how to have the best experience while traveling in Japan.