Читать книгу Incredible Japan - Charles Tuttle - Страница 13

GIANT STRAWBERRIES

STRAWBERRIES come so large in Japan that one box will scarcely accommodate an even dozen. The strawberry box is flat and the berries are laid tenderly in on paper, like a box of Western chocolates. The strawberries themselves come as big as plums and hold their taste and juiciness in spite of their size. They are specially cultivated on terraced slopes with a southern exposure.

Fruit in general is plentiful and delicious. Almost every variety seen in the West is available, plus some others not ordinarily found. These include sweet persimmons, sometimes as large as small grapefruit; mikan, a type of tangerine; nashi, a sort of pear-apple with the pear flavor and the apple texture; biwa or loquat; and amazingly large fresh figs.

In almost every Japanese neighborhood the fruit shop rivals the flower shop in attractiveness to the passers-by.

“…and a half-dozen strawberries.”