Foraging for wild vegetables with my mountain sensei

We were foraging in the national forest area beyond the Toyosawa dam in Hanamaki, Iwate. We picked shidoke, wasabi, fuki, mizu, urui, and yomogi, though I cut the video down to just showing the shidoke, warabi, and mizu so it wasn't an hour long...
Though I first met him earlier, I started foraging with Haruo-san reguarly just after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011. He's retiring from his main job next year, so we'll be able to go even more often from next, including creating some foraging and cooking tours then! I'll post more on these upcoming tours later!
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早苗阿部

[@manfredmarschik]

Danke!

[@GoNorthJapan]

Thank you!! Greatly appreciated as always!!

[@halazeisa]

I am glad that Mountain Sensei was happy and satisfied by the end

[@GoNorthJapan]

Yeah, he looked so sad when we first found that we might not get any shidoke.

[@Itami95]

I’m hungry now. I can just imagine the flavour and nutrition in those fresh mountain vegetables.

[@GoNorthJapan]

Yes! You feel great when you've been eating them regularly!

[@etherdog]

Haruo-san is a national treasure! He reminds me of the rich culture of First Peoples who not only adapted themselves to an ecotome, but also shaped it. I noticed how careful you both were in not taking the roots (except for the wasabi) but just cut at ground level to allow for further growth. Great best practice technique!

[@GoNorthJapan]

Hahaha, definitely! And yes- except for the case of wasabi, none of the foraging we do kills the plants.

[@blackburdy5261]

there is no better way to connect with nature than foraging.

[@GoNorthJapan]

Definitely!

[@3tacoman]

Get those greens baby !!!

[@brewstergallery]

Ireally enjoyed that,thank you,

[@GoNorthJapan]

So glad you liked it, thanks!

[@ms.kayak7seas]

Hi and thanks, GoNorth Japan for taking us to forage wild vegetables with 先生, Haruo-san. You must have a great friendship with him. OMG, "Shidoke, wasabi, fuki, mizu, urui, and yomogi" ..Embarrassing to say, I don't even know some of them...What I can say they grow by the pretty pristine water/river/creek. I can almost taste how fresh and spicy "WASABI" in my mouth. Even though you two were disappointed in the non-successful trip for foraging, it is a very informative and valuable video from my perspective. Haruo-san is very friendly, honest, and unique somewhat! Wow, I didn't expect I see snow in June. What elevation were you at? Well done and keepcoming. Look forward to it. Cheerio! 🥢🥢🥢

[@ThorPalsson]

Really great cinematography! keep it up

[@GoNorthJapan]

Thanks!

[@disastresskettle579]

Loved this video, the thumbnail was a little frightening but this is one of those I've gotta save to re-watch later...

[@GoNorthJapan]

Hahahaha, maybe I should swap out the thumbnail for a different one...

[@高一-s2j]

自然を見ながらの山菜採りは最高に楽しいですね😊👍👋

[@GoNorthJapan]

本当にそう思います！

[@yamabushi_nate7825]

This was a great video

[@GoNorthJapan]

So glad you enjoyed it!

[@jayphillips4942]

That was beautiful and informative!!! Thank you for taking us along! Can’t wait to try wild wasabi some day!!

[@adeteirigaray859]

That was truly a beautiful video! Your channel is a true treasure! Never fails to fill our days with so much happiness. Looking forward to your next educational adventures!💙

[@GoNorthJapan]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that!

[@fredd3.14]

so beautiful. would love to see another cooking video!

[@GoNorthJapan]

I'll see what I can do!

[@10000kmstockholm]

What an effort to get shidoke! Glad that you eventually find it 😃

[@GoNorthJapan]

Yeah, it was great to find so much of it so late in the season!

[@131211ish]

After being kind of a long time viewer, it hit me that this has become my first stop on youtube, and that my relationship with your channel has been a little too much take and not enough give. So now I have signed up for my very first Patreon experience. You never fail to bring something interesting, in a nice little therapeutic package. I can't handle a lot of the noise of modern day life, thanks for taking us to nature.

[@GoNorthJapan]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! If I can get beyond a critical mass on Patreon someday it will free me up to put a lot more into the channel! Thank you!!

[@QueenToken]

Absolutely love the foraging videos ya’ll make a great team!

[@GoNorthJapan]

Thanks! Haruo-san is great!!

[@VerhoevenSimon]

I love your foraging video, I hope to see another of your cooking videos soon.

[@derrabe1133]

Quinlan posts a new video: 😯 Its about wild vegetables: 🤤 My day: 😊

[@GoNorthJapan]

hahaha, thank you!

[@jeshanrai6790]

Wonderfulll..

[@flavorhostage]

I like the foraging videos. Looks so nice and green and I don't have to stand out in the rain to see it. :)

[@GoNorthJapan]

It's definitely less fun to forage in the rain...

[@laurenbouchie2394]

One of my favorite videos! I love when you do foraging with friends! I would of loved to be walking down that stream with you enjoying nature! Your blessed to have a great friend to teach you also! I didn't realize for whatever reason that you have lived in Japan that long also.

[@GoNorthJapan]

So glad that you enjoyed it!! Yeah, I'm so lucky to have found Haruo-san! He's great! And yeah, I've been here for a while...

[@HeatherHalavais]

What a fun video that was! I love the foraging ones you make! It is gorgeous where you went and that flowing stream was so peaceful. Pretty scary to see something that would poison you in one bite! Also, that bear cave was exciting to see, without a bear of course. What did you cook with the shidoke? Thanks for a fun video! I really enjoyed it!

[@GoNorthJapan]

Hahaha, I'm used to seeing the poison. They actually bloom really beautifully with these vivid purple flowers in July and August. I lightly boiled the shidoke and ate it the simple way with a bit of tsuyu. It has such a distinctive flavor that I don't season it much. So glad that you enjoyed it!

[@dianechaniewski293]

Oh wow, this was fun! I actually recognized the spot from your last foraging video. :) If he's willing, I'd love to see a mini-doc/interview with Haruo-San. He seems like such a cool person with so many stories and experiences.

[@GoNorthJapan]

Oh! That's a great idea! He is really interesting. I'll see if I can think of something...

[@repHAWAIIxJPN]

@@GoNorthJapan I second this ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶

[@s0l0poly71]

Thank you for another beautiful video! Most sansai I have is from the supermarket, occasionally from michi no eki, but the best I’ve had by far is the ones I had in minshuku. I love how you are enjoying the Japanese experience more than most Japanese and it makes me want to explore this country more.

[@GoNorthJapan]

Thanks for watching! Yeah- the supermarkets do sell a lot of sansai, though I think a lot of it is farmed, which in my experience doesn't taste quite as good - though I'm happy to eat it! Hahaha, yeah- doing my best to enjoy life here!

[@chrstopherblighton-sande2981]

Those beautiful forests with their fresh green foliage and the little streams are so beautiful. What a lovely way to spend the day. I get really drawn in watching these videos, something both inspiring and totally relaxing about them. The combo of deadly poisonous plants right next to edible ones and the abundant shidoke near the snow, shows the value of having local knowledge. Haruo-san looks like a very sweet and super knowledgable guy, what a treat to be able to forage with him.

[@GoNorthJapan]

So glad that you find them engaging! Definitely a great way to spend the day, and Haruo-san loves sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for foraged foods!

[@darkforest6811]

Amazing video! Forests have so much food in them. Are there a lot of mushrooms in those areas as well? Your videos like this remind me of Oregon Field Guide on PBS, same quality practically!

[@GoNorthJapan]

Thanks! Yeah- there are tons of mushrooms as well! We go foraging for those in the autumn!

[@avatarLT]

Amazing:O I always wanted to try real wasabi:D Thanks for interesting video ;)

[@naughtyskyline]

so surprising there is still snow on the ground there!!!! its so hot in Kanagawa

[@GoNorthJapan]

Up in the mountains here there's still a fair bit of snow!

[@Elonquin]

The area you are forage in seems so rough and pristine. You did not say how far from the car or any main road you were, but I get the feeling that no person comes there without a clear goal in mind. I can imagine that there are plenty of more hidden forage spots out there that locals keep close to their chest to avoid competition.

[@GoNorthJapan]

It's maybe 20 minutes walking from the nearest road... so yeah, the only people that go there are other people foraging and sometimes fishermen on the larger river area. Yeah- the most competition is for good mushroom foraging spots. There's a saying that people don't even share these with their children.

[@Slewenski]

such a struggle to get to the good stuff on the slope lol (it actually looks kinda fun XD) should've brought your spikes ;) also I actually think the clothes look absolutly fine wouldn't even have noticed it. I love the color lol. I mean the sizes seem a bit odd with the long jacketand tall boots your legs appear so short lol but really, its fine XD

[@benwhite5452]

Great video! When your mountain sensei slid down by the shidoke patch I actually said out loud "whoah Haruo-san!!" , so maybe I was a little too engrossed. Glad you two found what you were looking for despite being late in the season.

[@GoNorthJapan]

Yeah, when I heard the sound of him sliding down I wasn't sure if he was going down on purpose or had just slipped! That slope was a lot steeper than it looked on video!

[@garytheosophilus]

I’m sure the recording is arduous and the editing is a challenge, but be assured that your foraging episodes are appreciated.

[@GoNorthJapan]

Thanks so much!

[@ruthsmith2367]

Lovely video I could have watched longer. Showing how you cook what you collect might make it longer 😊 You can actually eat wasabi leaves to. You can pickle them (in a dish called "wasabi zuke") or cooked and added to any meal for a little kick, or they can be eaten raw. Just copied and pasted that end bit off google 😀

[@GoNorthJapan]

Yes, we eat the leaves sometimes as well exactly as you describe!

[@michaelsmith7193]

What a fun outing this was! And, oh, to have a mentor in wild edibles - how great is that!? So, is a cooking episode in the works?

[@GoNorthJapan]

So glad the fun came across! It was a great day! And yeah, I am really lucky to have met Haruo-san! I'm sorry, but I just cooked and ate the food, didn't have the energy left for filming the process... I have done some cooking videos of sansai earlier though.. one a few weeks back and a couple last year!

[@CelticUchuu]

Some foods to try whenever I get to Japan. Wonder if you could collect some seeds and grow a small garden.

[@GoNorthJapan]

I think a lot of them need a very specific environment to grow in, but others might grow in a garden...

[@BelfryHex]

Pog!

[@kittykat3268]

I want to go foraging! What a beautiful location. How did you end up preparing your finds?

[@GoNorthJapan]

Lightly boiled the shidoke and ate it with tsuyu. I followed his advice and lightly boiled the mizu and then stir fried it. Completely different flavor than shidoke and also dreamy delicious.

[@drokky1234]

You need to get ole Chris Broad up hiking get him burning some of them calories p.s new here from Broad channel.

[@GoNorthJapan]

Welcome! And yeah- I'd love to get him out on a hike sometime soon!

[@drokky1234]

@@GoNorthJapan I'm sure he'd love it 😁

[@ggh4840]

Have you found any naturally growing cannabis in the mountains

[@GoNorthJapan]

I haven't actually, though I've heard that it grows around here and there are signs in some areas nearby saying to report it if you find any, LOL.