Winter Strawberry Picking in Tokyo: I Tried Japan's Rare Sakura Strawberry!

Did you know that December is actually the start of strawberry picking season in Japan? While Japanese strawberries are super sweet and juicy and delicious, they're often even enjoyed on their own as a dessert by themselves. But one of the top desserts you can enjoy in Japan with strawberries is called ichigo daifuku. And this is basically a strawberry inside of a mochi rice cake and it's super delicious. So today I'm going to be trying my hand at picking my very own strawberries at a local strawberry farm here in Tokyo. Did I do it the wrong way again? Darn it! And I'm going to try to find the king of Japanese strawberry desserts, ichigo daifuku. Before we go, don't forget to subscribe for more amazing Japan adventures. Let's go ichigo picking! Here it is! This is the place, it's Ichigo House. This is one of the few places in Tokyo where you can actually pick your own strawberries. And it's all you can pick and all you can eat, which is amazing. So let's go pick some fresh strawberries. I can't wait! Oh, there's bean bags! So cute! There's a bee! It's about 28, 29 degrees celsius. 29 degrees celsius? It's summer. Why do you make it so warm? We use the coldness of winter to warm up the strawberries and let them grow. And when it gets cold, we make it sweet. That's so interesting! So I really want to try picking my own strawberries. Can you tell me how to pick them? First, you use this bag. And then you use scissors. We also have a scissor knife, so you can use that. If you cut it like this, you can pick it up like this. That's amazing! Make sure the stem is facing down when you put it in. If you put it in the opposite direction, the tip will hurt. So make sure the stem is facing down. Make sure it's flat and doesn't pile up on top. So you don't put it on top? Yeah, that's better. This one looks so good! Look at that strawberry! Here we go! And snip! That is so cool! It doesn't fall off! This is seriously a genius design. I did not know this exists. Genius! Oh, it's so cute! There's kids here too! I think this would be such a great place to come as a family. Bring your kids, you know, bring your friends, your friends' kids. What a fun activity. Now I'm in the beni kaori section. And this is a hybrid type of strawberry. And apparently this is the recommended one. It's not very common yet, but she thinks it's going to get more and more popular. So let's give it a try and compare the tastes. They look like cartoon strawberries. Did I do it the wrong way again? Darn it! Why did I flip it upside down? I did it again! This is such a beautiful white strawberry. Cherry blossom strawberry. Wow, that is so beautiful. I've never seen anything with a more perfect color. I can't wait to see what this tastes like. These two are both the beni kaori. It's the new breed of strawberries that they have that she really recommended. And these are the kaori no strawberries, which are the first ones that I picked. And then finally, we have the white strawberries called the sakura ichigo or sakura strawberries. Let's start with like a medium. One of these beautiful medium-sized ones. Beautiful. It's so shiny. Here we go. Let's try the kaori no. Whoa! Wow, that is so sweet. This is crazy. It tastes like a dessert. It's like oozing strawberry juice. It's made of water. Oh my gosh. Delicious. Let's try the new ones, the beni kaori, which is the baby of this one. But they're massive. Okay, let's give it a taste, the beni kaori. This is so interesting. They taste very different. And even the color on the inside is totally different. This one has a white center. This one is red with a little bit of white in the middle. The key difference for me for this one, it's a really beautiful blend of sweetness and a little bit of sourness. And I think it's actually a good thing. I can see how it is the baby of this one. It like takes the sweetness of this one and blends it into something that's like really easy to eat. Also really good. Okay, time for the sakura strawberry. Let's go crazy and try this giant one. Whoa! That is a really unexpected flavor. What is going on? It's very sweet, but in a different way. It doesn't taste like a strawberry somehow. It tastes like a mix between a strawberry and like a peach. These strawberries are so good. They actually exceeded my expectations for strawberry picking. I can see what the appeal in actually picking and eating fresh strawberries is. It's totally different from the supermarket. You guys have to give this a try. And they try to use as little pesticides as possible. They try to make it as natural as you possibly can. So they're super safe. Even babies can enjoy them. So if you guys want some really, really good high quality fresh strawberries, I think Ichigo House is the place to come. And I should mention that they just opened a brand new strawberry farm in Hitachinaka in Ibaraki Prefecture. It's brand new and it's also by a really popular flower garden park. So if you guys are ever in Ibaraki, make sure to go to Ichigo House there as well. Look, they even have a strawberry vending machine across the street if you don't want to put up with whatever lines there might be at the actual farm. Japan, they have a vending machine for everything, even for strawberries. I am here in Tsukiji now to try some Ichigo Daifuku, which is the Ichigo Mochi with red bean paste. And this is a really popular shop here in Tsukiji Outer Market called Soratsuki. And as you can see, they specialize in strawberry sweets and they have a lot of them. They have strawberry skewers. They have so many different types and they also have a variety of Ichigo Daifuku. They use the highest quality mochi called Shiga Habutae Mochi and it's known for being super soft and chewy. So this is the classic one, but they have so many flavors. They even have a matcha red bean paste inside. And this one has red bean paste and whipped cream and a strawberry. That sounds really good to me. So I'm going to try one of these. And look at this. They even have a white strawberry daifuku. Since we just tried those today, I'm going to have to get one of these as well. So let's get both of those. This looks really good. I'm first of all very surprised at how heavy it is. There's a lot of volume, a lot of red bean paste in here, clearly. And this mochi is thick. So I've just heard a tip on how to eat them. You take a bite of the strawberry by itself first and then you can eat everything all together. Oh, that is really good. Also incredibly juicy. This one has a little bit more acidity than the ones I've had earlier today, but it's very refreshing. And I think it'll be perfect because the red bean paste is really sweet. So I think it'll balance it all out. This is really tasty. I love the addition of the whipped cream. It makes it extra creamy. The red bean paste sometimes is really sweet in a standard daifuku, but the acidity of the strawberry and the cream mellows out that sweetness a lot. It's very tasty. Now it's time to try this super rare white strawberry daifuku. And the inside will not have cream this time. Look at the inside of this. Isn't that beautiful? It looks like a flower. This is a really good one. I think this might be a must try because the mochi, crazy fluffy and chewy. And this time it's a classic smooth red bean paste. And I think this is closer to the classic taste of a daifuku, but the strawberry just takes it to the next level. So now that I've had the strawberry daifuku, I want to try one other sweets with strawberries. It looks super good. I really want to try this Ichigo Miruki Soft. And for just right now, because it's wintertime, you can actually switch out the strawberry on top to a white strawberry. This is like a winter limited edition thing. So if you ever come here in the winter, you can try the white strawberry. First, let's try the ice cream. Oh, that looks so good. What a good combo of like the creamy and the kind of like slightly sour berry flavor. It's really good. Now let's try it with this fancy strawberry. That was too much strawberry at once. You have to try the white strawberry. It's so good. This is a lot of fun to eat in the wintertime. It's super good. But we have one more modern take on an Ichigo daifuku. So let's head over there and see what kind of special Ichigo daifuku they have. See you guys there. All right, I've arrived at my third and last stop of the day. This is a cafe called Toruse. It's a cozy cafe and they're known for their delicious and unique tarts. And apparently they have a really unique take on an Ichigo daifuku. So I'm really interested to see how they do it. Let's see what kind of special strawberry daifuku they have in here. So let's go take a look. Oh, very stylish. Already hearing some relaxing music. Let's take a look. Oh, it's so cozy in here. It feels like I am in somebody's house. Beautiful rustic furniture covered with like adorable cups and mugs. It's very cozy. Let's see what they have on the menu. Here we are. They have such a gorgeous display of beautiful tarts. And over here, I think I found what I was looking for. Right there. This is the Ichigo daifuku tart. They've combined a tart and an Ichigo daifuku. They have some really cute Christmas limited edition tarts. There's a Christmas tree Mont Blanc tart with like a matcha topping. And there's also a really cute reindeer. But the one that really stands out to me is the chocolate banana tart because I love this combination. Let's get these two. Okay, so come in January. I feel really comfy and cozy in here. It literally feels like I'm in a living room. Let's start by having a sip of this raspberry cafe latte that I got. Here you go. It's just kind of like a cafe latte or like a cappuccino with a shot of raspberry flavor in it. It's really good. Now it's time to dig in to the tarts. Let's start with our star of the show today, which is the strawberry daifuku tart. This is a really, really beautiful take on a traditional Japanese dessert. But as you can see here, the top layer is a mochi rice cake. There's some cream. And then in the middle, they have red bean paste. And of course, the important star of the show is the strawberry. And the shape of this dessert, the inspiration comes from an igloo or like a snow fort. So it's perfect for winter since this is a January exclusive dessert. I noticed there's a tiny piece of strawberry on the side. So I put it on top and now I can have everything in one bite. I think this might be one of the best tarts I've ever had. Oh my gosh. What's really special about this tart is the tart pastry dough at the bottom. It is the flakiest tart I've ever had. But the balance of like this little bit of mochi adds a bit of chewiness. There's this light cream and then a little bit of this traditional Japanese flavor from the red bean paste. And the slight acidity and sweetness of the strawberry. What a beautiful combination. Now it's time for my last tart. This is the chocolate banana tart. And this one is available all year round. Let's just give it a taste. Here we go. My goodness. That tart at the bottom, again, incredible. It's totally different from the other two. It's crumbly. It's cocoa-y. It's very delicious. And it's filled with whipped cream, chocolate cream, and also this little bit of caramel ganache. So you get a little bit of this like bitter salted caramel kind of very mature grown-up taste. But it comes together so beautifully. All of the desserts I had today were so delicious. This cafe is very unique, very cozy. It's definitely a must visit. But I've had so many strawberries today. And most interestingly, I've had a whole bunch of white strawberries, which are really rare. So I feel very lucky today. And one thing that I feel that I learned today about strawberries is that there is quite a wide variety of flavors that can come with each type of strawberry. And I hope you guys come to Japan and try all the varieties of strawberries because it is a really interesting world. Anyway, if you guys enjoyed this video, please make sure to leave me a comment and let me know which food I tried today you guys would like to try the most. And if you enjoyed the video, don't forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe. And we'll see you guys very soon in another video. Bye guys!