Finally, Golden Week starts tomorrow. This year it is divided into the first half and the second half due to the days of the week, so there should be only a handful of people who can take a 10-day trip overseas with such elegance. Of course, I will be working on weekdays as per the calendar. However, I would like to go somewhere with a GW feeling of excitement.

How about World Heritage sites? Last year was the World Heritage rush with the registration of two World Heritage sites, Mt. Fuji and Japanese food, and the gold rush and the silver rush. Here, I found an event called "Operation Bamboo Shoot Gathering Part 1 (Mousouchiku)" on April 26, the beginning of the GW season. What does it mean to pick bamboo shoots at a World Heritage site?


According to the Iwami Ginzan World Heritage Center, the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine is surrounded by thick bamboo, which, if left unattended, would cover or destroy the ruins. Therefore, the purpose of "Operation Iwami Ginzan" is to protect the relics by collecting bamboo shoots while they are still in the forest. And, they want the participants to help them.

The participation fee is 500 yen per person. For this fee, you can pick as many bamboo shoots as you want. Moreover, you can take home the bamboo shoots you picked, so you can literally boil or grill them as you like. Oh, and don't just pick the ones that are good to eat, but also the big ones that you can't eat to help preserve the ruins.

The species we will pick in Part 1 is moso bamboo. If you cannot make it tomorrow, that's okay, because "Part 2 (Hachiku)" is also scheduled on June 1. Hachiku is soft and has little bitterness, making it ideal for eating," he said. Incidentally, hachiku is written as "fresh bamboo," not "breaking bamboo. I just found out about it.

Iwami Ginzan World Heritage Center holds an annual bamboo shoot gathering event. If you like bamboo shoots and have not yet decided your GW schedule, why don't you join the event?