February 9, 2017 · mccsokinawa.com
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T
he vibrant red, fragrant, heart-shaped and juicy strawberry is quite possibly the most divine of fruits—the bonbon of choice for gods and lovers. Dunked in chocolate, whipped cream or chomped straight, there can be no wrong way to enjoy what is divine by definition. Historically, strawberry plants were used for medicinal purposes. Strawberries as we know them today originated in France during the 18th century. When a French spy smuggled a sub-species of the strawberry plant out of Chile in 1714, and bred the native fragaria virginiana with the smuggled fragaria chiloensis, the present strawberry was born. On Okinawa, strawberries are a highly sought
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after delicacy, but it’s no secret that fruit in Japan is expensive. This is because fruit is a labor of love— carefully cultivated by farmers at their small familyowned plots. They strip excess fruit from the vine, closely monitor soil beds for optimum moisture levels and even hand-pollinate some fruit to perfection. Some farmers call their plants “their babies,” and after all this nurturing, it is easy to see why Japanese strawberries are some of the sweetest, most fragrant and densest you may ever find. Now is the best time to get strawberries on Okinawa, and MCCS Tours+ can take you on a strawberry spree to a local farm on February 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is your chance to try the culti-
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Join MCCS Tours+ to harvest your piece of heaven vated perfection and eat as many as you want during your visit, then take a pack home for ¥450 each. Prices for adults are $33, $23 for children 7–12, $20 for children 2 to 6 and FREE for children under 2. For more details, call MCCS Tours+ at 646-3502 or visit mccsokinawa.com/tours.
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