WB029: My first yaki-imo experience
I recently went to the Kodomo Shizen park (Japanese: 子供自然公園, English: Children's Nature Park) in Yokohama (Japanese: 横浜) to participate in an outdoor yaki-imo (Japanese: 焼き芋, English: baked/roasted sweet potato) event.
The event has been held from November to March for the past four years, and is organised by the Yokohama Sports Association. It is a popular outdoor event amongst families, and I have been looking forward to going since hearing about it two years ago.
We first registered & paid for our participation at the park's reception and proceeded to select our sweet potatoes from a box. The JPY220 (~US$1.40) cost includes one sweet potato, aluminium foil and rental of warm gloves. Pretty good value.
After registering, we proceeded to the park's camping ground, which has public facilities like a sheltered BBQ area, brick oven, long tables and benches. Members of the public are free to reserve a spot for BBQs and outdoor activities. The camping ground also has a basic lodge-like accommodation for short stays, and is ideal for an outdoor trip without needing to travel too far.
We gave our sweet potatoes a quick wash and wrapped them up in two layers of aluminium foil. We then proceeded to our designated spot in a nearby fire pit that had been setup by the Association's staff.
Washing and wrapping the sweet potato
The center of the fire pit had burning charcoal. This was used to prepare the "bed" for the sweet potatoes to be laid on. We then grabbed a handful of ochiba (Japanese: 落ち葉, English: dry leaves) and covered the sweet potatoes. The dry leaves quickly caught fire and the roasting process began.
The cold winter atmosphere made the warm campfire a great place to congregate around. I don't think I would've enjoyed this event as much were it held in a tropical climate!
Every 10 or so minutes, we grabbed new batches of dry leaves to keep the roasting process going. There was an abundant of dry leaves in the camping area because it was winter. The sweet potatoes took about 50 minutes to complete roasting.
The finished product was really delicious - sweet, soft and piping hot. I had a really great time enjoying the company and crisp, fresh wintery air. I hope to be back again next year!
--Ends
