Personally, the first day of spring in Miyama is the day I find Fukinotou. Fukinootou, or the buds of the Japanese butterbur plants, the first wild edible plants or Sansai appear in spring. Along the winter/spring boundary in Miyama, Fukinotou bursts to life in numbers as soon as the snow covering its hiding spots melts away.
They are so delicious fried as tempura, and I try not to miss the best timing every year! They are best picked when they are very small as the larger they get the more bitter they become.
This year, I successfully found the best size beautiful shape Fukinotou just last week and fully enjoyed taste of spring, or too much?? Actually, I repeated a dish of Fukinotou tempura for 2 consecutive days… Probably that may be enough for this year.