Mikan Picking in November

Yesterday the family went to an island about 15 miles (roughly equal to a 2.5 hour drive at Japanese speed limits) south of Iwakuni called Oshima Island where we picked "mikans," which are more or less like tangerines or mandarin oranges except much better. While living in Northern Virginia for over three years we never managed to make it out to one of the many orchards in the area to pick apples in the Fall so we decided to wait until we came to Japan to enjoy the Fall activity of fruit picking. Strange enough, November is the peak season for these citrus fruit. They are in every way superior to an average orange. They are sweeter, have no seeds, and the rind is so soft and peals away from the fruit so easily that you must clip the mikan from the branch. If you simply pull the fruit from the tree the stem will rip a hole right through the rind, which is not so good for storing for a few days until you can eat them.
We spent about $18 in order to pick a whole bag of these beauties with our own labor. $10 just for the experience of walking the grove and $8 to take home a bag of fruit. Of course you could eat your fill of them while wandering the grove. The boys had a fun time running among the trees and picking some of the fruit themselves. Definitely a fun family outing and a neat Japanese cultural experience!