A mother and her two daughters go treasure hunting for maple trees in Shimukappu in early spring. Their goal is the syrup the trees produce. They use the freshly-made syrup to make traditional sweets.
In a thawing wood, a tasty adventure awaits
with a special treasure hidden out of sight.
And the treasure we seek is maple syrup!
A mouth-wateringly sweet treat.
This nature-loving family will try and make some maple syrup themselves.
But wait. Maple syrup on snow?!
Let's go treasure hunting. Yay!
Wild Hokkaido!
It's March. Spring is almost here,
and the snow on the mountains is beginning to melt.
The forests of Shimukappu are waking from their winter slumber,
bathed in warm spring sunlight.
A family has come to visit the forest today.
Mom Isis and her two daughters,
Elena and Sofia, love the great outdoors.
The family has spent lots of time exploring the nature of Hokkaido.
Today, in the early spring thaw,
they'll be searching for some treasure among the trees.
Hi, guys.
Veteran forest guide Tanaka Kei will be helping them search for something special.
I want you guys to walk into the forest and go treasure hunting.
Treasure hunting!
A treasure hunt?
But what exactly are they hunting for?
The treasure is...
this.
You know what this is?
The small jar contains what looks like an amber liquid.
Bee's honey!
It's maple syrup.
Although maple syrup might look like honey,
it doesn't come from flowers.
It's a sweet gift from the trees of the forest.
Our plucky treasure hunters Elena and Sofia
will be looking for some maple syrup of their own today!
Now I'm going to guide you to the forest.
Are you guys ready?
Let's go!
- Okay.
- Okay, follow me then.
All right!
The forest expedition has begun,
but where should they start looking?
Now I found a clue.
- A clue?
- For the treasure.
You know what this is?
This is a fallen leaf from the maple tree.
You can tell by the leaf's distinctive shape that it is a maple leaf.
That means we can find a maple tree around here.
So look around and see which one is a maple.
Hmm, okay.
Where there are maple trees, there's maple syrup.
But all the trees surrounding them look the same.
Is that a maple tree?
Could the tree that Sofia found be a maple tree?
Let's look at the leaves.
Are there any leaves that look like this maple?
There don't appear to be any maple leaves on the ground.
Unfortunately, it's not a maple tree.
Maple trees, the color is more like a gray and greenish color.
The pattern, it's going to be like a stripe.
Oh, okay.
And this one is more like horizontal.
Got it. They'll need to look for tree trunks with vertical stripes.
So we got to look out for leaves, trees' bark, and the branches.
Yes.
They're getting better at telling the trees apart.
Is that one a maple tree?
Have they spotted a tree with vertical, stripey bark?
Elena and Sofia race to check.
Do you think it's this one?
The bark of the tree clearly has a vertical-striped pattern.
Do you see any leaves?
But how about the leaves?
- I found one!
- Oh, good, good. Let's show. Look at that.
What about this one?
It certainly has that distinctive shape.
This is a maple tree. You guys found it!
At last, they've found a maple tree!
So where is the precious syrup?
Where can it be, girls?
I think inside here.
You think it's inside the tree?
Inside?
What an insight, Sofia.
If the syrup is inside the tree,
how in the world do we get it out?
So, we're going to make a hole in this tree
and take out the sap from the tree.
That's right. This is the only time of the year
that precious sap can be extracted from the maple trees.
Kei has been making maple syrup
from the sap of the trees in this forest for many years.
Let's see how he gets the sap out of the tree.
(This program was shot in cooperation with the local government.)
- Anything coming out?
- No.
- Yeah, me neither.
- Here it is!
Oh, my goodness. Look at that!
- Maple.
- It's like a waterfall.
A clear liquid starts to run out of the hole.
This is the maple sap.
How does it taste?
They try some sap that's already been sterilized and is safe to eat.
- Yummy.
- Oh, really?
It has a light sweetness to it.
The sap contains nutrients such as sugar stored within the tree.
There are even tiny sap icicles hanging from maple trees.
They entice wild birds with their sweetness.
The maple tree sap is truly a precious gift from nature.
They attach a faucet to the tree
and hang a bucket on it to collect the sap.
To make syrup, they'll need as much sap as possible.
According to Kei,
trees that get a lot of sunlight also produce a lot of sap.
I'm going to tap it for a little bit.
Nice job, big sis!
Good job!
Can little sis do it too?
I'll do bang bang.
You can do it together, yeah?
Oh, my. She's more interested in the wooden mallet!
They hang a number of buckets.
We just made our holes in the trees.
But it's going drop by drop, so we need to wait a while to get a lot.
And, yeah, we'll see how much we can collect today.
The sap is gradually filling up the buckets.
Now it's time to check how much sap they've collected.
Look!
Wow. Heavy.
This is half a day's worth.
- Are you ready to collect?
- Yes.
It takes two to carry the buckets.
One, two. One, two.
They've collected this much tree sap.
It will be the source of their maple syrup.
They thank the maple trees for offering them their sap.
Thank you, maple trees.
It's time to start making homemade maple syrup from the tree sap.
First, they strain it to remove any impurities.
Then the sap gets boiled for a long time to get rid of the water.
As they say, good things come to those who wait.
And they wait for one whole hour!
The sap is beginning to change its color.
The heat turns the sugar a caramel color, giving it a nice aroma.
The color darkens even more.
The maple syrup is almost ready.
The excitement is building!
- It's coming.
- Foam, maple syrup!
Foam, maple syrup!
Oh, look at that, look at that!
It starts bubbling up all at once.
Yay, look at that! We did it, girls!
Turn it off, turn it off, turn it off!
So what does that mean?
It means you've got maple syrup.
The maple syrup, with its golden amber glow, is ready.
Okay, let's try to be fair here, yeah.
It was too tempting not to try.
It tastes like maple syrup.
They boiled the sap down to 1/60th of what was originally collected.
And the final result?
A one-of-a-kind treasure.
Handmade maple syrup!
Now it's their mom's turn.
Mix, mix, mix, mix, mix.
Isis is originally from Canada,
which is, of course, the home of maple syrup.
As she's eaten it since she was young,
she knows all the best ways to enjoy maple syrup.
They pour fresh syrup all over pancakes.
It looks delicious.
How do they taste?
Thumbs up!
The girls are too busy eating.
They must be hungry after all the work they've done.
Wow, they gobbled down those pancakes in no time!
Now for the "SENSEI's Tips!"
Let's learn how to make a delicious chicken dish using maple syrup.
Prepare some maple syrup and condiments of your choice.
Put them in a bag with the meat to marinate.
The meat soaks up the syrup, which gives it a sweet flavor.
It's the perfect family meal.
It's so yummy!
Try it for yourself!
To finish, Isis shows her girls
how to make a traditional Canadian maple syrup dessert.
So, they're... collecting snow?
Thank you.
What do they have in store for it?
- Ready, my chefs?
- Yes.
Yes.
- We got our maple.
- Yes.
We're going to cook the maple,
and put it on the snow,
and make something called maple taffy.
It's our first time, right?
Taffy is a kind of candy.
What kind of candy will they make using the snow?
Three, two, one!
They cool the hot syrup on the snow.
There we go.
Once it's hardened, just roll it up. And...
There you go. Yes, yes, yes. Yes, yes. Good, good.
Presto! Maple taffy!
It looks like a precious gemstone.
Yummy!
The girls look very happy.
Is it yummy?
I want them to grow up really appreciating the nature around them
and understanding that there's so much treasure, not just maple,
but so much treasure all around us here in Hokkaido.
The girls have discovered the joy of living in harmony
with the nature that surrounds them.
Wild Hokkaido! takes you on great activities
in the great outdoors of northern Japan.
Join us next time for another adventure.