[ChrisMarshallNY]

I've had it, in Tokyo.

They give you a root, and a grater. Tastes milder than what we get, here.

I have heard that it is impossible to domesticate (has to be harvested wild, on certain mountains). However, I watched a program, where a guy in Hawai'i said he'd figured out how to domesticate it.

Haven't heard much about that, though.

[HybridCurve]

It's a difficult plant to grow as it requires specific conditions. Though there are farms in the pacific northwest that have been able to cultivate it successfully.

Here is a decent paper that discusses the challenges[PDF]:

https://www.skagitmg.org/wp-content/uploads/Public-Pages/Foo...

[Jazgot]

There is a company in the UK too https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/plants/11638355/The-UK...

[ceejayoz]

Tasmania also cultivates some.

[woolion]

It's still very hard to grow with high failure rates, but you can definitely find plants for affordable prices -- a bit less than 10$, but then you need to manage to keep it alive for 3 years if you want to enjoy it propagate it. There are a number of good YT videos on how to cultivate it, and some documentaries on professional plantations.

To have it the spiciest you should wait a good ten minutes or more, the spiciness is activated by the process: "The chemical in wasabi that provides for its initial pungency is the volatile compound allyl isothiocyanate, which is produced by hydrolysis of allyl glucosinolate [...]; the hydrolysis reaction is catalyzed by myrosinase and occurs when the enzyme is released on cell rupture caused by grating" (adapted from wikipedia)

[Sebguer]

It can be grown in the PNW, in America. There are a few farms, e.g. https://www.thewasabistore.com/the-farm-1

[jandrewrogers]

It is difficult to grow but there are multiple producers in the US, and I've occasionally seen it for sale in grocery stores. Some sushi places use it. It is more expensive than the green horseradish/mustard powder, but not prohibitively so.

You can taste the difference but in most contexts it is pretty substitutable with the fake wasabi, hence the ubiquity of the latter.

[pyaamb]

I'm curious as to why its not possible to grow locally given the growing number of startups growing food in cities in fully controlled environments? for ex: https://youtu.be/VxRNoSSkLkE?t=191

[haffi112]

It has been grown in Iceland: https://www.nordicwasabi.com/

[kawera]

It's cultivated in Brazil too, although in a very small scale: (in portuguese) https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/comida/2022/02/wasabi-verdadei...

[lotophage]

In addition to the previously mentioned places, it is grown in Tasmania, Australia too (https://shimawasabi.com.au/pages/about).