Harvesting bamboo shoots, the taste of spring, has begun in the Yamashiro area in southern Kyoto Prefecture. Bamboo shoots are harvested until May, and are shipped locally as well as to Tokyo as ``Kyoto bamboo shoots'' This year's growth has been delayed due to a series of cold days in February, but the harvest seems promising, says Fumio Kimura, owner of a bamboo forest in Ide Town, Kyoto Prefectures.
The bamboo shoots are white in color because they are dug up before the tips emerge from the ground and are called ''shiroko''