Why Japan Knows Vicenza’s Asparagus (and Where to Taste It)

About ↓ · How Vicenza’s asparagus reached Japan ↓ · What Japanese food writers discovered ↓ · Where to taste it in Vicenza  + The Festival↓

ABOUT

The asparagus that Japanese restaurants have been importing for more than twenty years comes from a rather small corner of the province of Vicenza. Asparago Bianco di Bassano DOP is grown exclusively in ten municipalities around Bassano del Grappa, on the banks of the Brenta River. The spears are harvested while still underground, preserving their distinctive white colour, tenderness and delicate sweetness. [6]

Its protected designation of origin is strictly regulated, down to the traditional willow branches used to tie each bunch. Yet this very local Italian speciality has managed to develop a rather unexpected international relationship. In Japan, where seasonal ingredients have a particular cultural importance, Bassano's white asparagus has found its way into restaurant kitchens, food magazines and television programmes.

HOW VICENZA’S ASPARAGUS REACHED JAPAN

It apparently began with a television documentary.

In May 2026, the Consorzio di Tutela dell'Asparago Bianco di Bassano DOP explained to FreshPlaza that its established exports to Japan had developed following a documentary on the cultivation of Bassano's white asparagus broadcast on Japanese television. [1]

The relationship goes back at least two decades.

In March 2016, the Japanese culinary magazine Ryori Tsushin published a feature on the white asparagus of Bassano del Grappa. According to the report, the agricultural cooperative in San Zeno di Cassola, also in the province of Vicenza, had already been exporting vacuum packed asparagus to Japan for more than ten years.

One detail was particularly striking. Federico Parolin, then vice president of the cooperative, reported that a single Japanese restaurant was using as much as 100 kilograms of Vicenza's asparagus every week. [2]

And Japan's interest extended well beyond importing the vegetable.

On 7 August 2023, NHK BS Premium introduced Japanese viewers to Bassano's white asparagus in an episode of Agata to Tabisuru Mamma no Shiawase Pasta.

The programme visited Paolo Brotto at his Le Roane farm in Rosà, in the province of Vicenza, before following Isetta Scremin as she prepared homemade tagliatelle with white asparagus, guanciale and cream. [3]

A local grower, a family recipe and a plate of fresh pasta had all made it onto Japanese national television.

WHAT JAPANESE FOOD WRITERS DISCOVERED IN VICENZA

For Hiroshi Ito of Japan's prestigious Tsuji Culinary Institute, the experience merited a seven hour drive from Lyon, France, to Bassano del Grappa.

His account, published by the culinary school, describes an entire asparagus tasting menu, with preparations ranging from raw asparagus and marinated fish to scallops, truffles, homemade pasta and the traditional Asparagi alla Bassanese. [4]

For the final dish, a waiter prepared the sauce beside his table, crushing boiled eggs and mixing them with olive oil, wine vinegar and seasoning before serving them over warm white asparagus. Ito wrote that the lunch had justified the journey and hoped he would have another opportunity to visit Bassano during asparagus season.

Japanese travel writer Aki Shirahama was equally fascinated. In a 2017 article for Tabicoffret, she photographed the protected DOP asparagus bunches, explained the local cooking tradition and introduced Japanese readers to Bassano's famous ceramics.

She even discovered a special ceramic plate designed for serving asparagus with boiled eggs, with a dedicated space for the eggs themselves. [5]

For travellers interested in Japanese food culture, Italian ceramics and regional dining traditions, it is a particularly appealing detail. Bassano's celebrated pottery and its most famous spring vegetable share the same table.

WHERE TO TASTE VICENZA’S WHITE ASPARAGUS

If you have discovered Bassano's asparagus through Japanese television or food writing, the natural place to try it is where it grows.

Spring is the season to visit Bassano del Grappa, in the province of Vicenza, near Venice. Restaurants throughout the area prepare special asparagus menus, ranging from the traditional pairing with eggs to elaborate contemporary tasting menus.

Two addresses have a particularly interesting connection with this story.

Sant’Eusebio, the restaurant featured in the Japanese culinary press

The restaurant once known as Alla Corte, featured in Ryori Tsushin in 2016, is now Ristorante Sant'Eusebio.

Villa Ca’ Sette, an entire menu devoted to asparagus 

and also mentioned in the Japanes magazine Ryory Tsushin

The Festival 

The most important celebrations for the white asparagus take place in Bassano del Grappa and its surrounding towns.  Rather than a single local street festival, it is organized as a major territory-wide gastronomic itinerary called "A Tavola con l'Asparago Bianco di Bassano DOP" (Culinary Exhibition of the Bassano White Asparagus PDO). It features special dedicated menus across local restaurants, alongside historic farm competitions and public market displays.

Essential Event Info

• Seasonal Timeline: The exhibition runs every year during the official harvesting season, specifically from March 19 to June 13 (concluding on the Feast of Saint Anthony).  
• Key Event Highlights: Look out for the famous "Mostra Concorso" (the historic exhibition-competition held in late April), where local farmers display their finest carefully harvested white spears at historic venues in Bassano, Rosà, and San Zeno di Cassola.   
• Local Culinary Network Website: Ristoranti di Bassano / Bassano da Scoprire
• Consortium Email Address: info@asparagobiancobassano.com
• General Info Phone (Ascom Bassano): +39 0424 523108

 

日本からの旅行者へ · FOR JAPANESE READERS

日本のテレビ番組やグルメ雑誌でも紹介されている、イタリア・ヴィチェンツァ県の名産「アスパラゴ・ビアンコ・ディ・バッサーノDOP」。

バッサーノ・デル・グラッパ産のホワイトアスパラガスは、2000年代から日本にも輸出されています。NHKの料理番組でも生産者や地元の家庭料理が紹介されました。

旬の中心は4月から5月。ヴェネツィア近郊のヴィチェンツァ県バッサーノ・デル・グラッパで、白アスパラガスとゆで卵を合わせた伝統料理「アスパラジ・アッラ・バッサネーゼ」を味わう春の旅を。