Whenever we’re in Seattle, after dim sum, we always head to the Asian market, Uwajimaya. I’ve been meaning to post a photo of their wasabi. At $100/# all I’ll be doing is snapping a pic 
Are they also selling fresh wasabi leaves (i.e., petioles)?
Delicious and highly underrated vegetable.
I’ve never heard of that so didn’t notice. If we make it back this trip I’ll look around. Their produce section is enormous.
Real wasabi is available at the Japanese supermarkets fairly regularly here in SoCal. We are blessed.
In restaurants usage, Shunji-san features wasabi petioles AND sometime its flowers (!) in his seasonal omakases on occasion.
Mrs. J_L, is an avid gardener. Our “moonshot” gardening endeavor this year is to take advantage to all the rain (yay!) we’ve been getting here in L.A. this winter to mimic conditions and fool our little wasabi plant into thinking it’s near a fresh, fast-running stream on a Japanese mountain. So far, so good… There is a flower! Wish us (and our little wasabi plant) luck!
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What does a usable size cost? Obviously you don’t need a POUND 
The markets here sell 1/3 pound pieces of wasabi root for about $30 each.
Okay. That’s doable. Does it store well? (You DO realize that non-food-types would be astounded, right??!?)
Mitsuwa sells very small quantities, like $10-$20 pieces at $80/lb.
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Even with the miracle of modern refrigeration, I’d use it within the week of purchase.
Wasabi inherently displays a certain antimicrobial activity, and is thus hardier than some other roots in terms of resisting decomposition. But as always, use good kitchen judgment.
This may bring up a new question. Other than sushi, what else does one use wasabi for?
Salad (mixed into dressing), mixed into mayo, mixed into creme fraiche, spice rub for meats/fish, mashed potatoes, BBQ sauce, stir-fry, etc. Basically anything you’d want to add some heat.
Oh, and lets not forget, peas!
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You’re my hero!
I don’t mean to start anything but with that kind of price for real wasabi would you use the readily available prepared or mix kind, or can you sometimes get away with something like this?: 
We use something like this.
