The fish market sells the roots for about $80 a pound ... it is in the refrigerated fish case and i think it is on a bed of ice or something special to keep it fresh. It also loses its flavo(u)r shortly after grating it. It is apparently about the most difficult of commercial crops to grow. The "wasabi" paste one typically eats is about as authentic as the "maple" syrup that (now past tense?) comes from Mrs. Butterworth's head.