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Japan Through Mark's Elph Back to Elph Japan |
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I could go on for days about the food in Japan. Heck, I could go on for days about the RAW food alone! In Japan I managed to eat raw fish, shrimp, shrimp brains, chicken, beef, and whale. I must say that I had the whale during a fancy dinner where they didn't tell us what it was until we finished eating it-- so I didn't even have the chance to protest or refuse it. As it turns out, however, I really enjoyed it! I don't need to eat it again, but if it wasn't illegal in most countries I might actually seek out the stuff... I also once had a shrimp that was so raw that it twitched as I picked it up, and twitched again in protest as I chewed it. (!) Then I ruthlessly drowned it with a gulp of good Japanese beer.
The first photo you see here is of me, taking a picture of myself, at the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo! It is the largest fish market on the planet, and displayed all sorts of fish as far as the eye could see. I saw loads of six foot giant tuna that were frozen solid and hacked to pieces by massive band saws. I saw six foot fish that looked like long tubes, but weren't eels. I saw buckets the of the Japanese all-time favorite: Squid. I even caught a glimpse of the raw form of Japan's most prevalent fish condiment: wasabe! Despite the advice of friends, I decided to visit the fish market in the dead of winter, when the fish could sit out all day and never thaw! By the time I finished wandering around the place I felt nearly as frozen as those poor iced tuna. I was so cold, in fact, that in a near-violent throwing-aside of Tsukiji Fish Market tradition, I had a pathetically western (but very warm) breakfast at MacDonalds instead of the traditional breakfast of ultra-fresh sushi. Nothing like some hot, fried hash browns to clear a man's guilt. The FOURTH picture above shows a surprisingly Japanese MacFood. Take a closer look by clicking on the picture... ;-)
And now for two more uniquely Japanese creations... The energy-bar of choice in Japan is known as the "CalorieMate" bar. The flavors you see above are Vegetable, Cheese, Chocolate, and Grapefruit. Let me just tell you now to save you the trouble: stay away from all flavors except chocolate (resembles shortbread). CalorieMate has also diversified into a CalorieMate line of drinks, but don't get too excited there, either. Just imagine those bland yellow packages wrapped around a 10oz can of oddly smelling watery sludge. I was actually challenged to drink a whole can of the stuff in a single swig. I have photos of the event, but my face was so badly contorted after that traumatic experience that I decided against sharing them with the world. Be glad, and stay away from cheese-flavored CalorieMate drinks.
The other photo shows a Japanese fast-food tradition: Fried Octopus Balls. Or, more suitably stated, "fried octopus cooked into ball-shaped morsels" to be loudly slurped up by eager teens throughout Japan. I never gathered up enough courage to try them, but I have yet to feel a pang of regret. Every time I considered it I was turned away by the sight of those balls of mayonnaised tentacles.
Here we have the standard fare and your standard fair on the streets of Japan. Street fairs abound in Japan, and are a great way to test the boundaries of your personal space. Rest assured, you will have none if the fair is worth visiting. Who could resist eternally boiled tofu and re-constituted fish cakes? Or whole fish on a stick? I actually enjoy some of the pig and cow-based meat served at the fairs, though it is frequently much more tough and gristly than you find in a decent Japanese restaurant. Finally, don't forget to taste the pastel-colored chocolate-covered bananas. I couldn't taste much of a difference between the different colors of chocolate, but I figured it was worth a try. (Over time I discovered that chocolate flavoring knows no boundaries in Japan. For instance, have you tried corn-flavored chocolate, shaped in little cobs? That was the tourist flavor-of-choice in Sapporo. Also, I couldn't help but enjoy a melon flavored chocolate morsel I discovered in the very same shop.)
Now we finally get serious about food. No, I didn't eat the guy standing next to me above. He is, in fact, the owner of my all-time favorite restaurant in Japan. Apologies to my vegetarian friends, he owns the most incredible Korean BBQ restaurant I have ever visited. The title, roughly translated as "5 Iron" (like the golf club) doesn't really do justice to the food. It was there I tried my first taste of raw beef, but don't let that turn you off to it. I was shocked at the prospect of trying it myself, until I actually did and found I enjoyed it! Then, under the watchful eye of the owner, I tried more and more succulent morsels of meat, all cooked in slightly increasing amounts, from barely warmed to nicely done. By tasting the meat in all of its various cooked forms, with varying simple condiments, I discovered an abundance of flavors and textures to be enhanced in completely un-expected ways. Also, eating raw meat, as good as it can be, ultimately creates a deep craving of even the rarest of cooked meat. Call it a carnivore's nirvana, I found myself in complete awe of the experience created by this fantastic restaurateur through the simple medium of beef. (Apparently, his place won top honors throughout Japan for serving the finest meat in all Japan!) Finally, despite my meditative pose in the second picture, it bears no relation to the first. It is simply the entry-hall of an extremely creatively decorated restaurant I visited somewhere in Tokyo. I had to share.
