Top 5 Experiences with Seafood in Japan

 The subject of fish comes up a surprising amount in everyday conversation and is often a source of confusion: from school lunch, to work parties at sushi restaurants, to giving tours of Hokkaido to in-laws, which includes navigating the seafood on various restaurant menus. The average Japanese person doesn't know the English words for different kinds of meat (pig, cow, etc.) let alone all the different species of fish!  Anyway, here are some of the weirdest and most surprising seafood that I've encountered in Japan:

5. Ikameshi - I ate this dish for the first time for school lunch. I thought it was a potato, and when I asked, "What's this?" a student drew an excellent picture of a squid of the chalkboard. The rubbery sea creature is hollowed, stuffed with glutinous rice, and simmered in a sweet soy sauce-based soup. Does it sound appetizing? I was even more surprised when we received three packages of ikameshi as a prize from my husband's basketball tournament! Also, here I'll include my honorable mention: eating baked whole fish, including the bones and the head and the eyes and the skin, for school lunch. Who knew that kyuushoku (school lunch) could sophisticate my palate?

4. Fish cakes, the hot dogs of Japan: The wide world of fish cakes begins with surimi (literally "scraped meat"), a thick paste made from various types and parts of whitefish. When cooked, it becomes dense and rubbery and includes additives like MSG. Sometimes packaged as imitation crab meat, sometimes as kamaboko "loaves", and sometimes packaged with artistic patterns like this Hello Kitty fish cake, it is quite a treat. Another type of fish cake is narutomaki, named for the tidal whirlpools near the Japanese city of Naruto and for which the anime character Naruto is named (the creator loved ramen!).

3. Ikura: Have you ever tried roe, or fish eggs, atop your fancy sushi? One of the best (and most expensive) is ikura, salmon roe. Every fall, the salmon migrate upstream through my town in Japan, and though protected during this season, the fish and their eggs are local delicacies. The Hakodate Asa Ichi Morning Market offers whole bowls of ikura and rice. When you take a bite, they burst liquid into your mouth like fruit Gushers. Their taste is bold, salty, and uniquely delicious, making it one of my favorite foods in Japan.

2. Sea urchin (uni): I received some sea urchin in a can as a prize for winning BINGO at the end of the year party with my BOE. Here is my husband's description: "Opening the can, the urchin appears dry, brown with white specks, like a can of wet cat food that has been opened and left out to dry.  The aroma is musky; pungent; you get the sense that flavors have been... maturing in that can for some time.  The flavor is hard to describe; it's salty, definitely, but there's also a strong, meat-like flavor, with a lingering aftertaste reminiscent of a mild cigar.  The texture is granular, and it breaks down in your mouth into its constituent parts: moist grains of briny sand.  Certainly, one could develop an aficionado's palate for it; for me, though, once was enough."

1. Whale - Without opening a whole big can of worms about the whaling industry, it is always shocking to see whale being sold at the grocery store and at the cheap conveyor belt sushi restaurants. Its bright pink color is unmistakable and its flavor has been described as similar to that of reindeer or moose, neither of which I've ever eaten or intend to.

Although I hail from Minnesota, "The Land of 10,000 Lakes," my knowledge of fish in English or Japanese is severely lacking. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the mysteries of the oceans on my plate. Now, I can't wait to explore the oceans snorkeling in Okinawa and try to find some of my favorite foods, as Sebastian the crab would say, "Under the Sea."