I am about to take you on a long journey through my appetite on this education abroad trip. It is full of delicious eats that are sure to make your mouth water. While this isn’t every food that I tried on this trip, it provides a good look into the dishes I devoured along the way.
Conveyor belt sushi- University of Tokyo
Conveyor belt sushi seemed to me like a staple of the Japanese diet. I expected to see them around every corner. While sushi and sashimi are popular in Japan I ate less of it then I predicted. When choosing from the moving dishes, I picked up shrimp, squid, fish egg sushi roll and a salmon sashimi among others. I had this dish with the company of some of the University of Tokyo students. Meeting and talking to them was one of my favorite parts of the trip. There is no better way to truly learn or teach about cultures than in a conversation with your peers. We discussed a wide variety of topics including comfortableness with public baths, our travel plans and karaoke. I am so glad this trip offered an opportunity to make friends with students from Japan.
Takoyaki- Sanja Matsuri, Asakusa
While this was not my first time eating these crispy balls filled with octopus, I enjoyed them in a whole new light. While walking through the annual Shinto festival of Sanja Matsuri, Angelica and I spotted them cooking in the circular molded pans and decided we needed to have them. To be surrounded by the mass of people gathered to see the portable shrines while eating some delicious Japanese food is something that I will have in my memory forever.
Mr. Waffle- Shinjuku, after disaster prevention center
After walking by the best scent you have ever smelled in your entire life, Mr. Waffle was a place we needed to eat at. I ate a maple waffle with chocolate ice cream and it was heaven in a bowl. On the way back from the disaster prevention center we transferred in one of the largest train stops in the world, Shinjuku station. It was large, confusing and everyone seemed in a hurry. We searched for Mr.Waffle for a good 20 minutes before reaching the motherland of sweet and sugary goodness. It was well worth the quick self-guided tour of Shinjuku station.
Katsudon- – Fukushima grocery store
This rice, egg, and fried pork dish was one of my favorites to eat here in Japan. I had it many times and am planning to make it back at home. One of the memorable times that I ate this dish was in the only local grocery store in the town outside the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. This town only had 1,000 out of 16,000 people return to live there after accident. This made it feel strange and empty and every building was newly built. The grocery store was full of the plant workers all in their uniforms. On the way to visit the plant we passed many houses and business that were abandoned and it felt eerie. Seeing how much this disaster displaced and destroyed people’s lives put the scope and magnitude of the accident into perspective.
Ramen noodles- Toyama
Honestly, noodles may be my favorite food. No matter what cuisine noodles can do nothing wrong. In Toyama I had a classic ramen set meal in the train station. Toyama was a big change from being in Tokyo for so long. It’s a much smaller city with a backdrop of gorgeous mountains. We got to visit a castle along with the Itai-Itai museum. This museum brought this disease caused by mining waste to life. We got the opportunity to listen to a storyteller whose grandmother-in-law was effected by the disease.
Deep fried pork with sticky rice bento box- Shin-Osaka station
On our way to Hiroshima we had a quick train stop in the Shin-Osaka station for lunch. Most of us picked up bento boxes to eat on the Shinkansen. I got a chilled fried pork culet with sticky rice. The Shinkansen is the Japanese bullet train that makes traveling between major cities both affordable, convenient and fast. We have a JR pass that allows foreigners to travel for 7 days at a cheaper price. This is my first time using bullet trains. I feel very safe and relaxed. The cars are very clean and sometimes even provide free wifi. I think this is system would be beneficial and widely accepted between major cities in the US. I know that they have plans to build some around Texas.
Okonomiyaki- Hiroshima
This famous dish really tickled my taste buds in the best way. The delicious combination of batter, cabbage, egg and in my case seafood was one of the best things I’ve tasted on the trip. While this dish Is greatly associated with Hiroshima, it is definitely not the first thing I think of in Hiroshima. We got to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, the A-bomb Dome and the Peace memorial Museum. Originally I was worried about visiting this area being American but I quickly realized that they do not hold resentment and just want to contribute to world peace. Walking through the museum and listening to the story teller really brought the atomic bombing to life. Seeing the left belongings of the victims elicited feelings that I had never experienced learning about this in an American history class. It left me feeling sad yet wanting to spread the message of the inhumane and terrible consequences of an atomic bomb to more Americans.
Fried oysters- Miyajma Island
On this island I tried a food that I had never eaten before, oysters! I enjoyed them more than I was expecting. This island is well known for the Itsukushima Shrine. We got to see the torrii gate from the shore and it was a beautiful experience. I love the sea and we got to ride a ferry to get to the island. Once we landed there were fearless deer scattered all over. They are viewed as servants of the gods. It was such a beautiful island and taught more about the Shinto religion. To pray to the gods you make an offering, bow twice, clap twice, pray, and bow again when completed. There are white lightning shaped symbols and dragon statues at the entrance that keep out the evil from the shrine.
Izakaya hot pot- Fukuoka
We ate at an izakaya many times on the trip. This iconic eating experience has been very different than any eating experience in the United States. You take off your shoes which is virtually unheard of in the United States. You sit on the ground and typically eat family style sharing dishes especially hot pot. I really enjoyed get to try little bits of many different dishes.
Curry- Minamata
This was a dish that I was not expecting to either eat or like when coming to Japan. However, it is found all over Japan. After visiting the Minamata museum I had curry with fried pork. Again, we had the opportunity to listen to another story teller. This time however, she experienced the hardship of minamata disease first hand and lost both her husband and daughter to the illness. Her story was incredible and devastating. Listening to the poem that she wrote brought me to tears.
Ice cream- legit everywhere
Ice cream and parfaits are easy to find all over Japan. No matter where you are or what temperature it is outside, ice cream is always a staple food for me. While I am lactose-intolerant, I have a love/”it’s complicated” relationship with this delectable dessert. I feel like this trip also had love/”it’s complicated” feelings to it. I very much enjoyed every day in this country and had many opportunities to learn and grow as a human that I otherwise would not have been able to experience. I had some amazing food, saw some incredible places and made some great new friends. On the other hand, this trip had some complicated moments. While it was not complicated in the same way as an upset stomach, it evoked many emotions and created many moments of deep thinking. Visiting Hiroshima, Minamata and Toyama and listening to all the storytellers are memories that I will always keep in my heart. I expected this aspect of the trip to make me sad but I was surprised by how moved I was learning about all of these stories. This truly is a well-rounded trip full of sorrow, laughter and learning.
