One of my biggest fears leading up to my trip to Japan was that I would not be able to find food to eat because I am a picky eater. I get really grossed out from a lot of food textures and this made me very nervous about going to Japan. Japan has a completely different food palette than what I am used to in the United States, so I did not know what I was going to find. Even though I was worried, I still wanted to have an open mind and experience as much of Japan’s food culture as I could. Shortly into the trip I learned about a few dishes that are very popular in Japan that I have never heard of. Being exposed to new foods that I have never tried before was both scary and fun. Trying foods became a staple for my trip and I am using this post as a way to share some of those experiences.
When my program visited Azabu University, one of the professors gave my group a lecture on the dangers of eating certain foods. Two of the foods that came up in his lecture were fugu and horse sashimi. Fugu, or more commonly known as puffer fish in the US, is a high-end meal in Japan. Fugu is one of the most dangerous foods in the world because it contains a highly poisonous substance called tetrodotoxin. In fact, restaurants and chefs are required to obtain a special certification which can take multiple years to complete in order to serve fugu. Since there are rigorous requirements to be able to serve fugu it is often very expensive. While this information alone piqued my interest, the thing I found most surprising about fugu is that even though the dangers of eating it are widely known, hundreds of people without proper training attempt to make fugu because they love the taste so much. Once I heard that people willingly risk their lives in order to eat Fugu, I knew I needed to try it.
The night I went to try fugu, I was unsure about what restaurant to go to, so I asked a student from Azabu University if he wanted to join me for dinner and he was very happy to go. This was very fun because not only was I trying a cultural Japanese food, but I was also trying it with a Japanese student I had just met. When the fugu was served, I was very nervous to try it but when I finally ate it, I felt so foolish for being worried. The taste reminded me of chicken but juicier and more flavorful. The fugu was very good and at the time it was my favorite food I had eaten on the tri
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The next food that was discussed in this lecture was horse sashimi, which is the name for a raw horse dish. The thought of eating raw meatscares me and when it was brought up in conversation, I was very confused about whether it was safe to eat. However, the lecturer reassured my group by telling us that while it is almost always dangerous to eat raw meat, horse meat is an exception when it is fresh. After hearing this, I spoke with my professors and a Japanese student from Kumamoto, which is the region where horse sashimi is very popular, and they all agreed that horse sashimi is very good and worth trying. They had me sold on trying horse sashimi and I finally got my opportunity when we visited Kumamoto castle.
When my group visited Kumamoto castle, we found out there was a branch of a popular horse sashimi restaurant, called Sugamoya, right before the entrance to the castle. I knew this would be my only chance to try raw horse, so I asked one of my professors to help me order it. Since this was a smaller restaurant, they only served the raw horse as sushi but nonetheless it still had the same meat and taste that is present in regular horse sashimi. The taste of the horse meat was really flavorful, and it practically melted in my mouth. I expected it to be really rough and chewy but in fact, it was the complete opposite. I was once again blown away by how delicious the food was and would not hesitate to eat raw horse meat again.
Trying these two strange foods was a very fun experience. I am so happy that I took advantage of my opportunity to do so. The biggest takeaway I have from this trip is to push yourself out of your comfort zone because you’ll never know what you’re missing out on until you try it. I believe this experience alone emphasizes how amazing it can be to try new things and I look forward to applying a simple lesson like this to my future.