I Just Can’t Stomach it! Weird Things the Japanese Eat

“Have you ever eaten frog?”

Recently I was asked this by the vice principal of my elementary school.

“Frog?” I said. “No way!” He smiled. “It’s delicious!”

Well, I didn’t quite agree with him there. Actually, it was surprising that he said frog, and not some sort of strange tentacled fish you’re more likely to encounter in an island country such as Japan. Seriously, they don’t even have turkey in japan – where did he get frog?

Anyway, this got us started on a conversation about weird foods people eat around the world, starting with Japanese foods I find appalling (of course I didn't quite put it that way). Yes, some countries consume dogs, ravens, guinea pigs, crocodile, kangaroo (which I hesitantly tried once – and it was surprisingly okay. Just like beef.), insects, innards, unborn bird embryos, even reproductive parts! I’ve watched my fair share of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. And yes, I do distinctly remember him eating a live, beating frog heart on the Japan episode and drinking fresh snake blood. But while each country has its own peculiar cuisines, some of it is quite commonplace for locals. Excluding the mystery meat that is hot dogs, I’d say Americans are pretty unadventurous when it comes to choosing what meat to have for dinner. Coming to live in Japan two years ago, I thought I loved Japanese food – that is until I encountered real, off-the-menu fare. Now I've known for a long time about natto and made a point to avoid it at all costs, but there are some things I had no idea were standard food in Japan. Eating school lunch forces you to get brave in trying new foods as the portion sizes are so small, but there are still some things I just can’t stomach. Here’s my top 10 list of weird things Japanese people eat.

1.     Shishamo

Stop staring at me! I'm only going to eat your unborn children!

This pops up in the school lunch a handful of times a year. It's fish, but just what kind of fish could possibly be so bad you may ask?

Pregnant fish.

That’s right. It’s a very tiny, skinny fish already, leaving not much nourishment even if you pick it apart, and what's left is completely filled with eggs. Oh, and the head and tail are still attached. Americans just aren’t good with that. I've tried to salvage leftover meat around the eggs but recently gave it up – I cannot, will not eat this fish. Why do they eat pregnant fish you may ask? Mainly, just because it’s fish. It’s supposed to give you special energy...or something.

2.     Gyutan

Actually looks good, but don't let it fool you.

This is something you’d find on the menu at a yakiniku restaurant, also a specialty of Sendai. True, it is beef. But not the shoulder, not the brisket. Beef tongue. I inadvertently tried this while at a sushi restaurant in Sendai – I thought the meat was a bit tough and chewy! Apparently a very popular option at yakiniku. Another gross thing you can get at yakiniku is stomach, as one of my Japanese coworkers explained by patting his belly. He couldn’t stop ordering tongue and stomach! I joked to him that because he was eating all this beef tongue, when he died he’d be reborn as a cow, and then have his tongue cut out for someone else to eat it at yakiniku. He laughed.

3.     Kurage

Looks like an innocent plate of noodles, right? Heh heh. WRONG.

Not karaage. No, that’s delicious fried chicken. This is jelly fish. True, it's something you usually have to go to a Chinese restaurant to eat, but still, people actually like it here. My boyfriend can't get enough of it when we go to China town in Yokohama.  It basically looks like clear noodles they way they serve it – don’t know if it’s the tentacles or the main body, but anyway it definitely something I will NOT be putting in my mouth. For some reason it can't sting you, which reminds me of another delicacy the Japanese consume – fugu, or puffer fish, which is full of toxic poison that will kill you within an hour if not correctly prepared by a licensed chef. I just don’t see the need to risk my life for a meal.

4.     Ankimo

Looks...appetizing?

“Oh, Melissa! You were able to eat ankimo? Wow!”

“Oh, yeah, it was ok. What is it exactly?”

“Anko liver!”

O-O;

This was a real actual conversation I had with a teacher after the bonnenkai where we ate at a fancy, traditional Japanese style restaurant. They might have told me what that was ahead of time! The only reason I ate it was because it looked like soft fish tartare, and it had some sauce on it. Unfortunately, more often than not I find out what I’m eating in this way. May this be a warning to you before you come to Japan.

5.     Kamaboko

Sure, it may look pretty, but don't forget this is actually a block of fish.

This is something I regrettably have to eat sometimes. Kamaboko is fish paste, mushed and boiled down into a rubbery tube. There are tons of different kinds of fish paste, such as chikuwa. You know those cute swirly pink things in your ramen? Yeah, that’s fish paste too. It’s not too bad, but then again I’ve always had this served with other things. I shudder to think of eating it on its own. I’m not a big fan of imitation crab either, which is basically the same thing.

Kamaboko's close cousin, chikuwa. At least kamaboko looks pretty.

6.     Mekabu

Usually eaten with a large bowl of rice to mask the flavor and ooey-gooey consistency, just like natto. This is somehow considered breakfast food. Give me frosted flakes any day!

This is basically seaweed slime, frequently served over rice as breakfast. Mm-mm, bottoms up! Again, my Japanese boyfriend’s a big fan of this, along with natto, and most everything on this list. Then there’s tororo, not to be confused with the lovable character Totoro, which is potato somehow mashed into a consistency that’s more slime than potato. Raw egg is another popular slimy food here, often mixed with the natto and rice, sunny side up! I don’t care how good for you it is; I don’t eat slimy anything!

7.     Yakitori

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Looks tame enough. Just chicken skewers, right? RIGHT?

Yakitori? Really? But, isn’t it just chicken shishkebabs? Yes, I did think yakitori sounded delicious and did try it once. But it didn’t take me very long to realize that yakitori is not just chicken – it’s really weird parts of chicken you wouldn’t normally eat in the states. As in, the guts. And my tongue knew it wasn’t for me. Another similar one I absolutely won’t touch is called horumon (hormone?! That can’t be good to eat), more guts served up at yakiniku restaurants. I’m sure some people would argue against yakitori being weird, but for me I could not finish it. The mystery meat of hot dogs aside, I really like to stick with basic breast or thighs when it comes to chicken.

8.     Basashi

Imagine walking into your local supermarket and seeing raw horse meat!

This is sushi. Technically. But not fish. Sushi that’s not fish?! Yet the Japanese don’t limit themselves to fish when it comes to sushi. If you’ve ever been to kaiten zushi you’ll have seen natto sushi, sweet corn sushi, beef on sushi, and of course there’s sweet egg sushi. Let’s take a look at the kanji – 馬刺し. 刺す means to pierce or cut, used in sashimi 刺身. And 馬 is the kanji for horse. That’s right. Horse. I hear all the horse lovers out there screaming in horror. Now by all means this isn’t popular or standard sushi fare, but is it out there, and I’ve had a teacher who said it was delicious. One of my non-Japanese friends tried it once. He said he was kicking himself about it afterward.

9.     Konnyaku

Only about as appetizing as it looks.

Also known as “devil’s tongue.” Well, that already doesn’t sound pleasant. In fact it’s also known as “voodoo lily," and "snake palm.” Doesn’t sound much better, does it? So just what is it? This pops up frequently in school lunches, certain gelatin, and in oden. Konnyaku is essentially a plant like a potato that is somehow boiled into a firm, gray, tasteless gelatin – more like rubber. It’s definitely the texture that makes me against konnyaku. I’ll admit due to its being extremely low in calories I’ve used it a few times to make guilt-free spaghetti, but always drowning it in sauce and cheese. Eating it whole is just gross.

10.  Shirasu

Let's count the fish! One, two...Six million.

Now you can have as many shrimp as you want! (You'll regret it).

These are tiny, tiny gray fish, heads, tails, eyeballs included. It’s just too many tiny fish! You shovel about a hundred fish into your mouth in one bite. Also, besides the unbearable fishy taste, why I won’t touch sakuraebi (tiny red shrimp), which I have to watch out for when ordering pad thai here. Eyeballs aside, the sheer numbers creep me out. Too many small things in one place.

Egads! They're mixed?! What sick mind created this?!

Naturally there are a plethora of other strange seafood that the Japanese consume, being surrounded by oceans and all, but these are my top ten I’ve encountered so far. Whether you heed my advice or decide to take a risk and try these for yourself, obviously the list of weird foods is not limited to Japan, as we see on every episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. Many foods might have seemed bizarre the first time someone plucked up the courage to try something new. And some people actually liked it. To each their own, right?

But there is no way I am ever eating monkfish liver again.