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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.