Japanese Food Bites: Indulging in the Taste of Summer

As someone that enjoys anime, the idea of bringing the iconic trope of a “beach episode” to life was extremely exciting. Truthfully, I haven’t been to the beach in almost a year, so I had already been eager to visit the ocean again, especially in a new place. My name is Jo, and I was born and raised in the Boston area, where the beaches numb your toes to ice, but the lobster rolls and clam chowder bring your entire being back to life (whoa, that rhymed). I’m a rising 4th year chemical engineering major and I write this blog post from the comfort of my hotel room, furiously typing away to keep the memories of my day fresh.

And my name is Daniel, I’m a rising third year studying computer engineering and computer science from Elmont, NY. The reason that I’m collaborating with Jo for this blog is because someone (me) forgot to sign up for the blog posting list, and there aren’t enough days for the number of people that are here, so I have to double up on the posting.

Alright Daniel, let’s back up, shall we? Truthfully, our very own Dialogue beach episode didn’t air until later in the evening. In fact, the day started off in an entirely different prefecture, back in Ueda where we had just woken up after sleeping over in a traditional style ryokan. We slept on futons, laid out on the tatami mat floor, and while personally I had slept wonderfully, I overheard several comments at breakfast that it was a first for some fellow classmates to sleep on the floor.

While Jo was slumped on her futon, for some unknowable reason I woke up around 6 in the morning and not wanting to go back to bed, I decided to wander the small hamlet that we rested in for the night. Armed with a red umbrella provided by the hotel and following the very delineated path formed by the English signage making my way towards the first temples, I encountered a large ominous staircase, surrounded by an ambivalent forest of tall slender trees, the pitter patter of rain harmonizing with the rustling leaves and the faraway birdsongs. The atmosphere was very peaceful and a welcomed change of pace from the hustle of the large city of Tokyo.

After packing up and getting ready for another jam-packed day, Rachel, Mandy, and I checked out of our room and headed down for a Japanese-style breakfast. It was yet another multi-course meal with countless dishes of colorful morsels of flavor, of preparations I had never tried before.

Like the dinner we had before, this meal was very very very filling, I really had no idea what I was putting in my body during the breaking of my fast, but thankfully the ever-so-helpful Sora was there for me to harass with every annoying question one could muster. Food after food, and new textures and flavors I’ve never experienced before, it was one of the most enjoyable meals I’ve had due to the vast variety and balance that it all seemed to have, with the most memorable dish being the grilled miso served on a hot plate that I mixed with the rice. It had a nice creamy umami feel to it, along with a savory and fermented smokiness which was very pleasant to consume.

Personally, my favorite part of the meal were the chilled sesame soba noodles. Fresh ribbons of buckwheat, thinly sliced and tossed in a nutty sesame dressing and topped with cool strips of cucumber—what is there not to like on a summer morning? We ate our way through each component of the meal, finally finishing and moving on to catch the shuttle to the Bessho Onsen train station. From there we took a scenic ride through the Ueda countryside (rhymed again, let’s gooo), which prompted an obligatory listen to Joe Hisaishi’s One Summer Day from the Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away. 

Upon arriving at JR Ueda station, we made a quick switch to the shinkansen (Japanese bullet train), where we were transported once again at rapid speed to our next destination: Kurobe, Toyama.

While Jo was living it up in who-knows-where, I was very much trying not to let anxiety completely consume me in an abyss of despair and shame. The moment I sat down to enjoy the very fast choo-choo train is when I noticed that my very important (and brand new) bag was gone. The one with the heap of coins, the one with my wallet, the one with my passport that I need to exit the country with. Welp. The one and only thing I could do was to let the adults handle the incident that occurred, thankful I was able to deduce where I must’ve of misplaced it. Once that was settled I attempted to try and rest, unsuccessfully.

Despite Daniel’s mishap, our schedule was unforgiving during this self-proclaimed 5-day bender. It has been extremely hectic, but nevertheless educational and fulfilling. Moving from one place to the next so quickly and frequently takes its toll on you, but what better way to combat this than a sashimi class! We were led into a carpeted building, instructed to leave our shoes behind and trade them for hot pink slippers before stepping into the teaching kitchen. Immediately, I was hit with a wall of pungent saltiness in the air, with shining silver fish displayed on the counters in front of me.

We were given a brief demonstration of how to gut the young yellowtail provided for us (shoutout Sora for the translations, as always!), as well as break it down into neat filets. His hands moved with ease, reflecting years of practice, yet he denied his experience, admitting to settling for a lower quality knife. Once he was finished, we were let off on our own, entrusted with short steel blades ready to fight a bloody battle on the cutting boards. 

***GRAPHIC VISUALS AHEAD / FISH BLOOD AND GUTS***

Watching a master at his craft was truly a sight to behold, watching him cut this fish as if he was passing a knife through an already perforated model. Then once it was our turn to repeat the motions that we had just seen, it felt as if the hands I used my whole life became unrecognizable tools to work with, so we struggled. Working through the different parts of the fish, removing more and more flesh until the husk that remained was more hefty than the example pieces. 

At this point in the afternoon, many of us were starting to feel the effects of traveling via 2 trains and a bus for a total of 3.5 hours. Like the fish splayed out in front of me, the exhaustion gutted me, just as I cut out its own. Once we had broken down the flesh into filets (and other questionable shapes…) we were instructed on how to further slice the the fish into sashimi. Our teachers chuckled occasionally, clearly amused at our struggles but still exhibiting some sense of pride in our attempts. One of them commented that, “eating the sashimi will almost be a punishment game,” (translation credits to Mandy) which struck a bit of fear into all of us that we had possibly mutilated our fish beyond the point of no return.

Even with that hiccup, the fish was still delicious and fresh, though it might not have looked the part. If I closed my eyes, maybe I could have seen myself eating this at a slightly upscale restaurant, or a conveyor sushi place at the very least. The mountain of the fish that was in front of me was a bit menacing due to the sheer volume, but it was still delectable, the slices tender, and though it sometimes felt it was already chewed due to the unskilled cuts, it was still enjoyable. 

I don’t think many of us realized just how much sashimi this was, even for myself as someone who loves seafood. I have to shoutout Daniel here for helping me finish my plate, but overall the experience was one-of-a-kind. I had never gutted a fish before, and now I have the experience and knowledge of doing so, in addition to fileting it and turning it into sashimi.

Shortly after finishing our meals, we crossed the road to visit a local konbu shop. We were debriefed on the history of konbu as it relates specifically to Toyama, learning along the way about several main types of konbu including: 

• Rausu konbu: “king of konbu” known for its rich, fragrant, and thick broth
• Ma-konbu: most popular, creates a sweet and clear dashi broth
• Rishiri konbu: creates a more delicate and clear dashi, often used as a support ingredient
• Hidaka konbu: tender and easy to cook, an all-rounder for dashi
• Naga konbu: super long! Grown on an island territory contested with Russia
• Gagome konbu: basket weave pattern, high nutrition content and is often used in processed foods

We were even offered samples of konbu, konbu tea, konbu bread, and mini rice balls rolled in dried shredded konbu!

After a very nice and informative lecture from the owner(?) of the konbu shop, and some wandering around the store, trying to narrow down my choices on what to buy, I settled on these small plum candies that were wrapped in rice paper and made with konbu.

On the other hand, I ended buying some furikake rice seasoning made with their konbu, as well as some konbu-chocolate candies to take home to my family.

Finally, we traveled to our hotel in Kurobe, checked in, and dropped off our bags in our rooms; the day wasn’t over yet. We had been using a private bus service upon arriving in Kurobe, and to end the day, we had the opportunity to be dropped off at a nearby beach.

After stopping for some snacks from the Lawson konbini around the corner, we headed toward the sea with sunset upon us in 2 hours. I opted for some honey butter chips, an egg salad sandwich, and peach soda—all of which tasted nearly gourmet after a long day, especially while getting to enjoy them while gazing at the Kurobe horizon. I even added a few pieces of the cheese snack that Sakamoto-san (our lovely guest lecturer from last week in Tokyo) gifted us to my sandwich, adding an extra tinge of saltiness to each bite.

Photoshoots, wading, and other chaos ensued. Each of us ended up with our pants, shorts, or skirts at least somewhat soaked with seawater, but to no concern as the pure joy of splashing around on a foreign seashore overrode any other negativity in the moment.

Rocks, I very much like rocks, I’m not sure why, but when I see a very large body of water along with a cascade of rocks nearby, my brain puts two and two together and I end up throwing them, attempting to making them skip off the surface of the water as many times as possible. I tried passing this joy of mine onto the others that were there with me at the beach, prompting a spontaneous workshop on rock skipping for those less experienced. I wanted to pass on my knowledge and skill to them, and along with that, the joy that I get from it.

Our very own beach episode was taking place, with the same carefree, youthful energy that comes with watching our favorite animated characters live out a moment of peace in their complex plots, the same way we took in the salty seaside air and sunset over the horizon. Our plots were also about to get a little more hectic, with another day of frequent travel to come before settling briefly in our next destination.

~ signing off, Jo and Daniel.