I heart 稲荷寿司...but not much else.

Someone once asked me, "Is there anything you don't like about Japan?" For me the answer is easy, and it's always the same. "The food," I replied. Despite the fact that there are so many things I love about this country, its cuisine is one thing I'm not sure I'll ever be able to adapt to.


I should qualify my statements by adding that it's not just the fact that Japanese food is so foreign that makes it unappetizing; it's simply the fact that the thing I like to eat least in the world just happens to be a staple in the diet of this country. I have never been able to enjoy seafood, and my friends and family can all attest to this as true. Three years ago, when I told everyone that I would be moving to Japan, usually their first response was, "WHAT are you going to eat?" All I could do then was confess that I had no idea.


Three months before I left America, my friends and I went to the home of a Japanese woman, Nozomi, and her American husband. She cooked a Japanese traditional breakfast for us, and when I first saw the sticky rice, barley tea, miso soup and tamago-yaki, I was relieved. I like all of those things. My relief didn't last long, however, and I became slightly unnerved when those dishes were accompanied by ume-boshi and some of the strangest looking "pickles" I had ever seen. But the ume-boshi had an attractive color, and when I was told that it was a plum I was eager to try it. Plums in America are always sweet, so why wouldn't these be also? But when I attempted to put a whole one in my mouth, Nozomi shouted, "Stop! You should take only a small bite...it's very salty." I'm definitely grateful for that warning. After that, as the day approached for me to fly to Tokyo, I only became increasingly nervous about what kinds of food I would find in Japan.


Don't get me wrong, there are some Japanese foods that I really love eating. O-inari-san would be one of my favorites. (I've even learned how to make it!) It's just that if I was given a choice between Japanese food and something else, I'm almost always going to choose something else. That being the case, finding good restaurants in Tokyo that serve food I like may be a difficult task. My favorite foods are sometimes nearly impossible to come by. (If anyone knows where I can buy American cornbread, let me know!) Suffice it to say that when I make trips back to the States to visit family, eating good Mexican food is also near the top of my priorities. The photo below was taken in Portland on my first visit back home. I had my friend take this picture in order to document my enjoyment in eating a good burrito for the first time in a long while...



On the other hand, there are lots of other things in Japan that I prefer over any other place I've been to, which means that even though I don't like the food, there's plenty else to enjoy!




▼▽▼▼【講師】Melanie先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・【An Oregonian in Tokyo】2009.03.27 (Fri)

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