Bizarre Foods With Me: Japan

Speaking of bizarre foods, here's some from my trip to Japan several years ago.

First, an entire meal of Fugu, the dreaded and deadly poisonous blowfish, which nearly claimed the life of Homer Simpson. We started with a flaming glass of sake with a blowfish fin soaking in it:


Btw, don't try to pick up the fin and nibble on it after you finish the sake. I learned this was verboten when every employee of the restaurant ran to the table yelling at me to stop as soon as I tried.

Then Fugu sashimi, both flesh and skin:
The meal was definitely a great experience but the Fugu itself is pretty boring. In fact, it's prized for having a very delicate taste, and that it does; it is very very bland. The fried Fugu is my favorite:


We also had a dish where we cooked the fugu at the table in a hot pot of miso:


I had Horse Sashimi at an Izakaya, surprisingly tender and flavorful, but I apparently neglected to properly document it.

And Kobe Beef in Kobe, mmmm the real stuff is tasty. Never had any as good here in the US:



Oh yeah, and little tiny dried fishes gave great flavor and texture to the rice. Look at the little eyeballs: