In late October 2014, I visited the northern-most tip of Honshu (Japan’s main island). The northern-most tip of Honshu is located in the small fishing village of Oma, renowned for having the best (and biggest!) tuna in the world. The most expensive tuna are caught in the Oma Strait. One bluefin tuna that was caught in the Oma Strait was sold for $1.76 million dollars. YES. MILLION.
Below: 1) A sample of how gigantic the tunas are. 2) Oma tuna festival auction
Below: 1) A sample of how gigantic the tunas are. 2) Oma tuna festival auction
It was my mission to attend the festival, witness the famous tuna auction, and eat the world’s best tuna. A cluster of mountains, however, separate Oma from my town, Yokohama-machi. It’s about an hour away and, since I do not possess a GPS (I am here in Aomori for the FULL Japanese countryside experience…), I was reluctant to begin my journey. Finally, I did, and BOY was it a beautiful drive! Due to my late departure, though, I missed the famous tuna auction. Not to worry, a sumptuous adventure awaited.
I arrived at the festival, which was thinning out and consisted of some small fish and scallop stands lining a street. I will be honest, I was let down by the lack of excitement at this festival. I must have arrived after the party already left.
To my surprise, I found my friend, Kazu, at the festival, observing seagulls diving for fish entrails in the dock area. Kazu is pursuing his Ph.D. and specializes in seagulls. What exactly he studies about seagulls, I am still unsure. We played a fun game of charades and Japanglish as he tried to describe his work to me.
Just like the rest of Aomori, Oma is beautiful. As might be expected, photographs just don’t do real life vistas justice, but these will have to do.
Pictured below: decorations at the festival; scallop stands; me at the northern tip of Japan riding a tunafish and solemnly sitting in front of a monument statue thing that probably signifies the northern most tip of Japan (but who knows, it's written in kanji); the Oma strait- Hokkaido (northern most island) sits just across the way; my friend Kazu and me; pictures of fish and a warehouse that Kazu gave me a tour of, since I missed the tuna auction.
I arrived at the festival, which was thinning out and consisted of some small fish and scallop stands lining a street. I will be honest, I was let down by the lack of excitement at this festival. I must have arrived after the party already left.
To my surprise, I found my friend, Kazu, at the festival, observing seagulls diving for fish entrails in the dock area. Kazu is pursuing his Ph.D. and specializes in seagulls. What exactly he studies about seagulls, I am still unsure. We played a fun game of charades and Japanglish as he tried to describe his work to me.
Just like the rest of Aomori, Oma is beautiful. As might be expected, photographs just don’t do real life vistas justice, but these will have to do.
Pictured below: decorations at the festival; scallop stands; me at the northern tip of Japan riding a tunafish and solemnly sitting in front of a monument statue thing that probably signifies the northern most tip of Japan (but who knows, it's written in kanji); the Oma strait- Hokkaido (northern most island) sits just across the way; my friend Kazu and me; pictures of fish and a warehouse that Kazu gave me a tour of, since I missed the tuna auction.
Kazu showed me a quaint little shack that offered the freshest fish I have ever tasted. Japanese food is often, admittedly, an acquired taste. Having grown up in a half-Japanese household, I have acquired most of these tastes and have few aversions to the sometimes questionable nature of certain Japanese foods. One of these aversions is uni, or sea urchin in English.
Kazu urged me to eat uni, pressing that this uni was different and the best uni he and his friends had tasted in all of Japan. I politely declined. He insisted. I refused. He pressed even further. I vehemently rejected his plea. I promised him, I will not like it. I guess that makes me a liar because eventually I decided to try it, under the expectant eyes of Kazu and watchful eyes of the two storeowners. Kazu is a good friend. The uni was incredible.
Pictured below: fresh scallop with soy sauce, packaged uni, the most sumptuous maguro (tuna) sashimi you ever did see, my maguro/uni meal at the delicious fish shack Kazu took me to, some dried sea creature of some sort...?, and the little shops at the tip of Oma housing the MOST DELICIOUS FISH EVER.
Kazu urged me to eat uni, pressing that this uni was different and the best uni he and his friends had tasted in all of Japan. I politely declined. He insisted. I refused. He pressed even further. I vehemently rejected his plea. I promised him, I will not like it. I guess that makes me a liar because eventually I decided to try it, under the expectant eyes of Kazu and watchful eyes of the two storeowners. Kazu is a good friend. The uni was incredible.
Pictured below: fresh scallop with soy sauce, packaged uni, the most sumptuous maguro (tuna) sashimi you ever did see, my maguro/uni meal at the delicious fish shack Kazu took me to, some dried sea creature of some sort...?, and the little shops at the tip of Oma housing the MOST DELICIOUS FISH EVER.
For those of you who have never had the fortune of tasting fresh fish, I will try to explain the bliss of eating such exquisite food: Imagine that the sea is emptied of all its impurities and all that is left is fresh water with a hint of salt and a scrumptious piece of fish. That is what fresh fish tastes like. And when I say this fish was fresh, I mean it was literally fresh. As, in, the sea urchin was cut open moments before, its spikes were still slowly swaying back and forth, it was still alive.
I have a video of the uni moving, but Weebly won't let me upload videos unless I pay money.... :(
The day was so enjoyable, and the weather still so lovely, that I wished to drive straight through the mountains and Yagen Valley rather than taking the longer, less-scenic route along the coastline. The mountain route took me by the famous mountain, Osorezan, which is known for having demons. It is said that if you visit, you must visit twice: the first time you leave your soul at the mountain, the second time you get it back. I had already been once, so I saw this as a good opportunity to return and get my soul back.
The sun set while I was driving through the mountains. Why am I so smart? Sure, Emi, driving through a demon mountain at sunset by yourself without a GPS is a GREAT idea. It was beautiful, but quite spooky. I got out of the car to take pictures of some demon statues as the sun was setting over them. There was no one around. I was alone. It was quiet and eerie.
I have a video of the uni moving, but Weebly won't let me upload videos unless I pay money.... :(
The day was so enjoyable, and the weather still so lovely, that I wished to drive straight through the mountains and Yagen Valley rather than taking the longer, less-scenic route along the coastline. The mountain route took me by the famous mountain, Osorezan, which is known for having demons. It is said that if you visit, you must visit twice: the first time you leave your soul at the mountain, the second time you get it back. I had already been once, so I saw this as a good opportunity to return and get my soul back.
The sun set while I was driving through the mountains. Why am I so smart? Sure, Emi, driving through a demon mountain at sunset by yourself without a GPS is a GREAT idea. It was beautiful, but quite spooky. I got out of the car to take pictures of some demon statues as the sun was setting over them. There was no one around. I was alone. It was quiet and eerie.
Ironically, the first time I ever experienced the wrath that is Yokohama-machi’s windstorm, was the night I got home from the demon mountain. My windows rattled and squeaked the whole night- I nearly cried. I became so superstitious about having visited Osorezan alone that I also began to worry that my bed was pointing in the wrong direction (In Japan, it is bad luck to sleep with your head pointing north).
I texted my boyfriend, Harry, teaching him about the day’s events and my fear of having acquired bad luck. Of course, he laughed at me. As Harry was to eventually find out on his own, though, Japanese superstitions are a lot creepier when you live in a culture as old and full of aged temples and graveyards as Japan. More on THAT adventure later….. :)
I texted my boyfriend, Harry, teaching him about the day’s events and my fear of having acquired bad luck. Of course, he laughed at me. As Harry was to eventually find out on his own, though, Japanese superstitions are a lot creepier when you live in a culture as old and full of aged temples and graveyards as Japan. More on THAT adventure later….. :)