Weird Japanese Snack #12

In November my good buddy Scot had to go to a conference about, I dunno, marine spatial planning or something like that. The conference, of course, had to take place in Bali. It was only, like, for two days, and everything could have just as easily been done if everyone stayed in their respective offices around the world and simply made video conference calls. Thankfully, when you work for our office that sort of rational stuff doesn't happen and boondoggles are the order of the day. At any rate, Scot got a one night layover in Tokyo on the way back. He told me about how he and a couple of other conference attendees returning home all stayed at the same hotel by the airport. Once they checked-in, they hacked their way to a local sushi restaurant only to be practically pushed back out the door by the proprietor. Scot said they were the only foreigners, or "gaijin", in the place and they were obviously not welcome. They shrugged it off with a chuckle and found another restaurant nearby that gladly took their yen. He made it down to Tsukiji fish market the next day, something I've dreamed of doing.

Scot, bless his heart, was all checked in and waiting for his flight the next day when he realized he still had some yen in his wallet. Remembering my blog, he got me the string of snacks below. You can't really make it out but they cost 250 yen = $2.50. There were 5 packets in all.



I have no idea what the colors mean. The little beans holding up the calcium and magnesium symbols are the same on all of them. In the one below he's carrying a shoulder bag.


Now the bag's gone.



In the picture below, you can't quite make it out but he's got on a hat and is carrying golf clubs. Makes sense.


Okay, the moment of truth. The contents in my palm are about half the bag. There's an almond, five pieces of peanut, and six fish.



Here they are on my Apple laptop so they can be better studied. The bit on the upper left is a fish head. This is not my first encounter with the Japanese insistence on using small, freeze-dried fish as snack food. Unlike Weird Japanese Snack #7, these guys bring it. The fish are not an afterthought, they are center stage.


I gotta tell ya, in the other snack you couldn't really taste the fish. Here it was completely different. In fact I made a point of eating the biggest one I could find. You know what? They're awful.

Really awful. Sweet coating, slightly oily, fishy, funky. Home run Scot!!