Shrink-wrapped Sushi

16 April 2023 by cycling in a skirt 2 Comments

I come from a culture of bread. Big, heavy, satisfying hunks of wheaty oven-baked goodness, which can often form the basis of all 3 meals in a day.

In fact it’s not unheard of to have toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and pizza for dinner, whilst snacking on scones and doughnuts.

The first days in Japan therefore were a real test of this as bread here is not a big deal. The bread products that do line the shelves of the convenience stores are mostly of the lighter than air, whiteness that dissolves without touching tongue or stomach (remember the UK slimming bread Nimble anyone?). In short, it’s unsatisfying.

After a few days on the bike trying desperately (and failing) to survive on air-sandwhiches, a new strategy was needed. Embrace the sushi.

I love sushi, or at least the westernised versions I’ve eaten at home, but what about the authentic Japanese kind?

Convenience stores to the rescue and I have discovered the delight of the the sushi wrap. Little round, roll or triangle shaped, individually wrapped parcels with just enough of a picture or description for me to tell vaguely what’s going to be inside. The triangle packages are designed to separate the rice from the nori seaweed wrap until eaten and come with a convoluted and precise system of opening I have yet to master without the required a degree in advanced physics. Whilst the contents tend on disintegrate at my touch, they are delicious. Even better, I’ve discovered these little parcels of delight tend to keep me feeling fuller for far longer than my usual lunch sandwich.

The convenience store, or Konbini, is definitely king here in Japan, it being impossible to travel any distance without coming across a 7-Eleven, Lawson or Family Mart. These stores have also provided the bulk of our food, from lunches to evening meals, all ready to microwave, in store if needed.

It’s not the healthiest option but, as we’ve been doing more hotel camping, tent sites being in shorter supply, we’ve been relying on these ubiquitous little shops to fill our food needs.

What I love about food shopping in Japan is that both convenience stores and supermarkets sell everything in small portions. You want to buy just 2 eggs, no problem, a few ounces of cheese, already packaged up to go, a single serving of sake or a tiny carton of milk, easy. This of course is amazing for bike touring or for someone like me who doesn’t have a big appetite and very rarely cleans their plate when faced with a gut-busting restaurant serving at home. M is faring less well however, his ready supply of my leftovers having dried up since we arrived as I can actually eat all my dinner.

There are many people who live alone in Japan and for whom this size conscious shopping must be ideal. However body sizes are generally small here too, I have yet to witness any real obesity, surely linked to the smaller servings and lack of bulk-packaged sugary goods.

I know several single people back at home too who hate the way UK supermarkets force shoppers to buy in bulk and would delight in this approach.

The downside, is the amount of packaging this convenience store/small serving offering creates and I currently have severe plastic guilt. Coming directly from New Zealand, they appear to be ahead of the game in reducing the amount of plastic involved within everyday life. Not a plastic carrier bag in sight. In Japan however, one of our convenience store dinners generates an embarrassing amount of plastic litter. The recycling message is conveyed here but it seems non-sensical when you think that just not using the packaging in the first place would be a better approach. Do individual bananas really need to be wrapped in plastic Mr Konbini?

Plastic and food is inextricably linked in Japan too. There’s actually a whole industry dedicated to the making of plastic cuisine. Sampuru are the exactly replicas of dishes that are proudly displayed in restaurant windows across the country. A visual argument form conveying the temptations of the menu.

There’s even a dedicated area in Tokyo that specialises in producing these exquisite food master pieces. Artisans in Kappabashi craft everything from replica spaghetti, to sushi, soup and beer. High end gourmet to every day fare, from noodles to strawberry sandwiches, all glazed to look succulent, shiny and ever-fresh in their restaurant windows.

M is entirely bored of my need to photograph every plastic plate of sushi and pancakes but I just can’t help it. 

At least with a plastic food menu you know what you’re getting. Over the last 2 weeks I have had very hit and miss moments when trying to order through Japanese translation, or bravado alone. Soups with suspicious lumps of unidentified meat or worse, tentacles and suckers. Shudder. My worse fail however was finding a beautiful little bakery and hungrily ordering a fresh, delicious smelling doughnut only to bite into it and find it filled with bean paste. It’s sweetness not masking the distinct flavour of baked beams. I was not a happy cyclist that day.

If food is hit and miss, at least drinks aren’t. Japan’s vending machines culture is huge here and these refrigerated boxes of joy can be found almost anywhere. We can be in the remotest of places and, rounding a corner on a mountainside we’ll find a vending machine offering a range of hot and cold drinks. I have a bet on that, if you were to climb to the top of Mount Fuji itself, there would be a vending machine waiting for you.

From what I’ve read, Japan has over 4.2 million of these machines selling everything from soft drinks to hard liquor, cigarettes, snacks (crisps to rice and edible insects) and even frozen bear meat.

Why are they so popular? Aside from the 24 hour convenience (and a low vandalism rate) some speculate that it’s a natural continuation from the peddlers of olden times who would tout their wares between villages, others that, after a hard day at the office, the lack of human interaction when purchasing sustenance is highly appealing. Whatever the reason, they are often a welcome sight at the side of the road on a long, hot ride.

Japanese food isn’t all about convenience stores and take out however. As we cycle through both countryside and cities it noticeable how every small tract of spare land is cultivated for produce. Rice, cabbages, radishes, fruit trees, these tiny, incredibly neat plots are squeezed in everywhere that housing isn’t. Often tended by hand, by hunched, elderly farmers, working their small section of land. The neat, orderly cultivated rows appeal winningly to my sense of order as we pass by.

On a larger scale there’s tea growing too as we cycle for hours past vast swathes of green tea bushes in the Shizuoka area, the largest producer of green tea in Japan.

The highlight of these last few weeks though has to be a home cooked meal. Contacting a small, beach campsite about a pitch I was told that they were not open yet for the season. No problem.

On waking the next day however I discovered a second reply from the manager saying we were welcome to stay as we had travelled so far. Even more wonderful was a dinner invitation from the same family who picked us up and took us into their home where we got to experience a family meal at its finest. 

The lovely Ito family had prepared a feast for us. small, succulent pieces of Wagyu beef, bacon and vegetables all cooked on a hot plate at the table. This was followed by local clams cooked in wine with pasta. As we ate, we chatted with the family, sat Japanese style on the floor, laughing, learning, sharing food, experiences and cultures. We left that evening with a warm glow from both the cooking and the hospitality. This is undoubtedly one of the highlights of our journey in Japan so far. It’s amazing how sharing the most basic commodities, such as food, can connect humans more than any other medium.

We are beginning to feel much more a part of the landscape here too now, rolling through both town and country. Since leaving Chiba two weeks ago, we have ridden nearly every day, bar one. Progress is slow, navigating through the multitude of cities, traffic lights and snaking network of roads and what isn’t a city is a mountain. But the miles are ticking by, 378 of them so far (with over 16,000 feet of elevation). Beautiful, interesting, hard going, intense, wonderful Japan.

 

*******************************************************************************************************

If you enjoy reading about adventure, travel, cycling or all 3 why not check out my book: How To Cycle Canada the Wrong Way.

It’s the story of a forty-something woman with no clue in life and no cycle touring experience. What she does have is a sense of adventure, a second hand bicycle and a skirt and the idea of riding across Canada….the wrong way.

Available on Amazon in e-reader and paperback formats.