Off to the Fish Market
This past Friday morning, Colby and I had a very Japanese experience. One of our English students had recommended a local fish market in another part of the city that sold fish direct from the fishermen at very reasonable prices. We decided we would meet up with her there, see all of the interesting types of seafood being sold, and get something fresh fish for dinner.
We made sure to get there promptly at 8:30am, just as she recommended. Bustling with activity already, the market was filled with people selling all kinds of seafood and produce. We tried to look for our friend, but since we stick out much more obviously than a Japanese person does in a crowd, we decided it would probably be easier to just let her find us.
Finally we met up and were amazed as she told us the names of all the many kinds of fish. People who had only ever shopped at a US grocery store would never know there were so many different types! In addition to the variety, you couldn’t beat the freshness. Each vendor had their baskets of seafood on the floor and many of the bins were filled with water as the fish were still alive. One poor vendor selling a small breed of octopus continually had to wrangle them back into the basket as they tried to escape!
An octopus trying to make a run for it.
The center of the market was the vendor auction. One person from each vendor stood around the platform as crates and baskets of all kinds of sea creatures were passed around. For those of you who are interested in auctions, the filler in the auctioneers chant includes the word “kaou, kaou” or “Let’s buy! Let’s buy!”
Colby and I ended up buying a whole “chinu” (black porgy in English) that we brought home and had for dinner the next night. We cleaned it ourselves by scraping off the scales and taking out the insides. Half an hour in the oven and it was ready to eat – delicious!
We praise the Lord that we are able to enjoy most Japanese food, including the wide variety of seafood they eat. Please pray for our English friend we met up with as she does not know the Lord as her savior.