16 September 2009
Most convenience stores (konbini) in Japan are open 24 hours、and most people live, at most, 1 km away from one. Even in rural (inaka) areas. Seriously. This is konbini country. After a long night out, when you’re wandering the streets, waiting for the trains to start running again, konbinis are a popular place to refuel. They sell everything from instant meals (not bad quality, either) to magazines, deodorant and adult DVDs. You can even pay your bills, fax and photocopy stuff. And most importantly, konbinis sell rice balls.
Onigiri, as they’re known in Japanese, are little triangles of super-processed rice, with a strip of seaweed around the outside, and a bit of filling. Most contain fish, but there are almost always pickled plum (ume) and kelp (kombu) options for us vegans. The filling is written in kanji on the front. No problem, I thought, because the packets are colour-coded too. At Lawsons (a huge chain of konbinis; they even appear as landmarks on Google Maps), purple means plum and green means seaweed. Unfortunately, at other stores (there are about 4 other major chains – 7/11, FamilyMart, am/pm and Sunkist), green also means fish, and I had the unpleasant experience of biting into a rice ball and staring into the eyes of about 100 tiny, dead fish. Moral of the story? Learn kanji, and bite with caution!
Fish appear in some form or another in almost everything in Japan. Salad? Why not add some fish flakes to that? Soup stock? Definitely.
Speaking of creatures from the sea, the annual Taiji dolphin massacre
is taking place as I type. Thousands of pilot whales and dolphins are chased into a cove, to be slaughtered for their flesh or captured for entertainment parks around the world, every single year. This year, the hunt was delayed thanks to the movie The Cove, which has raised awareness of the issue worldwide; but now, the sea is running red with blood again. Please take the time to watch this movie, and tell your friends. Dolphin abuse sucks.
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