Warning, this article is not suitable for those who can’t stand insects and furthermore… eating them!
For those who are fine, it is totally a new option for you to add to your must-try list!
Are insects the future of food?
Let's talk about food… or more specifically, about entomophagy, insects as food!
While the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has been compiling studies on "Insects for food and feed", Japan, in some regions have their own tradition on insect consumption as part of their diet. Prefectures like Gunma, Nagano, Gifu, and Miyazaki are just some to name, and even then not everyone in that prefecture eats insects.
Many media around the world like BBC, ABC, VICE, CNN, National Geographic, The New York Times and more, have been talking about this topic for a while now. Insects are considered to be rich in nutrition and high in protein.
More recently companies like Shibuya PARCO (at Kome to Circus), MUJI announcing to sell rice crackers with crickets mixed into it (in Japanese), even this store near Asakusa called TAKEO.
It seems like there are plenty of places where they offer insects as food, and here's another one for you!
Nong Inlay (map), a Burmese restaurant in Takadannobaba, the restaurant was also featured in the Solitary Gourmet, or known as the Kodoku no Gurume 【孤独のグルメ:こどくのぐるめ】.
Here they serve cicadas and crickets and many other insect dishes all priced around 900 yen. Not so sure if that's cheap or expensive to be honest…
We've ordered a stir-fried cricket to try, and it was definitely a taste that can go either way depending on personal preferences. However, they are known to be rich in protein.
Talking about crickets reminded us of a Japanese TV program where Masami Nagasawa had "eating a bowl of cricket ramen" on her bucket list, and had it ticked off in the same TV program. Trends like this also must have contributed to the "insect-eating trend" for sure.
Well, whether you liked it or not, there are new options for food to try in Japan.
Keep up with the trend or go your own way.
Either way, we hope you enjoy your stay in Japan!
Keep up with new posts related to Japan at JAPANKURU.
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