Due to its highly toxic nature, Fugu (or pufferfish) has become one of Japan’s most infamous and well known delicacies. A danger that in many ways isn’t exaggerated either, as 23 people have died after eating it in the last decade or so.
What isn’t recorded, however, is that fugu die too. Sometimes in lonely, but also very public, places.
I’d be dubious about eating there.
Yeah, dead fish aside, the old and taped up fish tank doesn’t exactly make me want to dash in and sample their food.
Forgive me for pointing out the obvious… but last time I checked, they die when you eat them too…
Haha, they do indeed!
For some reason though I found it a strangely sad scene. Perhaps ‘cos it was bobbing about due to the bubbles.
There is that… considering it’s final home was so run down, it’s almost like looking at haikyo for fugu…
At least in Tokyo the restaurants don’t need a license anymore to prepare fugu because of the decline in fatal poisonings. I love that reasoning, similar to: “the number of car deaths on our motorways have declined dramatically, let’s allow drunk driving and forget about wearing seat belts.”
Yeah, I found that an odd move too, especially as most — if indeed not all — deaths were due to unlicensed, or at least untrained people preparing the fish.
That’s is a bit of interesting legal stuff there that I was unaware of entirely. Makes you think…
But I pity the poor fish/lobsters etc in the tanks. Somehow its nice on your plate, but hard to reconcile with its final living conditions. I noticed on many occasions that animal treatment in Asia is at the lower end of the spectrum. Dogs tied up on short leashes that are never walked… cows chained in stalls with no freedom of movement…
At least if you gonna eat it you should treat it nice before the big ZZZ comes….
Sorry for the rant!
That’s quite alright. I find it real mixed bag in Japan. Dogs are often treated like spoilt children, yet some pet shops have animals in absolutely appalling conditions.
And yeah, the loosening of regulations in regards fugu preparation is an odd one. Be interesting to see if the statistics change.
Aw
So sad,
Yeah, it certainly looked that way…