Have Blog, Must Write.

Even though nothing especially exciting has happened in the past few weeks, I feel compelled to write once in a while lest I lose my precious few dedicated readers which I can count on one hand, even after having lost my thumb in an unfortunate smelting accident.

The other day I was witness to a heated discussion between a fellow JET, Aaron, and his friend Randy. They went to college together and both did a year of exchange in Japan. Both have been living in Japan for approximately one year, four months. Therefore, both were evenly qualified to debate (heatedly, I might add) a topic that is near and dear to many people's heart and stomach: the quality - especially the freshness - of food in Japan verses "back home".

Aaron was of the opinion that food freshness and quality is quite excellent in Japan. Randy's view was that food quality in Japan, generally speaking, is a sickly distant cousin to the culinary paradise that is America.

To illustrate his point, Randy brought up the bento, which is basically a delicious Japanese meal served cold (popular lunches for people on the run. I meant "on the go", lest you think bento are for bandits only). Randy asked Aaron if he truly believed that cold, day-old rice is as good as fresh, hot rice. Aaron argued that that is a matter of opinion. Randy reminded Aaron that he (Randy) doesn't believe in subjectivity - there is an objective world, and objectively speaking, bento is an inferior food product! (for more on the objective world, see "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand).

Aaron became exasperated and expressed disbelief that they were even having this conversation. Food is a matter of taste, if you will. How could Randy declare bento, which is a cultural and dietary staple, to be an inferior food product when clearly the Japanese have been enjoying it for decades?? "You're talking about food culture, man!", Aaron kept saying.

"Exhibit B" in Randy's case against the quality of Japanese food was the weakness of the Japanese bread - or any baked good, really. Personally, I have to concede at least half a point because I agree that Japanese bread is long on fluff but short on nutrients and robust flavour. The cakes and cookies are all right, but again, I come from an area which has a rich baking heritage borne of generations of German immigrants that landed in south-western Ontario many years ago.

After I watched this exchange and meditated on both sides of the argument, I have to say that there are some things in Japan which are superfresh and delicious and kicks any country's arse; like any kind of seafood, especially in coastal areas like Yamaguchi (although there are very few prefectures which aren't coastal to some extent). However, Japan comes up short on things like meat (much of which is imported from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, to name but a few) and baked goods. Also, fruit is often freakishly large (due to certain pruning techniques which channel all the trees nutrients into fewer fruits) but also freakishly expensive and not as sweet as back home in Canada.

Oh! And cheese! Man, I miss Canadian cheese.

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When I told Aaron that I was writing about his discussion with Randy, he emailed me back with this message:

"cool. I hope you include his ethnocentrism and idealization of American food stuffs."

Bento lunches. Different kinds of rice, veggies in various stages of pickling, fish, beans....