Tsuyu (rainy season) Tour of Japan

I report here on last week’s tour through Japan and its flavors and fashions. You may already be aware of Blueberry & Hazelnut Pringles. Why stop there, though, when you could work your way through an assortment of flavors including a daring Lemon & Sesame combination or the ever-popular soft-shell crab?

The first part of the week was surprisingly sunny considering the meteorological department had officially pronounced the rainy season begun. So after a few days of visiting golf courses and squinting in the sun, I soon found myself shopping for sunglasses and modeling headwear at a Uniqlo shop in Fukui. Naturally, rain began forthwith and I have not yet had an opportunity to wear the sunglasses.

I bet you don’t know what color raw shrimp eggs are. I didn’t know either, until last week. The pregnant shrimp I’ve eaten at Thailand have always been cooked. So at a small fisherman’s restaurant at Fukui, I was surprised to find that the color of shrimp eggs is blue. I can only imagine the possibilities for a Pringles flavor of shrimp eggs and lychee or some such concatenation. The taste is quite good and serves as a textural and flavor change from the rather translucent and floppy fresh shrimp itself. You see the eggs prominently in the foreground here (I’ve eaten the body of the shrimp already).