One of the last things I want to eat anywhere in Japan is "potato salad", and I love all things potatoes. Will not touch "potato salad" or "Russian salad", or anything similar. It most probably contains mayo, an ingredient I deeply dislike.
The cook says one can create several versions of sago palm seed "miso" by adding other ingredients to it. This one is my favourite. It has dried shrimp bits and bonito flakes. I've had versions with peanuts, squid and something else but this tastes the best (to me).
Little pink chunk on the left is uncured (herring) roe and other bits.
Breakfast at 7 in the morning
Shortly after breakfast we took 2 buses to a nice beach where we spent many hours swimming and snorkelling.
The sign right next to the path that leads down to the beach. Danger is never far away. Amami pit viper (Protobothrops flavoviridis) is venomous. They are found all over the island. They come down from the mountains and out of the bushes after heavy rain. They not only attack you on the ground in bushy areas but also from above (such as a branch or tree), a position which you don't usually notice.
Brought fruits and some snacks. Found a shop selling craft beer from a brewery in the biggest settlement on the island.
We passed through a little village along the way where we saw many of these signs. Probably reads "elderly people on the road, be patient". Have only seen 1 elderly person using a 4-wheeled walker all this time, all other (very) elderly people walk without any aid. This always amazes me in Japan. Back home many people the same age are in bad health.
A couple of hours after returning from the beach it was time for dinner.
Fish and octopus sashimi
Soup (daikon and tiny pig's knuckle)
Sesame "tofu"
Turn the piece of fish over, easier to eat. The cook taught us.
Vegetable tempura (?) and daikon kimchi. There's a big enough kimchi section in each supermarket here.
Strawberry conch meat out the the shell
Does not look like a big pile of food like in some other cuisines. We enjoy every last morsel and are so stuffed after every meal. We take our time, especially me as I'm not used to using chopsticks daily.
The last couple of days there's been a lot of heavy rainfall, also thunder and lightning happening the whole time. Our first time experiencing this kind tropical weather so it's quite intense for us. Rainy and typhoon season is supposed to be over but apparently it's not really, yet. Islanders are resilient, their homes have to be rain and typhoon proof (1 or 2 direct hits every year).
Last night it rained so very hard and literally non stop, all night, lightning lit up the sky and thunder rattled the windows until morning. I hardly slept a wink.
On 10/4/2023 at 4:37 PM, heidih said:Lush Those coral tree trunks are gorgeous. So the crabs live on land it looks - are they eaten? On that breakast how was the ginger marmalade eaten? What paired with or alone?
Crabs leave the water sometimes. The cook says many come on land on days of full moon. Not sure if these local crabs are eaten, they are small. The wild hermit crabs, which can get quite large, are protected.
The ginger marmalade is eaten like other small breakfast components. Use chopsticks to pick up a small amount, eat with rice. Never put a whole big piece of food or portion or eat in one go. Eat slowly and a little morsel at a time.
I was told how to make the ginger marmalade. Easy enough. After the chat he let me try Hiroshima version, with clam meat. Much more intense but a bit different. Ideas for when I get back home.
