Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

Food and Drink

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Deadly delicacy

Among the numerous special dishes eaten at New Year, one of them is a proven killer. And despite constant warnings (especially if you are eating alone), mochi always manages a few victims.

The food is a sticky rice cake with the emphasis on sticky, and the elderly are especially susceptible to chocking whilst eating it. In the Kanto region alone, 4 people died on New Year’s Day, plus 25 others were taken to hospital. With 15 of them falling into a critical condition.

Not the best of starts to the New Year it has to be said.

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The customer isn’t always right (update)

A few weeks ago I wrote about a gyudon restaurant owner who was arrested on suspicion of killing a complaining customer.

Earlier this week a few more details about the case were released, and 26-year-old Katsuhisa Ukon was officially charged with murder.

It seems that the murdered customer was especially vociferous and persistent with his complaints. At one time even moaning that the rice in packed meals was leaning to one side. Now regardless of how big a rice fan you are, I think that has to go down as somewhat on the petty side. In fact I wasn’t even aware that rice could be accused of leaning.

Whether it can or not remains unproven, but Ukon-san obviously thought the complaints were excessive. Even after being officially charged with murder he remained unrepentant. When questioned over his motives, he told police that, “I thought this world would be better off without him.”

And all over a bowl of this.

gyudon

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The customer isn’t always right

Like the British, the Japanese aren’t overly fond of complaining about service or food in restaurants. And to hear somebody do so is unusual to say the least. But perhaps there’s good reason for such reticence, as last week police arrested a restaurant owner for killing a complaining customer.

How bad the service is (or was) at 26-year-old Katsuhisa Ukon’s gyudon restaurant remains undocumented, but one customer felt the need to persistently make complaints. Even resorting to calling the restaurant to voice his displeasure.

Unfortunately this irked Ukon so much that he asked a friend for an alibi, and then arming himself with a knife and donning gloves, he went round to the complaining customer’s apartment and killed him.

Complainers beware…

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Instant gratification

I write this as I desperately wait for a plane to take me to Osaka. And if you can get the time off work, I heartily recommend you head in the same direction. As it has just come to my attention that Nissin’s unbelievably exciting Instant Ramen Museum has just reopened after being closed for renovations.

As you can imagine, my mind is in a complete whir at the thought of what joys await. And if I’m lucky enough, I may even catch the inventor of instant ramen, Momofuku Ando, giving one of his legendary the making of cup noodle speeches. I simply can’t wait.

As a brief taster, and one that will undoubtedly have you packing your bags and booking tickets quicker than you can make a tasty hot snack, here’s one of the rumoured exhibits.

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Greatest glutton ever

After 4 straight wins in New York’s hot dog eating contest, Takeru Kobayashi has recently added another title to his already impressive list. Romping home by a large margin in Chattanooga’s hamburger eating competition.

His pulsating performance of 69 hamburgers in 8 minutes, was so stunning that it prompted David Baer of the International Federation of Competitive Eating to trumpet, “Kobayashi is, without a doubt, the greatest eater ever to live upon planet Earth.”

Er, right David, we get the message.

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And that’s him, the earth’s greatest ever eater. A proud and teary-eyed David on the left perhaps?