Page 102 - traveling73 eng

FLAVOURS OF JAPAN
Izakaya: where the night
becomes conversation
Along the coasts of Japan, an ancient tra-
dition endures: the ama, divers who plunge
into the sea without tanks to gather shellfish.
Their way of life, passed from mothers to
daughters, persists in corners of Toba and
Shima, in Mie prefecture. There, one finds
the amagoya, wooden huts where the divers
gather to warm themselves by the fire and
where today, in a controlled manner, they
receive travellers.
Those who enter an amagoya can sample
oysters, abalone, or scallops grilled over
embers while the ama tell stories of storms,
times of plenty, and the changes they have
witnessed in the sea. Their tales speak of
discipline, of sunrises that mark the working
day, and of a trade that demands unders-
tanding the ocean as both companion and
frontier.
The experience transcends the gastrono-
mic: it is an encounter with a vulnerable hu-
man heritage, where the sea ceases to be
a landscape and becomes memory. In that
atmosphere of embers, wood, and sea salt,
the visitor discovers an intimate Japan, pro-
tective of its ancient ving their seat.
A Japanese izakaya, a sort of tavern
Ekiben of masu sushi - Toyama
Yakitori
Ekiben: the journey transfor-
med into a mouthful
No country has elevated train food boxes
to iconic status quite like Japan. Ekiben
are not mere containers: they are small
works of culinary craftsmanship designed
to accompany journeys on shinkansen and
regional trains.
Each station offers its own interpretation,
based on local produce. In some places,
technology allows the food to be heated
without stoves; in others, tradition has re-
mained intact for generations. One of the
most famous examples is Toyama’s Masu
No Sushi: layers of trout over rice, wrapped
in bamboo leaves within a cedarwood box.
For the traveller, opening an ekiben means
discovering the gastronomy of the region
they’re passing through without ever lea
102 -