And now, for your odd story of the day. (link at the bottom of the post) What do you think of when you see this emoji?
It's in the food section, so that gives you a hint.
According to social media influencer Artur Galata, most non-Japanese think it's "a weirdly shaped rocket spewing flames as it flies."
A what?!?!
Now I've been living in Japan for 20 years. At this point I'm pretty used to it here. I embrace Japanese culture and have gotten so used to it that I experience the hints of reverse culture shock whenever I visit the States for more than a week. So it's hard for me to step back and see this with fresh eyes.
But really... a rocket??
It's actually oden, which is a really good Japanese winter food. Here's a photo.
You will see this everywhere in winter, not the least of which is every single convenience store. You'll smell it everywhere too. I will admit when I first came to Japan I thought it was an unpleasant smell, but now it is familiar and comforting to me.
The article I link to is a bit confusing in that it lists 4 ingredients on the skewer where there are obviously only 3. Hmm.. To me the Apple emoji looks like a triangle of konjac (konnyaku), a ganmodoki (which is a fried tofu fritter with other things inside), and chikuwa, which is a kind of fishcake. But that middle ingredient could be daikon radish, as the article also suggests.
Anyway, good stuff!! I'm not sure how successful you'd be at finding this stuff outside of Japan. I've seen daikon in regular supermarkets in the US anyway.
Head to this link for a few more details to this story.
Just remember: Oden, not rocket!
| David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |
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