You never know what you might find lurking behind a shiso leaf on an appetizing platter of sashimi.  Michael Downey shares this great image of flying fish sashimi, known as ‘tobiuo’ in Japan, that was his lunch on a recent trip to the Southern island of Yakushima, famous for its ancient cedar trees and breathtaking hiking trails.  Thanks Michael!

In his own words:

“After finishing my day trip to Jomon-sugi (a whopper of a tree, rumoured to be up to 7000 years old) and a visit to the mysterious Mononoke-hime forests, I retired to the youth hostel. The next day, I experienced some excellent shallow-water diving along the coasts of Yakushima before packing up and getting ready to go back to Kumamoto. But I couldn’t ignore the rumble in my stomach. Ikumi, Yuhei and I ventured to the nearby giftshop, where we found a restaurant on the second floor…

The meal of the day was tobiuo – the flying fish of Yakushima, and seeing as I’d come this far, I figured I’d splash out my remaining yen on this surprisingly cheap but very tasty set meal. The sashimi was great. It was a little chewy here and there due to the freshness, but a welcome treat nonetheless. Just as I was finishing the juicy fish, I peeked behind the decorative green leaf adorning my meal. Staring back at me was a large, dilated pupil! I almost felt a litle guilty for devouring the rest of the fish after that. After all, nobody expects their meal to be watching them!

It wouldn’t stop me coming back for a second helping next time, however. Definitely recommended!”

Read more about Michael’s adventures on Yakushima on his blog Knowing Nothing.

This and other great images of Japan can be found in The Nihon Sun Japan Photo Gallery.

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