Kushikino, my home for 2 years from 2005 - 2007, boasts a number of specialities. It's a fishing town where the main catch is tuna, together with some more obscure swimmers, like kibinago - small fish about the size of whitebait, a variety of herring I believe - which boast a distinctive silver stripe and make delectable, melt-in-the mouth sashimi.
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Another fishy product that finds its way frequently into local dishes is chirimenjako; not strictly a variety but a generic name for tadpole-sized baby sardines or anchovies simmered in saltwater, then dried in the sun. They often end up as sprinkles over vegetable dishes.
I went back to Kushikino for about two days, staying one night with my friend Miyoko, my former landlady. Miyoko is one of those very enviable women who manage to juggle a bunch of activities without missing a beat - two businesses, a big role in the community, particularly the town's exchange programme with its sister city of Salinas, California. She also makes it look effortless.
I went shopping with her to the fishmongers, and after she had resisted all help in the dinner preparations, our purchases appeared on the table. The glistening kibinago sashimi, and two varieties of tuna, or maguro - lean red fillet, and strips of the prized fatty part or toro. Laid out separately were seasoned sushi rice and sheets of nori for making te-maki (hand-rolled maki sushi) at the table.
Pictured you can see kibinago on the left, and the two types of tuna on the right.
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