Japanese people like to eat stuff with names that sound the same as lucky words. Like sports teams will eat katsu-curry (かつカレー) before important games because katsu also means “to win” 勝つ. This fish is called “tai” 鯛 and shows up whenever there’s something to congratulate because one of the words for congratulations is “omedetai“. New year’s is considered an event for celebration and you could find tai wrapped in fancy packaging in local supermarkets. This was a precooked fish and only required zapping in the microwave for 5 minutes before eating. At new year’s people get lazy and don’t want to do anything but sit in the kotatsu, eat mikan and watch vacuous variety shows on TV, it’s the one time of year when TV content hits an absolutely low point, IMO. A ready to cook tai is just what we all need. And of more interest is how this fish fits so perfectly into the packaging. Sugoi.
Haha they’ve even painted an eye!
I wouldn’t eat that though.It doesn’t look good…
By my point of view, what’s always more interesting in those cases is the absurd investment in packaging (that obviously looks great) that turns into a big waste… time, environment… just for the sake of aesthetics… I would try it anyway.
An interesting idea, but I just can’t bring myself to eat anything that still has a face… I wonder why the Japanese seem to think it’s such a great idea to eat fish that way. It just makes me feel bad for the fish. :(
I like the little cartoon eye.
hi Roy … akemashite omedeto gozaimasu !
hi roy!
“goodbye and thank’s for the fish”, that came into my mind when i saw that really sad-looking little (hopefully very tasty) friend. but why did they print origami-swans on it? this only reminds me of hiroshima… and i guess fish there looked a bit worse than this one after “the” bomb.
very impressing – even for a german – how these japanese are able to pack fish this accurately!!!
thanks for this nice view into japanese culture…
have a nice day… ;-)
p.s.: what did its face look like after being in the microwave? have the eyes still been in there?
The eye is actually a sticker which was carefully placed over the real eye of the fish.
david, FYI joking about the “bomb” is never funny and in really poor taste. I advise you not to joke about it.
あけましておめでとうございます!
My family is Mexican and we eat something similar to this. The fish is different though, it looks like tai but bigger, and it’s not microwaveable.
We go to a fish market, pick them out, fish handling people remove the scales and clean them, then they put them in bags and we take it home to cook. After that it’s time to eat!
Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry or comment thread: inappropriate, offensive, stupid, pointless or purely promotional comments
So I guess you found it offensive.I really think it was a funny joke and didn’t mean to offend you, so I’m sorry if I did.It’s a unanimously acclaimed joke, as you can see in the youtube comments.
to roy: that was no joke at all… there is a history of giving bad-looking-food the name of hiroshima. as i’ve been there – and have seen people even today suffering from it – your point is obsolete. FYI you, too. ;-)
p.s.: hiroshima is the place to be, i think it’s one of the nicest cities i’ve ever seen in my life. really…!
Alright, you guys.
david, ok so it wasn’t a joke, but since I took it as one I imagine other people will too.
John, I like “the family guy” but I didn’t find that joke particularly funny. that’s all. I think jokes about Hiroshima are about as offensive as jokes about Auschwitz.