By LISA VOGT/ Special to Asahi Weekly
February 11, 2020 at 07:00 JST
No frickin’ way! A theme park with mentaiko, that spicy seasoned walleye pollack roe? Really? Who in their right mind would concoct such a thing? Japanese come up with some wacky business schemes, but this sounds downright insane.
But come to think of it, when I first heard about Anpan-man, that didn’t inspire much confidence either, and look how big that got. I guess I don’t have much foresight.
There are five Mentai Parks in Japan, all run by Kanefuku, a famous mentaiko company based in Fukuoka, the home of mentaiko. Interestingly, the five theme parks are located nowhere near Kyushu. The one I visited is in Shizuoka. From JR Mishima Station, it’s about a 20-minute taxi ride.
A humongous red glob sits atop the building. Those in the know will recognize it to be Tarapiyo, Kanefuku’s mascot. Others will just scratch their heads.
There’s no entrance fee, but bring your wallet. There’s a big shopping area with tons of food and merchandise related to tarako (cod roe). I was delighted to see that they had a section of mentaiko with no food coloring.
The frozen mentaiko dumplings (shumai) and mentaiko rice crackers seemed especially popular, although I thought grilled mentai chicken wings (yakiteba mentai) looked more appetizing.
At the food court, you can buy soft-serve mentaiko ice cream, steamed mentaiko pork buns (nikuman), mentaiko pasta and a variety of rice balls with you-know-what inside.
There’s a cushion-walled area with toys called Tarapiyo Kids Land where children can jump up and down and be kids while parents shop, and arcade games like a “mentaiko catcher” where a small crane tries to pick up mentaiko snacks.
I was mentaiko’ed out by the time I reached the processing plant where visitors can view workers making and packaging their specialty.
The highlight of the visit is Tsubu-Tsubu Land, an educational exhibit that includes an animated movie of Tarapiyo’s life.
Do you know the difference between caviar and tarako? Caviar must come from sturgeon, and tarako usually comes from walleye pollack and sometimes cod (which is often used for fish and chips in Britain and Ireland).
Mentaiko originated in Korea and is believed to have started being consumed in Japan in the early 20th century. Legend has it that these salty fish eggs were first sold in Hakata in 1949, and since they weren’t patented, soon many shops started selling a version of the roe, too, and Hakata became the mentaiko capital.
In the mood for something different? Mentai Park beckons.
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This article by Lisa Vogt, a Washington-born and Tokyo-based photographer, originally appeared in the Jan. 1 and 5 issue of Asahi Weekly. It is part of the series "Lisa’s In and Around Tokyo," which depicts the capital and its surroundings through the perspective of the author, a professor at Meiji University.
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