a whole lot of oysters in ofunato, iwate

“Did you know,” one of the old men sitting next to us, his glasses steamed from the hot oysters started, “this woman can only eat oysters raw?”

“Steaming them makes them so disgusting,” the woman whined, her wizened features crinkling up and her accent thick. “Look at that,” she pointed at the slightly opened mouth on one of the bright green mollusks. “Yuck,” she said again, as if all the freshness was gone, and the only real way to eat an oyster was to crack it open with a knife and slurp up the still-living insides. Then, in English, she hollered, “STAND UP!” as she got up abruptly from the table and left.

When I say I love living in Iwate, this is what I mean. Other highlights include climbing the great Buddhist Kannon statue in Kamaishi, B and T-san pretending they were big kaijuu monsters to the delight of K-san’s young son, and eating sesame flavored ice cream in Tono, birthplace of the kappa. And then the quiet ride back, K-san’s reggae themed music playing softly, the rest of my coworkers snoozing, and me staring out the window at the various villages and towns passing by that make up my home.

And they all ask, why do you like it here so much?

I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know…