Fresh Scallops in Yoga

On Sunday, Brad and I went for a little walk in Yoga, the place we stayed during our first weeks in Japan. It was nice to be back in the familiar area where we experienced our first tastes (food and otherwise) of living in Japan.

As we walked through the small side streets, we were both in a little bit of a haze. We moved into our new apartment on Saturday and felt completely drained of all energy. It is amazing seeing the moving process happen so quickly. The last time we moved, it was across an ocean and we had to wait months and months for our things from the United States to reach us in Japan. By the time all the boxes arrived at our Tokyo apartment, it was like Christmas because we had forgotten what we had packed. This time, everything was packed by Friday night, transported to our new place on Saturday, and then unpacked Saturday night (well, some of it was unpacked Saturday night…we’re still working on that…) This quick turn around proved to be exhausting for many reasons, but mostly because it all happened so fast.

So, back to the haze we were in while walking around Yoga… In our exhausted state, we stumbled upon something exciting and new (something that happens frequently here in Japan) that helped to wake us up a little. A festival was taking place with stands selling noodles and seaweed, and a clown putting on a show for the young families. After walking through the festival, we found that they had saved the best for last.

At the last stand, on two small grills, a man was cooking fresh (still in the shell) scallops. The scallops were placed on the grill in their closed shells and as each popped open, the top shell was lifted to reveal a juicy, salty scallop. As they cooked over the smoky grill, they were drizzled with a bit of soy sauce and served on a paper plate with wooden chopsticks.

The scallops were simple, delicious, and a welcome treat on a Sunday afternoon. This discovery reminded me of the simple joys that can get lost when life seems to be zooming along. We nearly missed this stand because we were anxious to get home. I’m glad we took the time to stop and see something new.