So as one of the things I had decided to add to the “things I should do on this trip” or one of the “things I should do before I die, but not really all that important” list was to try Fugu. The infamous or notorious blow fish, puffer fish or fugu, whatever you want to call it, is a delicacy in Japan (and around the world really). I had been given a tip by some people I did my fish markets tour with on a restaurant to try it out in Osaka. So that’s what I was going to do!

Thankfully my new british companion clare was also in the area and she decided she was up for a bit of craziness so she joined me. We made our way to the restaurant just off the famous Dotonburi in Osaka and were ready to put our lives in the hands of the master chefs. The restaurant “Genpin” is a chain of Fugu restaurants all over most of Japan and it seems fairly touristy’ish, however not even the Ritz could find anywhere else open on a Sunday night that serves fugu in August (as apparently it is not at its most prevalent at this time of year).

So once I was chastised for wearing my shoes and grabbed by the waiter (that shocked me a bit) I removed my shoes and we had the traditional, sit on floor experience. The meal was set and not cheap (about 5000 Yen) for 6 courses of fugu. A Starter of Boiled Fugu Skin, Sashimi of Fugu (super thin so you could see the vein pattern, like paper thin), Fried Fugu, Fugu Hot Pot (the famous Shabu Shabu style… awesome 2 birds one stone) then Hodgepodge Porridge (we were not sure what that was to start with) then Dessert (which was going to be ice cream, we knew it).

So we ordered that set menu and figured we may as well enjoy it. Lots of jokes were made while we waited for the first course if “intentionally eating poison fish” is counted on our travel insurance policies, what we would do if someone else got sick, would this be the first time we ever made a runner if need be etc. Good way to break the tension. When the first course arrived, we made a pact to take a bite together at the same time. None of this “you go first” stuff.

I won’t break it down for you course by course or anything like that, the photos will do that for you when I upload them, but to be honest, It just tasted like any other fish, nothing special. No tingly sensation, no numbness, no death. The Hot Pot was really good and the porridge turned out to be using the leftover hot pot stock with bits of noodle still floating in it, to make a congee style dish with egg and rice etc. Was really yum.

We finished off the night with a few photos, I got to hold the Fugu and when they haid it all blown up and im holding it in the middle of the street, you could hear the screams of “FUGU!!!” coming from people everywhere and I became quite the spectacle (well probably the fish was not the gaijin holding it). All in all a good night and something I can tick off the list and say “Yep I’ve eaten fugu and lived to tell the tale”

Current Location: Crowne Plaza ANA Hiroshima, Japan