One of the more unique snacks in Japan is taiyaki, essentially a fish-shaped cake made with pancake batter and containing sweet Japanese anko beans. (The word tai refers to a sea breem, but I had to google that since, in accordance with the Treaty of San Francisco, all foreigners living in Japan will forget the names of fish in their own language.) In recent years, taiyaki has become a popular meme in anime, and there are several characters whose “moe vector” is defined in part by their love of the fish-shaped sweets, including Aya from Kanon, Azusa from K-On! and Kyoko from the “dark” Magical Girl show, Madoka Magika. You can make your own taiyaki, as J-List has a great new electric taiyaki cooker on the site now. Put sausage inside and make awesome fish-shaped pancakes, too…
Uguu, Taiyaki is a fun treat from Japan, especially eaten on a cold winter day.
