For many travelers, part of the fun of exploring the world is trying new foods unavailable at home. Sometimes, this means eating parts of animals they are not used to or chewing insects and unfamiliar fruits. In Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture, that could mean trying a potentially life-threatening food.
Fugu (or puffer fish) is the most dangerous dish in Japan, and the one Shimonoseki is best known for. If not handled properly, puffer fish can be toxic to people who eat it, so only registered chefs with special licenses can cook with this finicky fish.
Eating puffer fish is so dangerous that it was banned in the 16th century. However, many people keep the tradition alive in secret. In 1887, Hirobumi ITO, Japan’s first prime minister, ate a fugu dish while visiting Shunbanra restaurant in Shimonoseki. Impressed by the taste of puffer fish, he lifted the ban in 1888 and declared Shimonoseki “the Town of puffer fish.”
Shunpanro may have been the first restaurant in Japan to get official permission to make dishes with fugu. Still, many other restaurants are now serving the poisonous puffer. Today, the most common way to eat it is to cut it into thin slices, wrap it in spring Onions, and dip it in vinegar and soy sauce. Sometimes, the slices are so thin that they become transparent. Other famous dishes include stir-fried puffer fish, puffer fish hot pot, puffer fish congee, and braised puffer fish (a type of hot sake with roasted puffer fish fins).
Pufferfish may be Shimonoseki’s main attraction. Still, the city—and the entire Yamaguchi prefecture—is home to many other seafood delights. The region is especially famous for cooking anglerfish liver (sometimes called “sea foie gras”) and creamy sea urchin dishes.
