Disgusting food combinations are big business in Japan

If you’ve lived in Japan a while or even just visited, you may recognize the word “takuan” – a type of Japanese pickle made from radishes and served as a side dish – and you’ll almost certainly recognize mayonnaise as that thing that is incongruously glopped on just about everything in Japan.

You’ll probably also recognize that these two items have absolutely no business together, especially if just stuffed unceremoniously into a loaf of bread, but, you see, this combination was almost inevitable because, as we’ve proven time and time again, gross food combinations are just the bee’s knees when it comes to prepackaged foods in Japan.

It’s hard to trace where this trend all started, but we’d venture to guess that GariGari-Kun might have had something to do with it. Anyway, if it’s a gross food and it exists somewhere in Asia, you can bet we’re going to go eat it.

We found this gem in a supermarket in Shimane, Japan’s smallest and most sarcastic prefecture. Our reporter Mr Sato describes the “sandwich” as smelling strongly of takuan – which usually produces a sour smell you’d expect from any kind of pickle. This is probably good news for anyone used to the sickly sweet aroma of mayonnaise ruining their Japanese pizzas, etc., as the takuan smells far more palatable.

Mr Sato also said the takuan was much less crunchy than usual, perhaps due in part that it’s shredded rather than thick-sliced as is usually served, and that the whole package didn’t taste as weird as he’d expected. In fact, he writes that the taste somehow made him nostalgic for his youth in Shimane. Well, to each their own, but to be honest we’re pretty glad he didn’t bring any of this “treat” back to Tokyo to foist on the rest of the writing staff.

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