While we were in Kyoto, Jenn, Brad and I walked through a food market on our last day. The huge, crowded strip was packed with fresh seafood, stands serving regional specialties, and many, many more Japanese foods.

I kept waiting to take a good picture of these guys with the octopus. Once they noticed me, one just turned and smiled!

One of the most interesting things we saw at the market ended up being the dashi flakes. Dashi flakes are fish flakes used to flavor a lot of Japanese dishes. The fish looks like it’s been petrified and resembles a piece of wood. When it reaches this stage, it is shaved into the thin, airy flakes you see in the photo below. Incredible!

We saw tempura, and tea…

Mochi, a soft, chewy rice cake filled with bean paste (left) and some grilled fish (right)…

Even though the market was crowded, it was a great opportunity for Jenn to see the wide variety of foods available in Japan. Even for me it seemed overwhelming to see all of the strange and unusual foods I now consider relatively familiar. Who knew?