We left the Joban expressway at Kita Ibaraki; Hiro indulged my preference for seeing as much coastline as feasible. The area around the coast here, which included the northern parts of Hitachi seemed quite recessed, though we were passing through and I can't say that with any certainty. I imagine it's an area that has been hit by industrial offshoring. Jobs that used to be here have moved to parts of Asia where cheaper labour is available. A convenience store was advertising for staff at 650y (about $6.50 an hour)... it might not be much longer before they start moving back to take advantage of the cheap wages....
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| Typical scenery in Ibaraki and Chiba. Flat land, rivers, and low bridges painted blue. |
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| We stopped off at a fish restaurant. I was curious to see what the fish was like and whether it was well patronised. It was well patronised, but the fish... it's right by the sea here and near a fish market. But it's also about 40km south of the exclusion zone. Radiation has decimated the fishing industry. Large amounts of radioactive material have been poured into the sea - I am not sure on quantities. There is understandably serious concern about eating fish. |
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| Hiro's fish - fish of the day - was frozen and not very tasty. Heavy metals, radiation, what's your choice of poison? It's possible the fish was never all that flash here, and the radiation is an easy excuse... but I doubt it. |
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| Mine was also dry, dried and salted and not very appetizing. It's not a complaint, just a comment. There are much greater worries in the area than whether a piece of fish is juicy or dry. |
2 comments:
You're writing about your trip in the same way that Japanese food is offered: in small bite-sized pieces. I've decided I like it. Lots of anticipation. ^^
It goes with the size of my concentration span ;)
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