Weird Foods: Tuna Eye in Japan

Looks and anticipation can be deceiving. The raw chicken I ate in Japan actually wasn’t half bad. But this was much harder to stomach just by the thought of it not to mention the lack of visual appeal. Add “Tuna Eye” to the list of bizarre foods I’ve encountered. I was at lunch in Naha on Okinawa, eating at one of a few restaurants that mixed their tables together near the Naha seafood market. I had some great sushi there but sitting next to me at the communal tables was a couple from the big island. They caught me staring at their plates and the woman offered me a bit of her tuna eye. I was not looking at it with envy, mind you. I stabbed at it with my chopsticks and tore off a piece. It is a lot worse looking than it actually is. Parts of the eye seemed more like egg white and mussels (which were, I think, actually muscles) and the taste resembled the latter a bit. The wall of the eyeball was rubbery and I couldn’t even get a piece off. Gag factor was minimal unless you let it get in your head. Will I order one for myself next time? Um, no.

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