A snapshot of Japan

I’ve been ignoring all the cool stuff going on in Japan. Perhaps I am beginning to take for granted the quirkiness of daily life.

Always needing some background noise in the shoebox, I turn on the TV a lot. I have to remind myself that what I see is just a fragment of Japanese life — I mean, if any foreigner were to judge Singapore by its TV, she wouldn’t get even a few inches deep into our psyche.

But one thing I can tell about the Japanese is their unbridled passion for food. Not only is every channel showing several food or cooking programmes a day, travelogues are packed with featuring famous restaurants throughout the region and soap operas have someone cooking or eating without fail.

Remember I mentioned watching a skinny Japanese gal who could eat a huge plate of curry rice and ten bowls of ramen after? Her name is Natsuko “Gal” Sone. Today, due to stumbling upon a link about her, I couldn’t resist googling her…..and to my fascination, this is what I found…

She’s only 43 kg and stands at 160cm. She’s different from her competitive-eating peers because she looks like she loves eating whatever is put in front of her. In between big (but neat) bites, she exclaims, “Oishii! (Delicious)” Her manicured nails and dainty mannerisms make this picture of an eating monster even more incongruous. And she can inhale up to 20 pounds of curry rice, ramen and gyoza in one sitting. Usually, her feats are done within a 30 minute window. How does she keep so slim? Apparently, what goes in….comes out…. up to six to seven times a day! She also likes running 20km at a stretch if she does head out for a jog.

In another hilarious clip, she defeats a petite fellow competitive eater — finishing over 20 plates of pasta in half and hour. The amazing thing is, you feel like eating what she’s eating because she makes the food look absolutely delicious. I think several restaurants jumped at having her eat at their restaurant because this Italian joint in Osaka showcased their entire menu during her gorge fest.

Another typical food show Sone does is she is pitted against a team of five or six men who can barely finish the same amount of food she has to finish. The guys always rub their tummys in pain and groan they cannot possibly devour everything. The camera then pans to Sone who is rhythmically chomping her way to victory. She doesn’t gobble her food up but takes huge bites and chews steadily.

Sugoyi (amazing), is all I can say now.

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