I decided to name my new camera natto (納豆 in kanji), a food that has become one of my breakfast staples in Japan. Fittingly the first picture I took with the camera is the one you see below - natto.

If you’ve done your research in Japanese foods you’ll know that natto is fermented soy beans and it’s one of those foods people feel daring trying. To many it smells and tastes rotting. The sticky substance the beans are covered in is hard on the appetite and makes the eating process very messy for the novice.

I first tried natto for lunch at work. It’s probably my weak tastebuds but I had no problem with the smell and the taste was o.k. But just o.k. It was really hard to eat. Even when I managed to seperate a little clan of beans for the rest and get them in my mouth I was still left with spider-web like strings of natto goo connect my mouth and chopsticks and food tray and probably other people too. I avoided eating it at work for a while.

But I continued to eat it at home. I had a really good feeling when I ate it. Like my body was getting something it wanted. The enjoyment progressed into somewhat of a habit actually and when I was back in Vancouver for 3 weeks, I was missing and craving my natto.

I have also improved my natto eating techniques. Every bite requires some stirring with your chopsticks, then you lift a mouthful of beans up and make a few quick twisting motions to sort of…wrap the sticky stuff around the beans and separate them from the rest.

Anyway, to continue the breakfast food naming trend, natto seemed perfect because I bought “Natto” in Japan. That makes the group: Pancakes (RIP 2006), Waffles I (RIP 2005), Waffles II, Syrup, Orange Juice, Poptart, Natto.