Cold, and It Passes Right Through

Hey hey, Luna~! Did you know — “Akkeshi” comes from the Ainu language? It literally means “the place where oysters are”!

…Akkeshi.

And it’s the ONLY region in Japan that ships oysters all year round. The water’s cold enough to stagger the growing cycles, so there’s never an off-season, and——

…yes.

…Luna, your reaction is kinda flat?

…I like oysters.

——wait, what

…I’m not zoning out. I’m happy.

Luna likes oysters~! Okay okay so — Akkeshi is creamy, Senposhi is sweet, Lake Saroma gets all that plankton from the drift ice so the flavor is——

…fox. Have you eaten them?

…no

…then today.

Miko got us shell-on Akkeshi oysters — Kakiemon brand~!

…Kakiemon.

The name’s kinda adorable, right? Small and round, raised entirely from Akkeshi seed stock——

…fox. Open them.

…oh, right. Like this?

…knife at the hinge. Twist.

You’re really good at this

…because I like them.

…okay. Tabasco, lemon, whisky. I came prepared.

…all of that?

I kinda need something punchy. Mild flavors make me anxious.

…first one. Plain.

…plain?

…oysters taste like the sea. Add something, and it becomes that something.

…fine. Just the first one.

——oh

…

…cold. A little salty. But then it’s just — gone.

This isn’t a flavor that attacks you. It passes through.

…yes.

…cold, and it passes right through. …so you want another one.

…have you ever gotten sick from oysters?

…yes, yes.

Wait, REALLY?! And then——

…I prescribed myself something. Recovered. Ate them again.

…ate them again.

…got sick again.

…twice?

…yes.

…

Luna. Normal people would learn their lesson.

…

…I don’t know.

You don’t know?

…getting sick doesn’t change the taste. Still cold. Still passes right through. That’s all.

…

…alright. Second one: Tabasco!

…tastes like Tabasco.

Lemon, then.

…tastes like lemon.

Ponzu and momiji-oroshi — citrus soy, spicy grated daikon——

…tastes like ponzu.

…wait. If I had garlic and olive oil——

…that’s ajillo. You can’t pour it on raw oysters.

…oh

…just one drop of whisky——

…tastes like whisky.

…the oyster just disappears no matter what I put on it.

…some people like it that way too. Tabasco oysters. Lemon oysters.

…yeah.

…Luna.

…yes.

Why do you like oysters?

…

…I don’t know, I don’t know.

…you don’t know?

…cold. Passes right through. Leaves nothing behind.

…maybe it’s the nothing itself. I don’t know.

…

…I’m gonna have one more.

…yes, yes.

…

…Tabasco.

…fox hasn’t learned either.