maplesyrup's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Hiyoko
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Sweets

Hiyoko

These bird-shaped cakes once fueled miners in Japan's Fukuoka region.
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Buddha's Hand
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Fruits & Vegetables

Buddha's Hand

Smells like lavender, tastes like lemon rind, looks like a gnarled claw fresh from your nightmares. 
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Amezaiku
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Amezaiku

This gorgeous sugar art is making a comeback.
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Wagashi
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Sweets

Wagashi

These Japanese sweets demonstrate the ephemeral beauty of the seasons.
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Fujisan Bread
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Prepared Foods

Fujisan Bread

Worlds collide in this braided bread that tastes like brioche and is meant to look like Mount Fuji.
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Okinawa Black Sugar
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Ingredients & Condiments

Okinawa Black Sugar

It's darker, saltier, and healthier than white sugar.
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Japanese Tea Ceremony
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Japanese Tea Ceremony

A ritual that showcases the beauty of the present moment.
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Honey Toast Box
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Sweets

Honey Toast Box

Many spoons are needed to demolish one of these ice cream-stuffed bread loaves.
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Raindrop Cake
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Sweets

Raindrop Cake

The beautiful dessert evaporates in 20 minutes.
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Pacific Razor Clams
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Meats & Animal Products

Pacific Razor Clams

It takes patience and skill to harvest these delicious bivalves.
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Okanagan Sockeye Salmon
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Meats & Animal Products

Okanagan Sockeye Salmon

Around British Columbia's Osoyoos Lake, community efforts have revived the population of a fluorescent fish.
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Geoduck
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Meats & Animal Products

Geoduck

This phallic, giant clam is the culinary crown jewel of the Pacific Northwest.
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Nanaimo Bar
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Sweets

Nanaimo Bar

From postwar dessert to sweet slice of Canadian identity.
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Honey Dill Sauce
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Ingredients & Condiments

Honey Dill Sauce

A taste of home for Manitobans.
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Bakeapple Gin
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Drinks

Bakeapple Gin

A Canadian spirit made with Newfoundland's beloved berry.
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Harðfiskur
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Prepared Foods

Harðfiskur

The pungent, wind-dried white fish is a traditional Icelandic food.
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Hákarl
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Prepared Foods

Hákarl

Iceland's fermented, dried shark smells like urine and can taste like strong cheese.
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Vínarterta
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Sweets

Vínarterta

Elusive in its country of origin, this multilayer cake has found a home in Manitoba's “New Iceland” region.
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Bolludagur
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Bolludagur

On this holiday, Icelandic children earn cream buns by spanking their parents.
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Hverabrauð
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Prepared Foods

Hverabrauð

Iceland's thick, chewy "hot spring bread" is just like regular rye bread, with one big difference.
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Candied Hawthorn
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Sweets

Candied Hawthorn

To celebrate Chinese New Year, vendors sell skewered, sugar-coated berries.
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Dragon's Beard Candy
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Sweets

Dragon's Beard Candy

The ancient confection consists of wispy sugar-strands that look like dragon whiskers.
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Fried Cod Tongues
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Prepared Foods

Fried Cod Tongues

This chewy treat became a delicacy only after Newfoundland's fishing industry collapsed.
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Screech-In
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Screech-In

To become an honorary Newfie, eat bologna, kiss a frozen cod, swear an oath, and shoot rum.
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