Japan: The Miracle Fruit Adventure

About a month before we left for Japan, I came across this interesting article on a food blog (what? I read everything!) about the mysterious "Miracle Fruit". This fruit has gathered a bit of a cult following among some gourmets and chefs. Its a small berry the size of a peanut, and it doesn't taste particularly good. Why then, you ask, has it has gained popularity in the secret underground channels of food geeks?

When you eat a miracle fruit, it changes the way that everything else tastes for about half an hour. No- it doesn't do anything to your brain (this isn't a story about how I became a fruit junkie) - just your tongue. It coats it with some kind of crazy berry juice that allows your buds to taste some things stronger and to mask other tastes. More on that later.

The other thing about Miracle Fruit- its hard to come by. Japan is one of the few countries in which it is available. When I found this out, I knew that Kim and I had a quest. We had to seek out and find this strange and rare anomaly of nature. We had a calling - a calling to go on The Miracle Fruit Adventure.

Our adventure started more as an aimless wandering. As we took to the streets of Tokyo, looking in big department stores (in Japan, fruits and confections are in great supply in department stores), small grocery stores, and even a few snack carts at the Hanami festivals. However, there were no signs of miracle fruit; and if there were, they were in Japanese.

Despondent, we were about to give up. Where could we find information in English? And then it hit me- it was sitting right there in front of my face all along. No really. I use the internet all the time at home, a country this technologically advanced *must* have the internet! Maybe even more than one!

Luckily, Josh had the internets, so I got one from him. After about an hour of fruitless searching (get it? "Fruitless"? Ha ha!) I found what we were looking for- the Miracle Fruit Cafe.

The Miracle Fruit Cafe? A whole culinary establishment based around the miracle fruit? Inconceivable!

We got our directions, and set out at the crack of dawn the next morning. Well, at the crack of dawn, I woke up to shift my pillow into another position, but only a few hours later, we'd be on our way.

Our first challenge was getting to the legendary "Sunshine City" - a mythical city within a city, an entire community of housing, restaurants, shops, and entertainment in one building. After successfully navigating the confusing maze of the Tokyo city (thanks to Kim's navigational skills), we arrived at our destination. It was like when they reach the Emerald City in Wizard of Oz, only everything wasn't green, there was no creepy doorman, and things looked kind of like they do on every other busy Japanese street (small curry shops, pachinko palaces, and a 'hello kitty' store).

Once inside Sunshine City, I knew we were on the right track- there to greet us was Our Neighbor Totoro! Finally, a sign.


Our next challenge was finding Namjatown. An entire indoor kids theme park which takes up two levels of Sunshine City. Namjatown is just bizarre. Kids run around with little cat statues, which give them clues and information when they are placed in certain areas around the park. There are small rides, interactive video booths, and video screens hidden in stones and barrels. I had no idea what was going on, because it was all in Japanese, but the kids sure looked like they were having fun.



Finally, on the second floor of Namjatown, we reached our destination at last: The Miracle Fruit Cafe. On the menu were all sorts of curries (curries are very popular in Japan) and other interesting looking dishes- but these were all distractions for those who are not true of heart. We knew what we came for.

We ordered two miracle fruits, and a small plate of non-miraculous fruit to go with it. We also ordered a plate of various cheeses.



While we were waiting for our food, Kim and I found a set of instructions for eating miracle fruit on the table. Here, the little Namjatown mascot (Namja himself?) gives directions on how to eat the fruit. Even though we couldn't read the them, Kim and I have years of experience in eating, and so we relied on our instincts. Put food in mouth. Chew. Swallow.

It worked.

The lemons tasted as sweet as oranges- we could eat them whole without a hint of sourness. Strawberries tasted like candy. Grapefruit was just amazing. The cheeses were interesting as well - they didn't taste unfamiliar, but the miracle fruit brought out interesting hidden flavors that weren't there before.

Our quest was at an end, but a true hero's journey involves bringing something back for the benefit of society. Unfortunately, we can't provide society with miracle fruits, so we'll do the next best thing:

Spread the word! I have witnessed a miracle (fruit)! Hallelujah!