IWAKI, Japan -- Takuma Ide's plastic-gloved hands deftly clean one small, silver fish after another over the sink in his compact, tidy kitchen in the coastal city of Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture. Keeping his eyes on the fish, he searches for words to describe the anxiety gripping his mind.
"I wanted to preserve and pass on the traditional taste [of my cooking] beyond generations," he told Nikkei Asia. Ide makes and sells sanma no po-po yaki, a traditional Iwaki delicacy that resembles a hamburger made from grilled saury fish. "It's not easy to make, and managing my own business can be risky," Ide says. "But I've been encouraged by customers who tell me my handmade po-po yaki reminds them of home."
