How to Eat Whole Fish

So, I'm sitting in my tiny hostel room in Tokyo right now. I bought a bento at the train station. I know no Japanese, so I just picked one. So far, I have liked the ones I've chosen.

This one, however, has two 4-5 inch long whole fish in them.

They appear to be baked. They are whole. I have no idea how to eat them, and I haven't entirely decided if I want to.

I am intrigued by these fish - how are they supposed to be eaten. Whole? Just pick the meat off?

Thanks.

It's hard to tell without looking at it.

If it is a trout, then pick the meat off.

Sometimes small deep fried fish about 3-4 inches appear in bentos and those are quite tasty. Put whatever sauce they gave you on it eat them whole.

Mi,

Small fish are meant to be eaten whole, as the bones are soft and usually not noticeable.

Thanks.

They were soft, probably meant to be eaten whole. After staring at the little buggers for an hour, I opted for a bowl of soup instead.

Again, thanks for your answers.

Thanks for the good laugh!! I have been eating whole small fishes since I WAS A KID--in Europe,where parents teach young children how to properly cut their meat in small pieces, how to slice a cooked fish, remove the main bones if any etc. Mind you, if no one was looking we - when kids- would just pick up the small fish by the tail, take bites out of it and throw the leftovers to the dogs.

Sorry to be off-topic, but I couldn't help being reminded of an American exchange student we had back when we were in high school in Japan.

We went to a short trip together where the meal was French cuisine but had a whole fish saute in it. Then the exchange student said to me, "I've never eaten a whole fish before." and I just said, "Really?" and started eating mine like it was nothing.

Now that I'm not a dumb teenager anymore, I realise that she politely meant, "Therefore, I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with this one." and probably because I was the only one there that had lived in the U.S. before, she expected me to understand what she was implying.

Her name was Kelly and she was from Kentucky. Kelly, if you're viewing, I'm sorry about what happened that day and about many other things, but we had such a good time too.

You misses a great cultural experience, but then again it makes for a great story. :)

Anyone know what kind of fish this guy was talking about? Thanks

I think its a smelt, called Shishamo. usually with roe inside.

Here's a picture of about what the fish looked like if you still care:

http://kevingong.com/Hiking/Images/2001RaeLakes/Day3/E10Scot...

So I guess it was a trout.

They sound like Ayu from what you have described. Its a sweetfish that resembles a small trout.

I am intrigued by these fish - how are they supposed to be eaten. Whole? Just pick the meat off?

I like to take a bite off one side to get it started and then just pick the meat off with your chopsticks. No knife required (you shouldn't need anything more than chopsticks to eat Japanese food) as the meat will easily come off the spine in chunks. The pin bones are soft, tiny, and edible. You can eat everything except the head, spine, and tail.

The poka dots looks like it's a iwana (char).

Basically, you should snap the whole thing with your chopsticks and start biting it from the edge. At least no one had a problem eating it that way at a tea ceremony. You can, or should, eat the bones as well. It's nutricious and would compliment those who brought it to your table (chef, fisherman, mother-nature).

I once started eating this kind of fish from the tail and ended up leaving the head, because it was bizarre to have a head lying in my bento box. Since then, I always start eating from the head.

Iwana is a treat that can only be fished from a clean and flowing river during a certain season.