TokyoTreat | September 2020 Theme – Time Travel Treats!

The History of Sushi – The Japanese Fast Food That Stood The Test Of Time!

We love sushi! It’s a Japanese fast food that is craved worldwide! But it has a surprisingly long history. Where does it come from and how exactly did it take off? Grab your soy sauce and wasabi – It’s time for a deep dive into the History of Sushi!

Where did sushi come from?

Source

The original origin of sushi isn’t actually in Japan! You can find it in China in the second century A.D., where it was actually considered as a method of preserving fish. Fish was wrapped in rice, which caused the fish to ferment. This allowed the fish to be eaten at a later time. But the rice was then thrown away…

This became a popular method of preserving fish, and it spread all around Asia, including to Japan – known for it’s love of seafood! However they started to eat the rice too!

In the 1600’s Matsumoto Yoshiichi – living in old Tokyo (Edo) – started to season the rice with rice wine vinegar. This meant that the dish that normally took months to make could be made and served immediately! And so the sushi rice we know today was born!

Source

But sushi really began to take off in the 1800’s when Tokyoite Hanaya Yohei first placed the fish on top of the rice instead of wrapping in, and marketed it as the ultimate Japanese fast food. It was sold on street stalls and became the perfect food when you’re on the go! Today we call it nigiri sushi and it is one of the most common types of sushi!

This quickly became a popular snack and gradually moved away from street stalls and into restaurants once hygiene standards improved after World War Two. And in restaurants it blossomed from being fast food to a dining experience that became popular worldwide!

Source

Eventually different types of sushi began to appear, inspired by western flavors, and new and fun ways to eat it like conveyor belt restaurants began to appear! We wonder how it will continue to evolve in the future! 

Source

This Month's Box

If you’re hungry after this journey into the past – then we have the perfect snacks for you! This month, TokyoTreat is taking a journey into the past with our Time Travel Treats! We’re enjoying plenty of retro snacks, traditional flavors and a few futuristic goodies! Won’t you join us on our snack adventure!  

If you sign up before 8/31/2020 23:59 JST, you could be in for a whole range of sweet treats, from Japanese KitKats to Pokemon crackers and more!

You can also get involved with our social media and community! Want your photo to be featured in our monthly booklet or on social media? Tag us on social media at #tokyotreat and maybe you'll see your photo in our next booklet! As usual we will also have an awesome photo contest with unique Japanese prizes and a FREE snack box so stay tuned for that!

As a big thank you to our subscribers we always give away a big Lucky Treat prize which is filled with over $500 worth of goodies! If you want a chance to win, make sure to join the fam!