To me nothing epitomises the sunny season in Japan more than the heavy hitting summertime rock release “Nuts Bang!!!”, the 23rd single of the Japanese rock band FLOW released on 22 July 2009 to celebrate summer.
The upbeat, fun and enjoyable surf-inspired track is in the embedded video below. The opening sequence kicks off in a surgery with band members Keigo (playing a nerd, vocalist), Kōhshi (a hippy dude, vocalist), Take (a simpleton, guitarist), Gotō (a shy introvert, bassist) and Iwasaki (a yakuza-looking businessman, drummer) all looking to gain muscle surgically. Their dream comes true at around 1.27m (of the clip) when the actual song starts and they hit the beach with their newly bulked up bodies.
Throughout the music video you see bikini-clad glimpses of model Megumi Ikeda but then that is followed by some rather effeminate looking handkerchief twirling at 3.27m. There is also some death growl guttural vocals at 3.54. The track utilises Take’s guitar churning and includes rapping and singing about “Summer Days”.
As for the song title Nuts Bang!, which evil gaijin translated that name? Apparently the song title is supposed to be interpreted as “Natsu Bang(u)” – or “Summertime Explosion”. Hmmmm, supposedly.
Nattō is a Japanese superfood that is centuries old. It is long recognized as one of Japan’s most unique traditional health foods and has been a staple source of Japanese nutrition since feudal Japan. Nattō is a powerful smelling, strong flavoured, sticky web of fermented soybeans that is highly nutritious and rich in protein and typically served with a Japanese breakfast over rice.
Historically nattō was made by packing steamed soybeans in a bed of rice straw and leaving it in a warm place to ferment. A bacteria in the straw, bacillus subtilis natto, feeds off the beans, and turns them into a slimy stinking goop held together by sticky spider-webish strands with a pungent odor. Nowadays the specialized fermentation process that enhances the nutrition of the soybeans and develops the unique flavor and glutinous texture is triggered in commercial factories using sterile conditions and clean cultures.
There are many stories that claim the origin of nattō, legend has it that the process was discovered by accident when a group of soldiers who fell under attack quickly packed up their cooked soybeans in straw and carried them into battle as rations. When the hungry warriors finally sat down to eat, the beans had rotted. Having no other food to consume and being famished from battle they ate the rancid beans and the rest, they say, is history.
Opinion on the palatability of nattō is split. You either love it or hate it. It’s appearance and taste is sometimes compared to Vegemite in Australia, blue cheese in France, surströmming in Sweden, lutefisk in Norway and Sweden, mämmi in Finland and Marmite in New Zealand, South Africa and the UK.
If you think that this is weird then check out 10 Weird Japanese Foods for more bizarre morsels of Japanese culinary strangeness such as raw horse meat, aquatic insects, grasshoppers, bee larvae and more. If you are not that adventurous, then check out 10 Cool Japanese Foods for a delicious selection of Japanese fare.
J∙Festa is a blogging festival showcasing the best of Japan. It features a regular round-up of inspiring posts prompted by the announcement of a Japan-related theme.
Participants for the July 2011 edition were asked to tell us about a famous landmark, a tourist attraction, a sacred site, an abandoned place, a place of worship, a monument or memorial, a sporting venue, a romantic place, a drinking establishment, an amusement park, an entertainment venue, a dining place, an historical site, an exhibition place, a recreational facility. It didn’t have to be a famous place but it had to epitomize Japan.
There’s something there for everyone, so take a swig of your sake, swallow down your sushi, slurp down your miso soup and check out the awesome submissions to “Places in Japan”.
Want to participate? Check out when the next carnival edition will be published over at the J∙Festa home page.
Image source: 
scott j
C Ohara
Chris
Japan Australia
Jay Dee
emuu
lina
freedomwv
Fidel
Haikugirl
