Japanese GP: Toro Rosso preview

Suzuka Dining -- Feng Sushi? For years now, Suzuka Circuit has kindly provided Bento Boxes at lunchtime: quite delicious apart from maybe the "Umeboshi" pickled apricot that is so astringent it sucks all the moisture out of your mouth until you ...

Suzuka Dining -- Feng Sushi?

For years now, Suzuka Circuit has kindly provided Bento Boxes at lunchtime: quite delicious apart from maybe the "Umeboshi" pickled apricot that is so astringent it sucks all the moisture out of your mouth until you look like Edvard Munch's subject in "The Scream."

Therefore, we suggest you don't complain about your Bento Box, because instead you could be eating Shirako, or fish sperm.

Or what about Inago no Tsukudani, which are better know as grasshoppers, so just "give a little whistle" as Jiminy Cricket would say while eating them .

Fancy something more meaty? What could be better than Basashi, but if it gives you the trots, don't complain as this is the finest horse meat. Stranger still you can actually get some Basashi ice-cream.

Wait, there are still more delicacies, such as Natto, which are fermented Soyabeans, that apparently can bring a smile to your face. You can also upset all your friends at Greenpeace by tucking into some delicious whale meat, or even more charming, a nice piece of Dolphin. What's that Flipper? Your fin has gone missing?

Why not really create a buzz, digging into a tasty plate of Hachinko, or Bee larvae. Mmm! or maybe Buzzz! But if you want something that really gets your mouth fizzing, what better than a bowl of live ice fish. These little beauties are reckoned to dance in your mouth, although they are actually doing a funeral march. Finally, there's the daddy of them all, the Fugu or poisonous puffer fish. It has to be specially prepared by a qualified chef, if you don't want the poison to paralyse you while you remain fully conscious until you stop breathing. Getting a cheap haircut on the day when the trainee hairdresser is allowed to cut your hair is a great idea, but we do not recommend going to a Fugu restaurant when the trainee chef is on duty.

Enjoy your Japanese dining experience and, as the American film star Mae West might have said, "Is that a live octopus in your pocket or are you just happy sashimi?"