There are many pickle shops lined up on the omotesando. As you may know, pickling is a traditional method of preserving food and Japan has many kinds of pickles. Among those is a pickle that originated in Narita and is a part of Shinshō-ji’s Buddhist cuisine: Teppō Fudō-zuke. (“-zuke” is a suffix that means pickled.) Try looking for it.

Teppō fudō pickles are melon cucumbers stuffed with green peppers wrapped in shiso leaves. The combination is then soaked for three months in soy sauce and mirin. Teppō means gun in Japanese, as the pickles resemble the barrel of a gun, giving the food its name.

Japanese people will usually automatically say “Oishii!” or “Delicious!” to something like this, but what about you? Most, if not all, of the shops have samples so please give the pickles a try.