It was said that once you stepped inside the 300-meter-long teahouse mecca of Sanchomachi and experienced its nightlife, you would condemn your house and kin to financial oblivion. It was the hottest spot for merchants who built their fortunes from cargo freighting. Indeed the teahouse was so popular that, during the setsubun festival, when roasted soybeans are cast outside the house to dispel evil spirits, it would rain silver coins instead of beans.

What did those one-percenters eat? No mackerel for them, as they could partake of the latest culinary delights from Kyoto at luxurious restaurants. Mackerel was so commonplace as to become plebeian grub; connoisseurs demanded sea bream instead. Wakasa sea bream was small and beautiful as a mermaid; high-end restaurants chomped at the bit to include it in their menus.

Sea bream was salted prior to shipment at first, but that made it too salty to eat. There had to be a way to omit the salting and eat it in a fresher state. To answer such demand from Kyoto, a ground-breaking new packing and preserving method was created; the small fish was packed in barrels together with bamboo leaves. Scientifically speaking, the cedar barrels absorbed moisture and the bamboo leaves eliminated bacteria, all while keeping the fish from drying out.

Obama’s culinary history is full of deliciously processed marine exports to Kyoto. It was not just about shipping fish; traffic along the Mackerel Road relayed the Kyoto populace’s needs, which supported the evolution of Japanese gastronomy.

Obama and Kyoto: Two culinary luminaries that intersected at Sanchomachi, to make for a luxurious gastronomical experience.