As the climate gradually cools, autumn leaves begin turning red and yellow in Tokyo.
Especially in Tokyo, you can see tall trees which turned yellow.
Yes, those are gingko trees.
There are a lot of gingko trees along a roadside in Tokyo becouse they are designated as a symbol tree of The Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
We associate the name of "Ichou"(gingko tree in Japanese) with the yellow leaves and stinky flesh of the fruit.
The fruits called "gin-nan" in Japanese and look like dark-orange cherry.
It smells so stinky, like rancid butter or excrement!
Cyclists who ride along roadside trees are annoyed by the gin-nan "bombs" every autumn.
But, gingko nuts are used in Japanese cuisine and Chinese cuisine.
Of course nobody eats the smelly flesh.
You have to process to take out nuts from the fruits by burying them in the ground for a week before cooking.
Those nuts are deep-fried as snacks to go with the beer.
Most popular cuisine is chawanmushi.
(Chawanmushi - but I couldn't find any gin-nan in it...)
Some people don't like the gin-nan because of the slightly-bitter taste.
But I think it's good experience to try it.
- The Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/index.htm
- Chawanmushi - wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chawanmushi
- How to process and cook gin-nan (in Japanese)
http://www.geocities.jp/yamapon65/tisantisyou_ginnan.html
Masa (utsuki)