Food on a stick

While I haven't yet had the opportunity to sample any local eel, food on a stick comes in a close second for things I'm excited about eating while in Japan. This weekend we visited Nabano no Sato (more on that another time), one of the major attractions of which was a variety of tasty vendor food. Octopus balls (taco yaki) were my choice, which I found to be tender and delicious, and A went with some sort of cheese filled gelatinous vegetable stick. The flavor was agreeable, but the rubbery texture made it unappealing.

Thing is, I didn't know what these were until I'd taken a bite. (actually I was half way through when the food was identified) Knowing the names of the food really wouldn't have made for a better or different decision, since I've never had anything comparable. It's all about the context - this was sort of a fair atmosphere, and when was the last time you ever had bad food from a fair? Worst case scenario, the item on the right might have been a corn dog.