Shinohara Yuta, 25, may seem like a normal Japanese youth but his passions are truly one of a kind. Known to be a promoter of entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, Yuta-san is making waves in social media for his homemade dishes incorporating insects with his specialty bug of choice being crickets.
In an interview with Asian Boss’ Hiroko-san last January 23, Yuta-san gave everyone a sneak peek at the life of an insect enthusiast.
They started out with the reporter trying some deep-fried crickets which she surprisingly liked. Yuta-san talked about how his inspiration and passion were born and mentioned that he loved nature and insects ever since he was a child, even though he didn’t really tell anyone that he ate bugs until he was 19 years old. It was when he read a report from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization back in 2013 that talked about the benefits of eating insects as a protein-source alternative in relation to the world’s rising population that he got inspired to “come out”. He said that since his belief and practice are backed up by the UN then it would be more justifiable.
From there he started sharing his love for insects in unconventional ways such as consuming them.
Bug Cuisine
Yuta-san is making a name for himself with his creative dishes using insects as key ingredients. He holds insect-eating events in Japan that showcase his creations such as cricket ramen, bug cocktails, and insect pastries.
One of @y.shino.earth’s Instagram post below featured his insect sake. It was an invitation to one of his insect eating events held on August 1, 2018 at the Keio University Yagami Campus.
With over 7,000 people having tried his cricket ramen and actually liking it, people are hopeful that entomophagy will become a thing in Japan.
Yuta-san mentioned that the bugs actually taste good regardless of their outward appearance; maybe except a beetle larva which was at the bottom of his list of delicious insects due to its diet of leaf mould.
First Love
With such a close relationship with insects, Hiroko-san was curious to ask if he ever developed any romantic interests with his insects to which Yuta-san quickly mentioned the name “Lisa”.
Lisa was a farm-raised cockroach purchased from Africa last year and Yuta-san fell for her and even considers her as his first love. He admitted that he loved Lisa so much that he even wanted to have sex with her, perhaps in a parallel universe where humans were as tiny as cockroaches or vice versa.
Due to Lisa’s short lifespan, the love was not meant to last. In respect for Lisa, Yuta-san ate her and as he said, “Now Lisa lives in my heart and continues living as a part of my body.”
Yuta-san is focused on sharing his love for insects and doing his best in making his passion as attractive to others as possible.
Full video below: