Matsumoto is as far as you can get from the coast in Japan. Historically dirt-poor, and generally considered somewhat backwards, Matsumotoites are as famous for eating weird things as they are for breathtaking scenery.

Living land-locked in a country with a fish-based diet means you have to be inventive about protein sources. Horse meat has been eaten for generations. Raw. To get your ba-sashi, walk out of Matsumoto Station into the neon-flickering dusk, and turn left along the wide street running perpendicular. Behind Sushi Ten’s orange noren curtain Mrs Fusjisawa presides over some of the freshest horse sashimi in the prefecture.

Though you won’t find them on restaurant menus, Matsumotoites get positively misty-eyed about locusts, and have fond memories of going out in the woods in the fall to catch inago. Simultaneously crunchy and chewy, sweet and salty, inago isn’t bad if you can get past the eyes and legs.

Putting bees into your mouth, however, is simply counterintuitive. You’ll need to be drunk for this. Try one of the red-lanterned izakaya. Age-hachi isn’t generally on the menu, but if you’re there for a while, and if you’re lucky, the master will make something crazy. Like fried bees. Don’t worry if the whole bar is watching you. Close your eyes and chomp down. Delicious, no?

Actually, yes.