clam digging

this past sunday we went to the "beach" to dig for clams! these were mategai or jackknife clams. as you can see from the picture below, they look like pencils!

how to get mategai:
1. scrape away the top layer of sand with a hoe-like tool. a lot of small holes will be revealed.
2. take a disposable hashi and a cup of salt and poke some salt into each hole.
3. the salt will make the mategai think the tide has come in and they will pop out!
4. grab it when it comes out.
5. if it doesn't come out easily, don't pull too hard or you'll pull the foot off.
6. pull it out and scream (it looks kind of gross!)
7. toss it in the basket and keep going!

*i want to put up a video i have of this but i'm at school and it won't let me ftp!

it reminded us of that game at arcades where those gophers pop out of the holes and you have to hit them on the head. and scream.

we didn't eat the mategai though.. we gave them to our friends! maybe it tastes good but i wasn't in the mood to eat them after pulling them out of holes all day. ugh. they look gross! check out the photo album for more pictures :)